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Cowboys Cut 'F******' Brett Maher - Their Only Kicker - Before Week 1; Here’s Why

Why did the Cowboys once cut their only kicker? Because once waived, nobody was going to claim Brett Maher ... right?

SI Editorial

TAMPA - The roster, for about 24 hours before Week 1, was going to have a weird hole in it.

It might now about to have another hole.

The Dallas Cowboys made a positive decision with Brett Maher, but they still cut him at the start of the year as part of the roster slide to 53.

And now, in what figures to be a Dallas win in this Wild Card playoff game at Tampa - the Cowboys are dominating Tom Brady's Bucs 24-0 near the end of the third quarter - Dallas has another Maher decision to make. 

And this one might not be positive.

Maher has missed all four of his PAT tries here, causing a frustrated Dak Prescott to finally yell, "Go for f***** 2!''

This is all too bad, because Maher has had a fine season .. 

Here’s why:

The Cowboys waived kicker Lirim Hajrullahu on Tuesday, leaving Maher as the only kicker on the roster going into the final 53-man roster cutdown day on Tuesday.

Coach Mike McCarthy endorsed Maher after the preseason win Friday against the Seattle Seahawks. Maher performed well enough … but could still get cut.

And then re-signed.

Let's walk through this … 

With the future of their kicking game looking shaky at best, Dallas signed ex-Cowboy Maher after hosting him for a workout earlier this month. The 32-year-old has plenty of experience kicking in Big D.

Maher spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons with Dallas. In his first tour of duty with the Cowboys, Maher made 74.2% of his field goal tries and 98.6% of his point-after attempts. Last season, Maher kicked for the New Orleans Saints, where he made a career-high 88.9% of his field goal attempts and 83.3% of his point-after attempts in eight games.

Though Maher has four of the five longest-made field goals in Cowboys history [including a 63-yard kick against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019], he has also struggled with his mid-range accuracy. Throughout his career, he has made 20 of his 25 career field goal attempts from 30-39 yards and 12 of his 20 attempts from 40-49 yards.

So in September, Dallas used a bit of roster manipulation during final cuts. Maher is waived, to be re-signed following the cutdown deadline.

But this time? If the kicker is now waived after the Cowboys get home, nobody is going to claim Brett Maher ... right?

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