Cowboys Cut Candidate: Neville Gallimore Out After Mazi Smith Pick?
The Dallas Cowboys made beefing up their interior defensive line a goal this offseason, which they followed through on by drafting Michigan's Mazi Smith with the No. 26 overall pick.
With the ex-Wolverine becoming the first defensive tackle taken by the Cowboys in the first round since Russell Maryland in 1991, questions have arisen about the status of Neville Gallimore. The former third-round pick from Oklahoma was viewed as a "steal" for the Cowboys on Day 2 of the 2020 draft. But since then, the initial excitement has faded as he's barely featured in the rotation at defensive tackle.
This led to a recent article from Bleacher Report naming Gallimore a "cut candidate" for the Cowboys. Additionally, Bleacher Reports writes that the selection of Smith "might have" raised "internal alarms" for fellow defensive tackles on the roster. ... At the same time, noting that Gallimore saw a 40-percent decrease in snaps this past season.
Here's the centerpiece of any debate that will ensue inside The Star: What would the Cowboys gain by letting Gallimore go any time soon? Dallas would save $2.5 million in cap space, so if at some point that relatively small amount of money is needed to better the team? Gallimore - if he is performing poorly at OTAs or in camp - might be a bubble candidate.
But is that enough money savings to make the Cowboys cut a player heading into the last year of his rookie deal that has him presently taking up literally 1 percent of the cap?
The upside to keeping the ex-Sooner on the roster - again, assuming he can perform - is that he is cheap. Is there an upside to saying goodbye to him? Only this: Mazi is here. Osa Odighizuwa is viewed as a budding star. Johnathan Hankins was brough back as a reliable vet. And young players like Chauncey Golston and Quinton Bohanna join Gallimore as guys who are going to have to work themselves up from the back end of the roster.
What usually happens here, especially in the case of a Cowboys team that likes to hoard D-linemen? An injury. A stash. And a continuation of trying to avoid shedding their cheaper contracts.
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