Cowboys' Jerry Jones discusses Taco Charlton's release: 'He just wilted'

Alexis Mansanarez

Cowboys' Jerry Jones discusses Taco Charlton's release: 'He just wilted' image

Taco Charlton is expected to face his old team Sunday when the Dolphins take on the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.

Charlton, who Dallas selected 28th overall in the 2017 draft, was released from the team Wednesday and was quickly picked up by Miami the following day.

Jerry Jones discussed what went into the Cowboys' decision to move on from the defensive end on local radio station 105.3 The FAN ahead of the Week 3 matchup.

"I think we always got to realize on the motivation — we depend on motivation," Jones said. "The game does. ... You got to be unique to even play in the NFL (from a) talent standpoint. But still, it requires a really extended motivation. When you're on the defensive line, it asks more from you than the other positions in terms of being motivated, in terms of fighting through. Just the nature of the activity on the defensive line suggests fighting through.

"It's usually fighting through pain. It's usually fighting through really serious obstacles with all those big offensive linemen. And so you have to be eating raw meat to be a defensive lineman in my mind." 

Jones then became critical of Charlton's temperament.

"You get there a lot of different ways. Individuals do it a lot of different ways," he added. "For whatever the reason, that area of Taco — it has much to do with his own disappointment, his own feeling he can do better. I've seen him do a rep at practice. Saw it this year in training camp. And when he didn't get there, he just wilted. It just looked like it impacted everything he was going to do for the rest of the practice. You say 'well I can correct that' if you're a coach or 'I can correct that' if you're management. But on the other hand, you got to get it done. Well, how it is done, how he deals with that, that can be in the future. Tom Landry used to say 'don't ever give up on a defensive lineman for three years.'" 

The Cowboys had been trying to move the defensive end, which led to him tweeting, and then deleting, "Free me," at the start of the week.

Charlton has struggled over the past two seasons with Dallas and hasn't had a sack since Week 2 in 2018. He has only four sacks in 27 appearances. 

 

Alexis Mansanarez