Cowboys announce second round of roster cuts, including kicker Lirim Hajrullahu

Another round of preseason cuts has come and gone for the Dallas Cowboys. Last Tuesday, the team went from 90 to 85 players by injury waiving or cutting WR Ty Fryfogle, TE Ian Bunting, FB Ryan Nall, CB Kyron Brown, and DL Austin Faoliu.

This Tuesday, the Cowboys waived or waived-injured another five players to take their roster from 85 to 80.

The biggest surprise in the second round of cuts was the decision to waive kicker Lirim Hajrullahu. The Cowboys kicking position has been an issue since Greg Zuerlein held the role last season. However, instead of being proactive about getting a solid kicker to fill the void of Greg the Leg being gone, the front office chose to wait and sign an undrafted free agent.

We all know how that went. Jonathan Garibay had the role all but won and he lost it. The Cowboys initially brought in veteran CFL kicker Lirim Hajrullahu as more of an insurance piece rather than legitimate competition. It turns out neither kicker was good, but Hajrullahu was good enough that Garibay got the boot before the preseason even started.

That led to the Cowboys bringing in a non-fan favorite in former Dallas kicker Brett Maher to compete with the veteran. Cowboys fans were not thrilled with the choice, but now Maher is the only kicker currently on the roster.

Maher has made a good chunk of his kicks during practices. However, the only field goal chance he was granted in the first two preseason games was a 61-yarder against the Chargers that he missed. It’s fair to say that was quite an unfair test.

The hope here is that Maher gets back to consistency. When he was with the Cowboys in 2018 and 2019, he got flack for his missed mid-range kicks but does have four of the five longest field goals in franchise history — one of them from 63 yards out.

Let’s take a look at the five Cowboys who got the boot on Tuesday.

The Dallas Cowboys waive another five players in the second round of roster cuts, including K Lirim Hajrullahu

Lirim Hajrullahu, K (Waived Outright): The 32-year-old has been bounced across the CFL and NFL for many years. He was also brought in last offseason to compete with Greg Zuerlein, but Zuerlein obviously won the job. Teams absolutely desperate for a kicker may try out the veteran for his services.

Christian Sam, LB (Waived/Injured): Sam was originally a sixth-round pick by the New England Patriots in 2018, but he spend that season on the IR and has yet to play in an NFL game. He spent 2021 in the USFL with the New Orleans Breakers where he had 54 tackles and an interception. He was initially signed when Devante Bond was moved to the IR with a knee issue.

Jeremy Sprinkle, TE (Reserve/Injured): The veteran tight end didn’t do much in 2021 for the Cowboys. He had three receptions for 31 yards. With rookies Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot proving themselves in the preseason and Sean McKeon vying for the TE2 spot behind Dalton Schultz, this move certainly makes sense, especially given the Achilles injury he’s been battling.

Jaquarii Roberson, WR (Waived Outright): This WR was an undrafted rookie out of Wake Forest. He finished his career second-team All-ACC and is the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards per game. Apparently, Roberson didn’t show enough to beat out names on the WR depth chart like Jalen Tolbert, Noah Brown, Dennis Houston, and Simi Fehoko.

Quandre Mosely, CB (Waived Outright): Another tale of a crowded position group. Mosely was an undrafted rookie out of Kentucky. He had an impressive 4.32-second 40-yard dash time and 36-inch vertical jump at his Pro Day. However, with Trevon Diggs, Anthony Brown, Kelvin Joseph, and Jourdan Lewis all there, Mosely just wasn’t good enough. Plus, the emergence of DaRon Bland certainly didn’t help his case.

These were the two small rounds of cuts. In just a week the Cowboys will have to cut 27 more players to reveal their 53-man roster. This Friday’s final preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks will be do or die for many players on the bubble.