It's official, Greg Ellis is out as a member of America's Team.
Team owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday during Organized Team Activities (OTAs) that Ellis would be traded or released. Jones said the decision came after a meeting with Ellis on Tuesday morning.
Ellis, 33, also has a recent off-season history of being unhappy with his role. He asked repeatedly for a trade or release after he was switched from defensive end to linebacker in Bill Parcells' 3-4 defense.
Ellis was sent home from practice last week after working with the first team unit during previous practices. As expected, Ellis was not in attendance at Tuesday's OTA.
If they release Ellis outright, the team will save $4.15 million against the cap in 2009. If traded, more than $5 million could come off the cap since the Cowboys would not be required to pay a $1.5 million bonus. This may be crucial, considering that the team is still in long term negotiations with Demarcus Ware, on what will no doubt be a leviathan deal.
Ellis has been with the team since his rookie season in 1998 when he was a first round pick out of North Carolina. He had eight sacks last year, and has 77 in his career. His best season was 2007, when he came back from injury to record 12½ sacks and win the NFL comeback player of the year award.
Read more on Tuesday's OTAs in Matt Barrie's Live Blog.
