Cowboys trade for Texans’ Eli Ankou to bolster defensive line

The Dallas Cowboys went searching for a player to bolster their defensive line depth and found Eli Ankou in a trade with the Texans.

After releasing defensive tackle Dontari Poe, the Dallas Cowboys needed another body on the defensive line.

It appears they’ve settled on Eli Ankou as the answer to their depth concerns.

The Cowboys have a trade agreement in place with the Houston Texans for the fourth-year pro out of UCLA, according to Michael Gehiken of the Dallas Morning News.

The Texans will get a seventh-rounder draft pick in the deal, according to Ian Rapoport.

Eli Ankou is set to make the short trip from the Texans to the Cowboys

The Cowboys had to find someone to fill the roster spot of Poe, who was cut because he was 30 pounds overweight, according to Jerry Jones. The fact that he was the only Dallas player to kneel during the national anthem may have also played into the move.

Ankou spent the first two years of his career with the Jaguars after going undrafted in 2017. He appeared in nine games and had 1.5 sacks as a rookie, but he didn’t start a game. The next year he only saw action in two games and had four total tackles.

Jacksonville put Ankou on their practice squad ahead of the 2019 season, but he was scooped up by the Browns. In Cleveland, he played nine games and started twice with seven tackles on the season.

Ankou wasn’t part of the Browns’ plans for 2020. He was picked up off waivers by the Colts on Sept. 7 but never made the active squad for a game. When Indianapolis waived Ankou on Oct. 17 it took two days for the Texans to move in and grab him.

Just over a week later, Houston appears to have cashed in on the player.