Dallas Cowboys: Why S George Iloka may not be a possibility

The Dallas Cowboys are in desperate need for help at safety and the Cincinnati Bengals just released veteran safety George Iloka –match made in heaven?

The Dallas Cowboys were already thin at safety so when expected starter, Xavier Woods, went down on Saturday with a fairly significant hamstring injury, the situation became borderline dire.

With Woods expected to be out between 2-4 weeks, it leaves the Dallas Cowboys with just Jeff Heath and Kavon Frazier as the only proven players. Unfortunately, both of those gentlemen have been getting their work at strong safety, not the recently vacated free safety.

The good news is right about the time we learned of the severity of Woods’ hamstring, we also learned the Cincinnati Bengals were releasing their veteran safety, George Iloka. Is this fate smiling down on the Cowboys or another pipe dream for Cowboys fans?

George Iloka

At 6’4” 224lbs, Iloka is an intimidating presence at safety. The seventh year safety out of…wait for it…Boise State…has been a reliable fixture in the Cincinnati secondary for some time now. In fact, he’s started all 16 games in four of the past five seasons.

At Boise State, Iloka played primarily deep zone safety, which is essentially the spot that Xavier Woods’ absence opens up. But with Cincinnati, Iloka started playing more strong safety, utilizing his long reach and imposing stature to incorporate man coverage and run support.

He’s proficient in both safety spots and appears to be a Top-2 safety if added to the Cowboys roster. Cincy Jungle points out, he was tested 26 times last season and only allowed opposing quarterbacks a 68.4 passer rating and 57 percent completion rating.

All in all, George Iloka is a nice well-rounded NFL safety. He’s not exactly the All Pro we’ve been looking for, but he’s clearly an upgrade over what Dallas has waiting in the wings. So why, pray tell, did the Bengals let him go?

The Problem

The guys over at Cincy Jungle are calling BS on this theory. His price tag was only $6.2 million this season and his play was up to or exceeding that annual cost. Releasing him only freed up $4.1 million. Unless this is simply to redistribute funds to re-sign more important players (like the incomparable Geno Atkins), then the real reason may be something the Bengals don’t want to admit to.

George Iloka has been a very outspoken personality over the years. While, as far as I can tell, he hasn’t kneeled himself, he has been a staunch supporter of it and has publicly backed it every step of the way.

As we know, Jerry Jones is wholeheartedly against anthem kneeling and made it very clear it has no place on the Dallas Cowboys. It should be no surprise his players have been in compliance and have largely avoided speaking out too much on the subject. It’s perfectly possible Iloka’s outspoken stance on this would be enough to keep him from serious consideration.

Obviously the Dallas Cowboys are in tough spot at safety. They wanted a starting level safety before Woods was lost, now they may be forced to keep a camp body on the Final-53 (at the expense of a more deserving player at a different position) to cover the position while Woods is out.

Since Woods was lost and Iloka was released within the same 24-hour period, it should be no wonder his name came up at The Star in Frisco. But how much they consider him may come down to the Anthem issue that’s been haunting the NFL.

George Iloka is a good player capable of solidifying the Dallas Cowboys at safety and bridging the gap between this year and Earl Thomas’ free agency in 2019. But will the Dallas Cowboys seriously consider him based on his outspoken nature regarding things in which they disagree?

• Published on 08/20/2018 at 13:00 PM
• Last updated at 08/20/2018 at 10:31 AM