The Dallas Cowboys have had several questions to answer after another late-game collapse, but Rashan Gary's mistake against the Arizona Cardinals has become a major talking point.
Dallas had a chance to force a crucial fourth down and make the Cardinals work for every remaining yard. Instead, a penalty gave Arizona a fresh set of downs and helped keep its comeback alive.
Now, fans are asking whether Gary should remain part of the Cowboys' plans.
Gary's penalty came with Dallas leading 27-17 and 2:23 remaining in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game.
The Cowboys had forced an incompletion on third-and-10 against quarterback Gardner Minshew. Instead of bringing up fourth down, Gary was flagged for a
helmet-to-helmet hit, giving Arizona an automatic first down and 15 additional yards.
The Cardinals used the extended drive to score before completing their comeback in a 33-30 overtime win.
Former NFL linebacker Christian C. Sam shared the clip on X and questioned the decision to blame defensive coordinator Christian Parker for the play.
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Sam captioned the video, "Putting his hands up after the fact as if he didn't just HEAD BUTT the QB, 3&11 btw on an incompletion. But let's blame CP."
Dallas analyst Bob Sturm also criticized Gary's lack of discipline. He wrote , "This is so brutally stupid I cannot properly express. They were facing a 4th and 11 if he doesn't short circuit. Definitely would consider a strong statement if I was running this thing."
Fans soon began calling for the Cowboys to release the linebacker.
One commenter wrote , "Rashan Gary is the worst player on defense and that says a lot with (Daron) Bland…"
Another demanded immediate action, posting , "Somebody should cut him this morning. Make a statement."
The frustration also comes from Gary's limited production this season. Through eight games, he has recorded 19 tackles, one sack, and one tackle for loss. Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys are sitting last on the PFN NFL Defense Impact Metric %20assigns,red%20zone%20and%20third%20downs.), showing their struggles despite the offseason expectations.
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One fan argued that Gary's struggles had gone on too long, writing , "Any legitimate franchise would've cut Gary weeks ago. Dude is a constant net negative. Can't remember one impact play he's made for us."
Others viewed the situation as a test of Dallas' standards.
One fan posted , "This is the type of stuff a player should be demoted for if not cut to set the standard and build a no-nonsense culture."
Another acknowledged the wider roster problems, writing , "Plenty of blame to go around. 7 should be cut. Been terrible all year. But Parker is not ready. And not shown a single sign he ever will be."
The Landry Shift summed up the impact of the penalty, writing , "You can make a case that this play cost them the game."
Despite the calls for his release, Gary has not been cut. His contract also makes an immediate move costly, with a $13.2 million guaranteed signing bonus creating a significant dead-cap hit.
Jerry Jones recently defended Gary's adjustment to Dallas' new defensive scheme, so a reduction in playing time may be more realistic than an outright release.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
