4 Cowboys players that have disappointed so far in training camp
By Randy Gurzi
The Dallas Cowboys have had a lot of highs and lows during training camp this year. Several players have been standing out for their impressive play — especially some of the younger receivers who are being thrown into the action due to Michael Gallup and James Washington being sidelined.
That doesn’t mean every player has been rising to the occasion when given the opportunity, though. Here, we look at four players who haven’t been living up to expectations during camp — starting with a kicker who they hoped would be their next Dan Bailey.
4 Cowboys players that have disappointed so far in training camp
4. Jonathan Garibay, K
When the Cowboys elected to move on from Greg Zuerlein, there was a sigh of relief among the fan base. The veteran kicker did come through in some huge moments for Dallas, but he also missed an awful lot of easy kicks.
With him gone (although they did try and retain Greg the Leg at a cheaper rate before he bolted for the Jets), Dallas was hopeful that Jonathan Garibay could be the guy. An undrafted kicker out of Texas Tech, Garibay made some huge kicks in his collegiate career.
Unfortunately, he’s been off for much of the start of camp. The rookie had several misses early, including one in what they called their “mojo moment.”
Cowboys’ first Mojo Moment ends with a missed Jonathan Garibay field goal pic.twitter.com/m5G5ypr1Yg
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 1, 2022
Shortly after Garibay missed this kick, his competition — Lirim Hajrullahu — came in and knocked his attempt through the uprights.
The good news for the rookie is that things shifted as Hajrullahu missed the majority of his tries on Tuesday while Garibay was good on all but two. Both were dealing with some serious wind, but the improvement was nice to see. The roller coaster continued throughout the week as one would struggle while the other improved — only to flip flop the next day.
Dallas knew when they went with two inexperienced players, that there could be some issues. Allowing them time to work out the kinks will be vital. However, what once seemed to be Garibay’s job to lose has quickly become an open competition with no clear leader at the moment.