Cowboys cut kicker Mike Vanderjagt

The Dallas Cowboys released Canadian placekicker Mike Vanderjagt on Monday.

Vanderjagt, from Oakville, Ont., is the most accurate kicker in NFL history.

However, his 72.2 per cent success rate this season represents a career low and ranks 29th out of 33 kickers with at least 10 field-goal attempts.

"I really didn't see [consistency] in practice or in the games, I really didn't see hardly anything," Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells said. "That kind of concerned me.

"But obviously, you give a guy like that the benefit of the doubt. I would never make a knee-jerk reaction on that position — I wanted to make sure that I had seen enough."

Vanderjagt, a former Pro Bowler, split the uprights on just 13 of 18 field goal attempts in 10 games with Dallas, which inked him to a three-year, $5.4-million US contract on March 23.

The deal also included a $2.5-million US signing bonus.

"I don't see what he did wrong to warrant him being cut," said outspoken Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens.

"I hope it doesn't come back to haunt us. Whoever made that decision, I'm pretty sure they're hoping the same thing."

"We talked about this collectively with the organization, including the coaches, the personnel people [and], obviously, the ownership," Parcells said. "And we just felt like we weren't seeing what we thought we were going to see."

Vanderjagt was sensational for the Indianapolis Colts last season, connecting on 23 of 25 field goals and all 52 converts for 121 points in 16 games.

But a missed 46-yard field goal in the closing seconds of a 21-18 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Game knocked the Colts out of the playoffs and Vanderjagt out of a job.

Vanderjagt viewed as solution

Vanderjagt, 36, resurfaced with Dallas, which tried a trio of unproven kickers — Jose Cortez, Billy Cundiff and Shaun Suisham — in 2005.

Vanderjagt seemed to solve that problem, or so the Cowboys thought, considering his 86.4 per cent success rate on field goals (230-266) was the highest in NFL history and he owned the league record for consecutive field goals made (42).

"It wasn't real good when I got here," said Parcells, who joined the Cowboys in 2003. "It's been a hard time trying to get it right.

"So we're trying to do something. We need to do something."

Vanderjagt, who won Grey Cups with the Toronto Argonauts in 1996 and 1997 before bolting for the NFL, will be replaced on the Cowboys by former Colts teammate Martin Gramatica.

"You never want to see that happen, although it has helped me get a job," Gramatica said. "But you still feel bad for the guy that lost his."