Five Dallas Cowboys who may not survive final cuts

Kai Forbath, K

Last season, one of the biggest obstacles for the Cowboys to overcome was their poor special teams play. More specifically, missed opportunities from Brett Maher. The second-year kicker missed 10 of his 30 field goal attempts in 2019. Maher went an embarrassing 1-for-5 on field-goal tries from 40-49 yards out.

The Cowboys released Maher in early December and brought in 32-year old veteran kicker Kai Forbath to replace him. Forbath would go on to be a perfect 10 for 10 on both field-goal attempts and extra-point tries during his limited run in Dallas. The Cowboys opted to re-sign him to a one-year deal in March and he appeared to be the favorite to start this upcoming season.

But Dallas created some serious competition at the position by signing free agent kicker Greg Zuerlein to a three-year, $7.5 million deal later that same month. A former Pro Bowler and All-Pro in 2017, Zuerlein seemingly has the leg up on Forbath for the starting role considering he followed his special teams coach, John ‘Bones’ Fassel, from the Los Angeles Rams to the Cowboys this offseason.

You have to hope there will be an honest kicker competition this summer between Kai Forbath and Greg Zuerlein. And they’ll simply let the better performer win. But considering the sizable contract signed, and the preexisting relationship with the special teams coach, it appears Forbath may have the odds stacked against him.