Cowboys cut Vanderjagt

This is how serious Bill Parcells is taking the Dallas Cowboys’ stretch drive: He cut inconsistent kicker Mike Vanderjagt on Monday and signed Martin Gramatica to replace him.

Hailed as the answer to the Cowboys’ kicking woes when signed in March, Vanderjagt hasn’t lived up to his credentials as the most accurate kicker in league history. He has made only 13 of 18 field-goal attempts, a 72.2% success rate that was the lowest of his nine-year career.

Vanderjagt also didn’t like having to kick off, one of many aspects of his quirky personality that didn’t always go over well with Parcells.

Dallas had given Vanderjagt a $2.5-million signing bonus as part of a three-year, $5.4-million deal, which made Parcells’ decision a costly one.

Gramatica, once so accurate that he was nicknamed “Automatica,” was out of the NFL last season and was cut by New England in the preseason. He played three games this season for Indianapolis while Adam Vinatieri was injured, making his only attempt, a 20-yarder.