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Dan Bailey

Cowboys Cut K Dan Bailey

September 1st, 2018 at 3:07pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Cowboys have released kicker Dan Bailey, tweets Tom Pelissero of NFL.com. Bailey has been the Cowboys’ kicker for the last seven years, so the move is a stunner.

With Bailey out of the picture, the Cowboys will move forward with Nebraska product Brett Maher as their place kicker. Maher nailed a 57-yard field goal against the Texans the other night, and that moment may have influenced the Cowboys’ final decision.

Bailey, 30, nailed just 75% of his field goal tries last year, a career low. On the whole, however, he’s been outstanding for Dallas. In 2015, he led the league with a 93.8% field goal completion percentage. He’s also nailed 276 of 278 career extra point tries.

As a vested veteran, Bailey will hit the open market immediately without having to go through waivers.

NFC Notes: Redskins, Cowboys, Eagles

October 28th, 2017 at 10:07am CST by Ben Levine

The Redskins placed linebacker Mason Foster on the injured reserve yesterday, and the veteran certainly isn’t happy with the move. In a series of tweets earlier this morning, Foster noted that he had been “done dirty” by the organization.

“All I know is [former GM] Scot [McCloughan] wouldn’t have done me like that,” Foster wrote (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com). “I have played 3 weeks with a completely torn labrum. Lay everything on the line for someone just to have that same person slap you in the face. Business is business tho right. They don’t care about us.”

As the writer notes, Foster is set to be a free agent following the season, and it sounds like the veteran could be looking for a new home. In five games this season, the former third-rounder compiled 31 tackles. 0.5 sacks, and one interception.

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the NFC…

  • The Cowboys promoted tight end Blake Jarwin from the practice squad earlier this week. ESPN.com’s Todd Archer writes that part of the organization’s motivation for making the move had to do with the interest Jarwin was garnering from around the NFL, particularly from the Eagles.
  • The Eagles may be in the hunt for some offensive line help, but Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com warns (via Twitter) that the team might not want to acquire an expensive player. After all, the writer believes the team is focused on rolling their current cap space over to the offseason, and trading for a pricey lineman could compromise that future financial flexibility.
  • Dan Bailey may be out for a while. Cowboys Director of Player Personnel Stephen Jones told Clarence Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram that the veteran kicker is expected to miss at least four games (Twitter link). The 29-year-old was perfect on field goal and extra point attempts this season.
  • Speaking of kickers, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press has details on Matt Prater‘s three-year extension with the Lions. The deal includes a $3.6MM signing bonus and $5MM in guaranteed money, raising his 2017 cap hit to $5.225MM. The contract hits a $2.7MM base salary in 2020.

Cowboys To Sign K Mike Nugent

October 24th, 2017 at 2:07pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys are signing kicker Mike Nugent, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Nugent will step in for the injured Dan Bailey. Mike Nugent (Vertical)

A groin injury took Bailey out of action on Sunday, forcing Dallas to use defensive back Jeff Heath as their placekicker. Of course, that wasn’t sustainable, so Dallas auditioned Nugent, Jason Myers, Sam Irwin-Hill, and Younghoe Koo for the role. Nugent came out on top, and he’ll be the team’s stand in starting with Sunday’s game against the Redskins.

There is no timetable for Bailey’s return – all we know right now is that he is expected to miss several weeks of action. The 29-year-old has nailed 89.9% of his field goals, so the bar will be set pretty high for Nugent.

Nugent has been up and down over the course of his career with the Jets and Bengals, but he does have experience with 153 appearances over his 12-year NFL career. The former second-round pick has been looking for work all fall after losing the Giants’ kicking competition to Aldrick Rosas in the summer. He has made 80.8% of his field goals and 96.9% of his extra points since entering the league in 2005. The 35-year-old seemingly took a step back in 2016, making only 79.3% of field goals and a career-low 79.3% of XPs.

Cowboys Working Out Kickers

October 23rd, 2017 at 11:33am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Cowboys had to resort to using defensive back Jeff Heath as their placekicker on Sunday after incumbent Dan Bailey went down with a groin injury, but the club won’t ask Heath to play the role of kicker any longer. Dallas is working out free agent kickers Mike Nugent, Jason Myers, Sam Irwin-Hill, and Younghoe Koo, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).Younghoe Koo (Vertical)

Bailey is expected to miss several weeks after sustaining a groin strain, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Replacing the 29-year-old certainly won’t be easy, as Bailey owns a 89.9% field goal success rate for his career, and hasn’t missed a field goal or an extra point this season. The Cowboys have garnered 4.1 points of field position from Bailey’s work on field goals and extra points, good for seventh in the NFL per Football Outsiders.

Nugent is — by far — the most experienced of the kickers Dallas is working out, as he’s appeared in 153 games during his 12-year NFL career. He lost out to Aldrick Rosas in the Giants’ kicking battle this summer. Myers and Koo, meanwhile, were released this season after struggling with the Jaguars and Chargers, respectively. Irwin-Hill has never appeared in an NFL game, but he did spend the summer in Cowboys’ camp.

Injury Notes: Bailey, Foster, Wallace, Spence

October 22nd, 2017 at 9:33pm CST by GregGoldstein

It was a dominant win for the Cowboys in San Francisco this afternoon, but the team did not escape the contest with their special teams intact. Kicker Dan Bailey was forced out of the game with a groin injury, according to the Dallas News. Bailey was reported to have suffered the injury in warmups, but it remains to be seen whether the news will force Dallas to bring in another kicker. In one of the more entertaining aspects of this week’s action, safety Jeff Heath was the emergency fill-in for today’s game, which included him clunking an extra point off the pole and through the uprights.

  • It’s been a trying rookie season for 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster so far. After missing a few games already with an ankle injury he suffered earlier in the season, the former Alabama defender was back on the sidelines after suffering an apparent rib injury in the third quarter. Foster seemed unsure of what was to come following the game.“I really don’t know, I’ve got to come in here (get an) MRI and treatment and just see what he doctors say about it. If they clear me, they clear me. If they don’t, they don’t,” he told Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. It’s worth noting that Foster did return to the game initially, but was later taken out again for X-Rays. Barrows did add that Foster was cleared to return later in the fourth quarter by team doctors, but the coaches weren’t comfortable letting him back on the field at the end of a blowout.
  • The Ravens suffered another blow to their depleted wide receiver corps in today’s game vs. the Vikings when Mike Wallace was diagnosed with a concussion after taking a big hit on a pass over the middle of the field. However, Wallace was pleading to play following the hit, explains Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. The 31 year-old receiver was seen walking up-and-down the sideline trying to convince coaches to put him back in the game. However, head coach John Harbaugh said that Wallace staying out of the game “was a done deal”, tells Zrebiec. The Ravens play on Thursday next week, so Wallace would need to pass all the concussion protocol rather quickly in order to suit up. If not, the Ravens have just Michael Campanero, Chris Moore and Griff Whalen remaining on the depth chart.
  • Bucs rookie pass rusher Noah Spence left today’s contest with an apparent shoulder injury, reports Josh Reed of WIVB.com (Twitter Link). Reed passes along that Spence will likely require surgery and is probable to miss an extended period of time. He later added onto the initial report stating there is concern that the 2017 second round pick may end up missing the rest of the season. In his first six professional games, the linebacker had just nine tackles, including one strip sack.

Cowboys Won’t Sign Kicker This Week

October 8th, 2016 at 2:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys worked out Kai Forbath, Robbie Gould and Aldrick Rosas on Friday in case Dan Bailey could not prove able in time for Sunday’s Week 5 tilt. But the team will pass on signing one of them after Bailey practiced Friday, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.

Bailey made it through practice on Friday without issues after missing Wednesday and Thursday’s sessions with a back injury, one that he complained about during pregame last week.

So, Dallas evidently feels comfortable enough this injury won’t hinder Bailey’s chances of making it through the game against the Bengals without issue and will avoid cutting a fringe backup to sign a free agent emergency kicker.

Instead, the Cowboys’ emergency option could be safety Jeff Heath, whom the team used as a kicker in practice this week. The backup safety was a high school kicker who received soccer scholarship offers before attending Saginaw Valley State (Mich.) to play football.

Bailey’s kicked for the Cowboys since 2011. The 28-year-old is 8-for-10 on field goals this season and hasn’t missed an extra point. Bailey connected on a career-best 93.8 percent of his field goals in 2015. He’s made at least 93 percent in three of his five seasons. After complaining of the back issue, however, Bailey did miss a 47-yarder against the 49ers but made a 22-yard try in the fourth quarter.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC East Notes: Manziel, McBride, Cowboys

October 13th, 2014 at 2:58pm CST by Zachary Links

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says he’s done discussing his team’s decision to pass on Johnny Manziel in the 2014 draft, writes Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com. “Well, I don’t know how that’s relevant,” Jones said. “I’m really not so sure I’m ready to admit a mis-thought. It is not relevant, and I really have had some very stern, succinct instructions not to mention Johnny anymore from people who count, let me put it like that.” More out of the AFC and NFC East..

  • Giants coach Tom Coughlin told reporters that cornerback Trumaine McBride will undergo thumb surgery, according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). Coughlin wouldn’t confirm that McBride is done for the year, but thumb surgery would likely end his season. With Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie still healing up, the Giants now have a tough situation at corner.
  • After becoming the most accurate kicker in NFL history on Sunday, Dan Bailey said that he’s hoping to keep it up for a long, long time, writes Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News. “Honestly, I want to play another 10-plus years, so hopefully I’ll be able to do that,” the Cowboys kicker said. “With that being said, there’s plenty of more kicks to make and there’s probably going to be some misses in there too. Realistically, it’s just not that big of deal right now.”
  • After yesterday’s feel-good win, Jones cautioned not to expect any new deals getting hammered out for Cowboys players right away, tweets Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com. Jones also pumped the brakes on an extension for coach Jason Garrett.
  • After Victor Cruz went down with a likely season-ending injury last night, Giants rookie receiver Odell Beckham Jr. told him that he’ll step up in his absence. “I said, ‘Bro, I got you,’” Beckham said, according to Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News. “Because he’s had me since Day One. That’s the only thing that I feel like is the right thing to do is play for him.” The Giants will need the LSU product to do just that. Even though Big Blue has nearly $3MM in cap space, there aren’t any notable receiving options waiting on a phone call.
  • Eagles quarterback Matt Barkley has left CAA Sports in favor of Dave Dunn of Athletes First, according to Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal (on Twitter).

NFC Notes: Peterson, Packers, 49ers, Bailey

January 24th, 2014 at 4:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Adrian Peterson mused last month about the possibility of finishing his NFL career in his home state of Texas, but if that comes to fruition, it won’t be anytime soon, according to Vikings GM Rick Spielman. In a conversation with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Spielman shut down any Peterson trade rumors before they began.

“Adrian’s not going anywhere,” Spielman said. “We have him under contract, he is the face of our franchise, he is a blue-chip player, and we have a new coaching staff coming into place, and you know, [we’re] very excited about what’s coming ahead for us.”

Let’s round up a few more Friday notes from around the NFC…

  • Heading into the offseason, the Packers figure to be seeking an outside linebacker to play opposite Clay Matthews in the team’s 3-4 scheme, writes Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  • The 49ers already have 11 picks in hand for May’s draft, and expect to add one more compensatory pick at the end of the third or fourth round, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.
  • Adding a veteran safety appears to be a goal for the Falcons this offseason, as Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com outlines.
  • While the Bears will likely be eyeing defensive tackles in May’s draft, their specific targets will depend on their defensive scheme, says Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times, citing a few possible options for the club.
  • Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com has the financial breakdown on Dan Bailey‘s new seven-year deal with the Cowboys, which includes a cap number of $1.7MM for 2014.
  • A number of NFC players saw their 2014 base salaries escalate or de-escalate based on their 2013 playing time, and Brian McIntyre provides the details on a handful of them in a series of several tweets.

Extra Points: Bailey, Titans, Saints, Cards

January 23rd, 2014 at 10:14pm CST by Zachary Links

They say that kickers don’t get any respect, but the Cowboys know how important a reliable leg can be. Kicker Dan Bailey got a six-year deal from Dallas earlier this week and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (via Twitter) has the goods. The deal, starting in 2015, can be worth $22.5MM in total including a $4MM signing bonus and $7.5MM in guaranteed money. More from around the NFL..

  • The Titans are likely to target the tackle position in the 2014 draft, writes John Glennon of The Tennessean. The Titans could part ways with veteran right tackle David Stewart, a nine-year veteran who has missed a combined eight games over the past two years and is due a $6.4MM salary. Even if they keep him, they could still fortify the position.
  • Saints GM Mickey Loomis has some tough decisions to make in the offseason, writes Katherine Terrell of the Times-Picayune. For starters, he’ll have to decide the fates of longtime Saints such as safety Roman Harper ($5.9MM cap hit in 2014) and linebackers Will Smith ($13.9MM) and Jonathan Vilma (free agent in 2014).
  • The Cardinals announced that they have promoted Terry McDonough to vice president of player personnel. He replaces Jason Licht, the new Buccaneers GM.
  • Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com (video link) analyzed Terrell Suggs‘ contract situation with the Ravens.