IRVING – La’Roi Glover is gone. Dat Nguyen is retired. Dan Campbell, Scott Fujita and Andre Gurode will likely hit the open market Monday.

And the Cowboys are prepared to fill holes on their roster in hopes of becoming a Super Bowl contender in 2006.

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First let me say that none of this is official yet. La’Roi Glover was ‘cut’ on Thursday, but amid some speculation. Tags and the NFL brass notified us all on Friday that all cuts made on Thursday would be renegged until a conclusion was made regarding the CBA over the weekend. The trouble is that I cant truly verify anything for 100% certainty because the media has whipped itself into such a frenzy that news is hitting us all at 120 mph before we can digest it. Also, when you consider that Gurode and Campbell are free agents and therefore haven't even hit the market yet, we’re dealing with a whole bunch of nothin’ right now.

So, for the purposes of this article, we’re going to assume that what Todd Archer says is true and La’Roi really has been cut. As I've said all along, this was almost a foregone conclusion. The Cowboys’ capologists had a decision to make - keep Glover around for the cap hit and figure out a way to deal him or simply cut him and reap the immediate benefits that come with the lightened cap number. Considering the extenuating circumstances the league has created for itself with this CBA mess, the Cowboys did the right thing. With all of the teams fighting to stay under their cap number and with basically all of the attention off of the players, dealing Glover for quality prospects, players and/or draft picks seemed like an impossibility. They risked eating his salary by hanging onto him through the Monday deadline, and with all of the free space his salary just created for us Id say his release is a-okay with me. I think that anybody with a working brain had deemed Glover to be expendable following his ‘05 performance, and unfortunately this kind of thing just comes with the territory. You've got to appreciate the hard work he put in as one of the few recognizable faces in those Campo years, but there comes a time when you've got to move on, and we’ve reached that plateau. Thanks for all your hard work with us, and good luck. I'm sure you'll find a cozy 4-3 somewhere with your name all over it.

Dan Campbell is a name I was expecting to come up, and I can see where the Andre Gurode decision is coming from, but there is no question in my mind that the Fujita move is born completely out of this bargaining situation. With his salary hovering around a cool million, he was inexpensive enough to keep around *if* our cap number is above $100 million. This also lends itself to the theory that the Cowboys will be pursuing an outside linebacker either in the draft or in free agency. Jerry is obviously clearing this space for something, and I'm trembling with anticipation to see what that something is. Al Singleton is okay, but you've got to believe that Parcells doesn't want to take the “next step” with him. If not, no harm no foul… it is just more cap space to use elsewhere.

Going back to the other two names on the list, Dan Campbell is a guy I had pegged for termination for awhile. Most people argued with me that his blocking and leadership are invaluable assets to the team, but I disagree. I see a Cowboys team chock-full of veteran leaders, and if Jerry and Bill decide to draft/sign an offensive tackle or two this off-season, Campbell’s departure wont mean a darn thing. If his locker room presence had ever gotten us into the playoffs, Id probably be rethinking that strategy, but as is, his leadership abilities don’t warrant the cap hit. Gurode is probably the biggest ‘eh’ here. I’d absolutely love to keep around a sixth man for the offensive line, but why do that when you don’t have a full starting five? Gurode isn't good enough to start on his own for an entire season, and we have too much cash tied up in too little offensive linemen to keep around insurance guys. Add to it the fact that the ‘Boys will need to go after an o-lineman or two in the draft and free agency this year, there was simply no more room for Andre the Giant.

I feel like I should hold some kind of memorial service for Andre’s tenure as a Cowboy as we watch it draw to a close. It was a love-hate relationship that heavily teetered on the hate side, but as with any player you watch on a consistent basis, you gain a bit of a rapport with them. Andre wasn't the best G/C we ever did see, and he never played well enough for us to point him out on the field (and he actually played badly enough for us to do this a few times), but hey, he was a Cowboy, and that has got to stand for something.

The Cowboys’ cap situation has been greatly helped by Glover and Nguyen. Just the two of them freed up $7.8 million in useable cap space this year, putting the Cowboys’ current cap number at around $8-10 million, about two million more than I figured since I hadn't added in Dat’s retirement money. If the CBA is ratified, expect that number to jump up about $10 million.