FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys are making roster moves to shore up the interior of their defensive line. The Cowboys finalized a trade on Monday for defensive tackle Eli Ankou, giving the Houston Texans a 2022 seventh-round draft pick according to multiple sources.
Ankou arrived in Dallas over the weekend and is going through the mandatory COVID-19 testing period. He is on track to have his first full practice with the team on Thursday.
The Cowboys released free agent signee Dontari Poe earlier in the week due to a lack of production on the field and the team is in need of depth. Trysten Hill is gone for the season on the reserve/injured list after suffering a torn ACL and Gerald McCoy was injured and cut prior to the start of the 2020 season.
Ankou was signed by the Texans in 2017 as an undrafted free agent and was waived by the team just months later, not making final cuts. He then bounced around to several teams being claimed off waivers, released, and re-signed to practice squads. The UCLA product had stints with the Jaguars (2017-2019), Browns (2019), Colts (2020), and Texans again in 2020.
Ankou was waived by the Colts last week, was picked up by the Texans, who then made the trade with the Cowboys. He has seen little playing time in the league and has accumulated 26 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Mike McCarthy told reporters on Monday following the finalization news; “ I think the biggest thing when you watch him [Eli Ankou] on tape is he can set an anchor. I think he will really fit our style of run defense. His first opportunity will be when we get on the field on Thursday, so looking forward to getting him in the mix.”
