Cowboys release punter Hunter Niswander to make room for new kicker

The writing was on the wall in Dallas for punter Hunter Niswander. Now it’s been turned into an official press release.

Former CFL All-Star kicker Lirim Hajrullahu, brought in for a workout on Wednesday and then formally signed by the team on Thursday, will be handling all preseason kicking and field goal duties starting this Saturday night versus Houston.

Punter Hunter Niswander, kicking (for the first time) throughout camp, was placed on the waived/injured list in order to make room on the roster. Niswander has been dealing with a back ailment, according to the Cowboys. If he clears waivers, he reverts to the team’s injured reserve list.

Bryan Anger, the veteran punter signed during the offseason, is expected to take over full-time punting responsibilities.

As for Hajrullahu, his Cowboys tenure figures to be a short one if all goes according to the club’s master plan. The organization maintains that Greg Zuerlein will be ready to go for the season opener September 9th after recovering from his own back injury. He connected on eight of eight warmup field goal attempts before the team’s preseason game in Arizona. Zuerlein remains on the Physically Unable to Perform List for now, with apparently no plans by the coaching staff to put him in a live-fire situation in either of the Cowboys’ final two preseason contests.

Niswander came on last season in relief of Chris Jones. Over eight games, he punted 26 times and ended the 2020 campaign with a 47.2-yard average.

List

Cowboys News: Prescott playing in preseason? La'el Collins hurt in practice, Amari to suit up

List

Hard Knocks E2 Recap: Are the 2021 Cowboys boring, or just the show?

Like this article?

Sign up for the Cowboys Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning

An error has occured

Please re-enter your email address.

Thanks for signing up!

You'll now receive the top Cowboys Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.