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Things are looking eerily familiar in Valley Ranch these days, and that’s not a good thing for the Dallas Cowboys. A month after the team made the head-scratching decision to cut Corey White, Tyler Patmon was let go on Tuesday, and put simply, fans of America’s Team shouldn’t be happy.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, the Cowboys’ defense has played outstandingly well this year overall, especially considering the injuries that have plagued the unit and the baffling statistics Dallas has accrued on both sides of the ball through 14 games. So why the team would release two of its top-five cornerbacks in a season that is now in a hurry-up-and-get-to-next-year mode is beyond any reasonable football mind.
For those who may not be aware, White was cut for not wearing a full suit on the team’s charter flight to Tampa Bay in Week 10 – true story (please save your “but this is the same team that has Greg Hardy” line because we’ve heard it a thousand times already). Patmon’s release was because “he’s not physical enough as a nickel corner.”
Sure, Patmon may not be like a bull in a china closet in the secondary, but the kid is 5-foot-8 and 185 pounds. Add in the fact Dallas now has a total of four cornerbacks on its roster (including a gimpy and air-headed Morris Claiborne but not counting Terrance Mitchell, who will reportedly be promoted from the practice squad), and these are easily two of the worst roster transactions of the year by America’s Team.
Does anyone else smell something fishy here? And we’re not talking about the tuna your co-worker had for lunch.
The Cowboys’ front office has fallen back into the moronic mindset that heads need to roll because of the team’s disappointing season, which undoubtedly would have been much different had Tony Romo not broken his collarbone twice.
Despite the fact Jerry and Stephen Jones have publicly claimed responsibility for the team’s horrific backup quarterback situation (see: Cassel, Matt), it’s still a safe bet one of them (likely the elder) went to head coach Jason Garrett and said somebody has to take the fall for this so we can give their head to the public.
There are multiple problems with that, including the fact no one needs to lose their job over this – except Jerry, of course – and the fact Dallas is already crippling itself for 2016.
With Orlando Scandrick healthy again, the Cowboys would have entered next season with him, Brandon Carr, Byron Jones, White and Patmon as their five cornerbacks (Claiborne will be a free agent), which isn’t a bad group, especially when Carr can be occasionally rescued by good play-calling and a solid pass rush.
In addition, those five players could give Dallas flexibility with Carr’s rough contract situation if the team decides to part ways with him in the offseason.
But now the Cowboys will enter the offseason with only a rehabbing Scandrick, an overpaid Carr and Jones in the secondary, assuming Mitchell doesn’t set the woods on fire and set a place for himself on next year’s squad right away.
For years, the Joneses pulled stunts like this that figuratively crippled the team in subsequent seasons. But then 2014 came and we all thought everything was fixed. So much for that.
Unless Stephen has a master plan that he’s keeping under wraps until March (Lord knows whatever is going through Jerry’s head should never come out of his mouth), the bizarre White and Patmon moves could come back to haunt the Cowboys in a big way this time next year.
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