Report: Cowboys Taco Charlton will be inactive vs. Giants; Pending trade?

According to a report, former first round defensive end Taco Charlton will not be active against the New York Giants on Sunday. Is there a pending trade?

With the signing of running back Ezekiel Elliott to a six-year, $90 million contract extension earlier in the week, ending his holdout, it appears to be all hands on deck for the Dallas Cowboys this weekend. The Cowboys will kick off their regular season against the New York Giants on Sunday afternoon. But it appears they’ll do so without the services of a former first-rounder.

According to a report by Mike Fisher that was posted to mavensports.io, the Cowboys have already notified third-year defensive end, Taco Charlton, that he will be down (inactive) for Sunday’s opener against the Giants. And that report seems to be confirmed via a tweet by Charlton himself.

This is odd considering Charlton posted one of his best performances in the preseason, racking up three total tackles, 2.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and a pass deflection against the Houston Texans in the Cowboys’ dress rehearsal game. Taco did suffer an ankle injury in that contest.

But the 24-year old pass rusher did not appear on the Cowboys’ final injury report on Friday, sparking speculation that Charlton might be inactive due to a pending trade. If there is such a move in the works, it would make sense that Dallas would want to protect the player from possible injury.

There were some whispers prior to the team’s final roster cuts that Charlton was being discussed as a possible candidate for release. But that seemed improbable following his stellar preseason performance.

But with the report that the Cowboys have already notified Charlton that he’ll be inactive Week One despite missing the services of defensive end Robert Quinn (suspension), and with starters DeMarcus Lawrence (shoulder) and Tyrone Crawford (hip) coming off of injuries, it seems extremely odd Dallas would elect to make Charlton inactive at this time.

Beyond Taco Charlton on the depth chart at defensive end are impressive veteran Kerry Hyder, rookie Joe Jackson, and former fourth-rounder Dorance Armstrong. The 28th overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, Charlton is coming off a disappointing second season in Dallas where he posted 27 total tackles and 1.0 sack in 11 games. He had both ankle and shoulder surgery this offseason.