FRISCO, Texas _ The Dallas Cowboys seemingly did the inevitable on Tuesday with the decision to release receiver Allen Hurns.
Signed to a two-year, $11 million contract to be the lead dog on the committee to replace Dez Bryant last season, Hurns was a disappointment in 2018, catching just 20 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns.
He then suffered a gruesome fractured ankle in the wild-card playoff victory against the Seattle Seahawks.
With Hurns set to make $4 million in base salary and carrying a $6.2 million cap figure for 2019, the numbers didn't fit for him to return, sans a massive pay cut.
Hurns worked hard to return from the injury and was ready to go for training camp. The Cowboys asked him to take a pay cut but he refused.
And even then, there was the matter of him being a progress stopper, considering that Hurns was set to be no more than the fourth or fifth receiver on the pecking order behind the top three of Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and Randall Cobb.
That he had no impact on specials teams like Noah Brown and Tavon Austin and the presence of young, cheaper options like Cedrick Wilson and rookie undrafted free agent Jon'vea Johnson likely sealed his fate.
The move cleared $5 million in cap space for the Cowboys.
The Cowboys could use the open spot to sign South Dakota State quarterback Taryn Christion.
The team worked out Christion a few weeks ago and heavily considering adding a fourth quarterback to the roster before training camp.
Christion was released by the Seattle Seahawks after rookie minicamp.
A two-year starter in the FCS for South Dakota State, Christion completed 57.9% of his passes for 3,020 yards and 32 touchdowns against eight interceptions in 13 games last season.
