The Dallas Cowboys have waived former Alabama linebacker Rashaan Evans, the NFL team announced on Wednesday.

Dallas released Evans to create a spot on its active roster for offensive tackle Matt Waletzko, who is returning after spending the first 16 weeks of the season on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. Waletzko played in three games last season as a fifth-round rookie.

After Dallas released Evans, the Dallas Morning News reported the linebacker had been arrested by the Frisco (Texas) Police Department on Tuesday and changed with possession of marijuana.

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy indicated the team might not be through with Evans when asked about the transaction during his press conference on Wednesday. McCarthy did not mention Evans’ arrest.

“We’ll answer that at the end of the week,” McCarthy said. “I think that’s important to be answered then. These are roster moves, and they’re tough moves. It’s a bit of a catch-22. We’re a healthy football team, and we hope that it stays that way. But when you get down to this time of year, you start to project, particularly with young players. This is why you have to make tough decisions like this.”

Every other NFL team will be eligible to put in a claim for Evans’ contract by the waiver deadline at 3 p.m. CST Thursday. If Evans clears waivers, he will become a free agent able to sign with any team, including Dallas.

The Cowboys signed Evans for their practice squad two days after linebacker Leighton Vander Esch sustained a neck injury in a 42-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 10. After Evans played in three games as a practice-squad elevation, Evans joined the 53-player active roster on Nov. 18 with Vander Esch going on injured reserve.

Evans played in nine games with the Cowboys. He started his third game and played 28 defensive snaps. But in the six games since, he played a total of 36 defensive snaps. Evans also was on the field for 79 special-teams plays for Dallas.

Last season, Evans played 1,104 defensive snaps as he recorded 159 tackles, tied for the seventh-most in the NFL, for the Atlanta Falcons. He became an unrestricted free agent when the league’s 2023 fiscal year started on March 15, and he remained unsigned until Sept. 12.

The Philadelphia Eagles signed Evans for their practice squad on the same day they put linebacker Nakobe Dean on injured reserve. But the Eagles released Evans four days later after moving Huntsville High School alumnus Nicholas Morrow from the practice squad to the active roster to fill Dean’s starting spot.

A 2018 first-round draft pick off Alabama’s 2017 CFP national-championship team, Evans played four seasons with the Tennessee Titans before signing with the Falcons in 2022.

Evans was the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Class 6A Lineman of the Year at Auburn High School in 2013 and a first-team All-American selection by the American Football Coaches Association at Alabama in 2017.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.