For a good part of the past two months, the Dallas Cowboys have toyed around with the idea of signing wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. amid his recovery from the torn left ACL he suffered back in February. However, Beckham still hasn't progressed far enough in his recovery, leading to the Cowboys' pursuit of other options at WR.

Thus, they signed T.Y. Hilton in mid-December to bolster their offense, and he has clearly impressed the Cowboys brass in his first two games for the franchise. And Hilton may have impressed them enough that the Cowboys not only decided to call off their pursuit of Odell Beckham Jr., but also to release WR James Washington, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Washington has only played in two games for Dallas this season after signing a one-year, $1.2 million deal in the offseason. He is now headed to the waiver wire, where teams could place a claim on him for the next 24 hours from when he was waived.

After playing 60 games for the Pittsburgh Steelers to begin his career, James Washington suffered a broken right foot which kept him out until Week 14, when the Cowboys defeated the Houston Texans.

The 26-year old wide receiver hasn't been able to carve out a significant role in the Dallas offense, and the emergence of T.Y. Hilton as a solid option alongside featured receivers CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup has only pushed him further down the depth chart.

The Cowboys are ensuring that only the best options make it to their playoff roster. And with a chance at claiming the one-seed still available, they will definitely mean business.