Cowboys Find No Trade Partners, So They Dump Ellis

As Calvin Watkins reported first at the FanHouse a couple weeks ago, the Cowboys were looking to trade outside linebacker Greg Ellis.

But as you would expect, the market for 33-year-old outside linebackers/defensive ends with a $6 million contract is pretty small. So rather than pay his $4million-plus base salary, the Cowboys released him on Tuesday. The move will save the team more than $4 million on the salary cap.


Dallas has been trying to replace Ellis for several years. They drafted Anthony Spencer two years ago with the idea of grooming him to take over and now they've drafted two more outside linebackers -- Victor Butler and Brandon Williams -- to groom behind Spencer and DeMarcus Ware.

But this could work out pretty well for Ellis too. He fits better as a defensive end, but he can play either outside linebacker or defensive end, and he immediately becomes one of the better defensive ends available in free agency.