Could the Dallas Cowboys already have a veteran cap casualty?

With training camp starting to become more and more familiar for these players the Dallas Cowboys could have an early decision to make on the roster.

Like usual, the Dallas Cowboys went bargain shopping at the infirmary this offseason and like usual, one of those names is being questioned about their impact.

Safety turned linebacker Keanu Neal followed his former head coach Dan Quinn to Dallas in hopes of reviving a defense that was ridiculed to no end last season. If we are being fair, the team is still trying to answer questions about their defense at this point of camp.

Camp is still in its infancy but the early returns on Neal haven’t been as good as some might have hoped. It is starting to become an unofficial tradition for this front office to cut a player they thought would fit but ended up becoming a waste of cap space.

I really like Keanu Neal and I hope he can bounce back from a rough first impression but he is looking more and more like a player that is not only struggling with his new position but a player that could be positionless moving forward.

Neal the linebacker has more questions to answer. His physicality shows up without pads and he is always around the ball. He has to show he can consistently do that when the pads come on. His coverage skills have caused some to wander aloud on social media.

Neal in Atlanta was a fast-moving box safety who made players pay for venturing into the middle of the defense. In Dallas, he is a nice depth piece that could become a hybrid or spy on defense when matching up against extremely mobile quarterbacks.

The issue with Neal is he has been habitually picked on by these quarterbacks whenever he is in coverage which is very odd to me. A former safety who is struggling to cover the seam sounds more like a comfortability issue rather than a lack of athleticism.

The red flag that pops up when I put him in that category is Dan Quinn has been his defensive coach since his arrival to the NFL. Neal should know all the nuances of this defense yet his early camp struggles are very concerning to me.

The team signed Neal to a three-year deal which has two voidable years after this season essentially making it a one-year trial. The problem with Neal is that he would have a dead cap hit of $1 million with only $1 million in cap savings if he were to be released.

Neal isn’t close to being released yet as it is very common for players to be bad practice players yet make big impacts during the game. QB1 Dak Prescott is a prime example of that statement.

If Neal can show his worth during preseason games then it would be no harm no foul but if he ends up struggling, I would have to ponder the possibility of Keanu Neal becoming the Ha Ha Clinton-Dix of this year’s training camp.

Clinton-Dix was released during training camp last season and Neal could become the next casualty of what is starting to become a common and yearly thing. What I don’t want is for this team to keep a player on this roster simply because he has a big name.

I hate to bring up the past but defensive tackle Dontari Poe is a great example of what I don’t want this coaching staff to go through again. Fired Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan probably should have been relieved mid-season yet his close relationship to the head coach allowed him to save face.

Dontari Poe was clearly a declining player yet the defensive staff continued to trot him out there which probably hurt this defense more than he helped. I don’t mean to criticize Poe but every player at some time eventually knows their time in NFL has passed them by.

Could Quinn be blinded by what Neal has done for him in the past? The New England Patriots are known for being a cutthroat football team. They would rather cut a guy too early rather than too late. That philosophy is bad for relationships yet great for the team.

The Dallas Cowboys have to be realistic and impartial when deciding if Neal is worth keeping on this roster. They also have to have the players’ future in mind when having these talks. If the team knows he isn’t going to make the roster, they have to give him enough time to find a new home before the season starts.

I hope Neal can bounce back and become a productive member of this defense but Keanu Neal might become the latest casualty in a long line of failed free-agent signings.