The Cowboys are moving on on from two more veterans from their struggling defense.
Dallas is cutting nose tackle Dontari Poe and cornerback Daryl Worley, according to NFL Network, after the team unsuccessfully tried to trade them both.
Poe, 30, was a first-round pick from the 2012 NFL Draft. The University of Memphis product spent five seasons with the Chiefs, earning two Pro Bowl nominations with the team. He was with the Falcons for a year and spent two seasons with the Panthers before joining the Cowboys. The 6-foot-3, 346 pound nose tackle signed a two-year, $8.5 million contract with a $1.5 million signing bonus in April which carries a $3.94 million cap hit ($3.5 dead cap) in 2020 and a $4.75 million cap hit ($750,000 dead cap) in 2021.
Worley, 25, was drafted in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft from West Virginia. He spent two seasons with the Panthers, a brief practice squad stint with the Eagles, and two seasons with Raiders before joining the Cowboys this offseason. The cornerback signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with a $1 million signing bonus that carries a $2.97 million cap hit ($2.5 million dead cap) in 2020.
This report comes less than a day after the team traded defensive end Everson Griffen to the Lions for a conditional 2021 sixth-round pick. The 32-year-old four-time Pro Bowler had joined the Cowboys this offseason as well via a one-year, $6 million deal with a $5.8 million cap hit ($3 million dead cap) in 2020.
Dallas’ defense has allowed a league-worst 34.7 points per game, which is a 73 percent increase year-over-year, and almost two points more than the second-worst unit (Las Vegas, 32.8). They are also allowing the most rushing yards per game (178) and sixth-most total yards per game (408).
The Cowboys have won just two games this season and are on a three-game skid since the crushing loss of quarterback Dak Prescott. They are 2-5 and currently tied for second in the NFC East behind the 2-4-1 Eagles.
The Ben DiNucci-led Cowboys will face the Eagles in Philadelphia Sunday night.