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12:31 p.m. Tuesday
By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
The Cowboys have decided to end their relationship with outside linebacker Greg Ellis.
Ellis and owner and general manager Jerry Jones met Tuesday morning. While a definitive time frame has not been set, Jones said Ellis will play elsewhere in 2009.
Ellis was told to stay home from organized team activities last Thursday as the club considered its options.
If Ellis is cut, the move frees up $4.15 million against this year’s salary cap, however, the team remains on the hook for a $1.5 million guarantee that was put in Ellis’ contract in 2007. If Ellis signs with another team, the Cowboys would have to make up the difference if he does not earn $1.5 million from his new employer.
Ellis had 77 sacks in 11 seasons with the Cowboys, but he will forever be linked with Randy Moss after the Cowboys chose to pass on the receiver in the first round of the 1998 draft.
Ellis’ best season came in 2007, when he made the Pro Bowl after posting a career-best 12.5 sacks despite missing the first three games recovering from a torn Achilles’ tendon.
A defensive end by trade, Ellis moved to outside linebacker in 2006 with some trepidation. He was upset with a contract he signed during the 2003 season, and he believed the Cowboys were looking to replace him, first with the selection of Bobby Carpenter in 2006 and Anthony Spencer in 2007. Spencer will replace Ellis as the starter opposite DeMarcus Ware.
Despite his complaints, Ellis remained a popular figure in the locker room and was the team’s representative to the NFL Players Association. In 162 regular-season games, he was credited with 634 tackles, 77 sacks, 36 tackles for loss, 197 pressures, 51 pass breakups and 21 forced fumbles.
He led the Cowboys in sacks six times in his career, which is the second most in club history to Harvey Martin (seven).
By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
The Cowboys have decided to end their relationship with outside linebacker Greg Ellis.
Ellis and owner and general manager Jerry Jones met Tuesday morning. While a definitive time frame has not been set, Jones said Ellis will play elsewhere in 2009.
Ellis was told to stay home from organized team activities last Thursday as the club considered its options.
If Ellis is cut, the move frees up $4.15 million against this year’s salary cap, however, the team remains on the hook for a $1.5 million guarantee that was put in Ellis’ contract in 2007. If Ellis signs with another team, the Cowboys would have to make up the difference if he does not earn $1.5 million from his new employer.
Ellis had 77 sacks in 11 seasons with the Cowboys, but he will forever be linked with Randy Moss after the Cowboys chose to pass on the receiver in the first round of the 1998 draft.
Ellis’ best season came in 2007, when he made the Pro Bowl after posting a career-best 12.5 sacks despite missing the first three games recovering from a torn Achilles’ tendon.
A defensive end by trade, Ellis moved to outside linebacker in 2006 with some trepidation. He was upset with a contract he signed during the 2003 season, and he believed the Cowboys were looking to replace him, first with the selection of Bobby Carpenter in 2006 and Anthony Spencer in 2007. Spencer will replace Ellis as the starter opposite DeMarcus Ware.
Despite his complaints, Ellis remained a popular figure in the locker room and was the team’s representative to the NFL Players Association. In 162 regular-season games, he was credited with 634 tackles, 77 sacks, 36 tackles for loss, 197 pressures, 51 pass breakups and 21 forced fumbles.
He led the Cowboys in sacks six times in his career, which is the second most in club history to Harvey Martin (seven).
