FRISCO, Texas – It certainly seems like this situation with Taco Charlton is coming to a head.
Charlton's future in Dallas has been a talking point since the regular season started, as the Cowboys have opted to make him a healthy inactive in each of the first two games of the year. That has prompted plenty of speculation that the team might try to trade him, or perhaps even cut him outright – an issue that Cowboys officials have declined to comment on.
Speaking on 105.3 FM The Fan on Monday afternoon, Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones said the decision to sit Charlton has mainly been about the role he plays on the defense.
"Some of it is just flexibility, position flex when you're talking about the backup role," Jones said. "Certainly that's where Taco is and I think our feeling has been that Joe Jackson can play both sides. We've been having Taco more one-sided. And, so, it's just a matter of finding the right time and place to get that going again."
Part of the fun of social media is that anyone can engage in the conversation, and in this case that includes Charlton himself. Jones' quote was transcribed on Twitter, where Charlton offered his perspective on the situation.
He has since deleted the tweet, but Charlton's response to the quote was telling:
The third-year defensive end offered one more response to the situation, which was to say that it's a last resort to air dirty laundry on social media.
Asked about it Monday evening, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett didn't have much to say. Garrett reiterated, as he has several times, that Charlton is one of several players on the Cowboys' roster competing to be active on game day. He was also asked if it bothered him that one of his players would express his frustrations on social media.
"Yeah, I really don't spend much time on social media," he said.
It's hard to say what, if anything, all of this means. It's evident that there's a strained relationship between Charlton and the Cowboys. It's evident that Charlton wants an opportunity to get onto the field – whether it's here or in another NFL city.
As of right now, there's no movement to speak of. But it sure looks like Charlton is trying to force the Cowboys' hand.
