ARLINGTON, Texas — It's safe to say Taco Charlton would like to get a bit of revenge against the Dallas Cowboys, and he'll get his shot on Sunday.
The former first-round pick was released in the days ahead of the Week 3 contest against the Miami Dolphins, after a contentious stretch between both sides. Unable to find a trade partner to take Charlton off of their hands after months of trying -- along with Charlton's social media demand to "free me" -- it was a foregone conclusion the Cowboys would do just that once All-Pro pass rusher Robert Quinn returned to the team from a two-game suspension.
One day after he was released, Charlton was claimed off waivers by the very Dolphins team they're set to face on Sunday, and although he was only available for Miami's walkthrough on Friday -- he has been named active against his former team. It remains to be seen how much work the Dolphins will put on him in his debut for the team, but he is suited up and ready to try his hand against a dominant Cowboys offensive line that knows him exceptionally well.
He'll want to make a strong impression for the Dolphins while also trying his best to dent the Cowboys' armor, but La'El Collins and Tyron Smith have been known to bully Charlton on a regular basis in practice over the previous two seasons.
Charlton will wear No. 96 for the Dolphins.
Meanwhile, rookie second-round pick Trysten Hill -- who had been inactive the first two games to start the season alongside Charlton -- will make his NFL debut, aided by injury to both Antwaun Woods and Tyrone Crawford. The Cowboys are hoping for a much better arc to the career of Hill over the admitted "miss" they saw from a "wilting" Charlton and, to that end, they've assigned the former University of Central Florida standout a new jersey.
Once sporting No. 79, Hill will now wear No. 97 -- the very one Charlton wore as recently as last week.
The Cowboys are massive 20.5-point favorites to defeat the Dolphins despite injuries to key players, but Miami isn't exactly planning to take a nap. It has benched veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and will allow former first-round pick Josh Rosen to make his debut for the team, and that should make things more interesting than they likely would've been otherwise.
A game that was once overlooked by many now has a variety of interesting storylines, and considering any team can lose on any given Sunday in this league -- the red-hot 2-0 Cowboys want to make sure the 0-2 Dolphins don't land their first win of the season on Sept. 22.