Dallas Cowboys Release Veteran Kicker Dan Bailey in Surprising Cut Day Decision

The Dallas Cowboys have now cut ties with two former Oklahoma State standouts in one offseason.

Months after ending the Dez Bryant era, the franchise announced ahead of the Saturday 4 p.m. deadline to cut the preseason roster to 53 players that it has waived veteran kicker Dan Bailey. The Cowboys will instead carry Brett Maher as its starting kicker into the 2018-19 season.

Maher, a 28-year-old vet, has not kicked in an NFL regular season game in his career, but did make a 57-yarder in a preseason game last week.

Financial ramifications of Dan Bailey release: club doesn't have to pay his base salary of $3.4 million. Now, a look at a few more numbers:
Dan Bailey career FGs in NFL: 186-of 211
Brett Maher career FGs in NFL: 0-of-0
Maher did hit 107-of-137 FGs in Canada over last 4 seasons.

— David Moore (@DavidMooreDMN) September 1, 2018

Bailey is the best kicker in Dallas Cowboys history. He holds the team record for field goals in a career, and ranks second all time in accuracy in NFL history.

#KickerNews usually doesn’t move the needle, even in the NFL, but Bailey being cut caught plenty of people off guard.

The #Cowboys released veteran K Dan Bailey, which is a stunner even though it’s kicker news.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 1, 2018

Wow. Dez Bryant, Jason Witten and now Dan Bailey. All gone in one offseason.

— David Helman (@HelmanDC) September 1, 2018

Dallas cutting Dan Bailey is a shocker.

— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) September 1, 2018

So that 57 yard field goal by Maher against the Texans meant more than we thought it did….Dan Bailey cut…Wow

— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) September 1, 2018

Bailey suffered a groin injury midseason last year. While he returned for the final five games, he missed two extra points — the only two of his career — and went 5 of 8 on field goal attempts down the stretch.