4 Dallas Cowboys players we can safely call busts
By Randy Gurzi
2. Jalen Tolbert, WR
The decision to trade Amari Cooper for practically nothing was one of the worst moves Dallas has made in years. They knew it was a gamble to send him away but hoped they would get enough production from free agent addition James Washington, Michael Gallup, and rookie Jalen Tolbert to minimize the loss.
That wasn’t the case as Washington never even caught a pass before being released and Gallup was nowhere near 100 percent as he dealt with some nagging injuries while already working back from ACL surgery.
As for Tolbert, he was easily the biggest disappointment. He ended up with just two receptions for 12 yards and had a huge drop against the Giants in Week 3. But what really stood out was his penalty in Week 10 against Green Bay which wound up leading to an overtime loss.
Cowboys WR Jalen Tolbert was called for offside. The problem was not that he failed to check with the down judge. It was that he waited. Tolbert didn't look over until 11 seconds left on play clock. Snap came at nine. He moved too little, too late. Learning experience for rookie. pic.twitter.com/xlt23GbBhh
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) November 14, 2022
After one season, it’s hard to call someone a bust. And yes, there are reasons to withhold judgment on Tolbert. Having said that, he was unable to see the field despite Gallup not returning until Week 4 and Washington practically being absent all year.
Dallas leaned on Noah Brown, signed T.Y. Hilton, and even had undrafted free agent Dennis Houston ahead of him to start the season.
With all that being said, it’s hard to see Tolbert cracking the lineup in 2023 unless Dallas does absolutely nothing at the position. Given how porous it was outside of CeeDee Lamb, that’s not going to be the case which makes it hard to see Tolbert securing a role anytime soon.