The Dallas Cowboys have officially given up on former Texas Tech kicker Jonathan Garibay.
He was cut Tuesday so the team could bring back former Cowboys kicker Brett Maher to compete with Lirim Hajrullaha for the remainder of training camp.
Maher won a tryout against Cole Murphy, Matt Ammendola and J.J. Molson before practice Tuesday.
Maher was with the Cowboys in 2018 and 2019, making 29-of-36 kicks (80.6 %) the first year before falling off a cliff with just 20-of-30 (66.7%) in his second year.
He did have a franchise-record 63-yarder during the 2019 season.
Maher was not on a team in 2020 but he returned to make 16-of-18 kicks for the New Orleans Saints in 2021.
The move with Maher was more an indictment of Garibay.
The Cowboys targeted the undrafted rookie to be the kicker in 2022 following the decision to let the disappointing Greg Zuerlein go after the 2021 season .
Garibay was the only kicker in OTAs and minicamp. The team brought in Hajrullahu to provide some veteran competition in training camp.
Garibay has had trouble making kicks since the start of camp.
Hajrullaha has been a little better but considering the importance of the kicking game to their hopes for the season, the Cowboys felt they had to do something.
Too many games are decided on the last possession.
“It’s very important. You’re going to be in at least 8-10 games that come down to the last series,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “The 2-minute drill, that’s what the stats show you: playoff football it was every game except one last year. That’s the difference between going to the Super Bowl and not going to the Super Bowl. It’s been that way for quite some time in playoff football. So we’re just trying to maximize our time and focus in that space.”
