FRISCO - In another time and another place, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' release on Monday of standout defensive tackle Gerald McCoy would've caused the Dallas Cowboys to hustle toward an evaluation and maybe a free-agent bid on the nine-year veteran.

But now? One source tells me the Cowboys have "very little'' interest in McCoy. And a second source says that as of Monday night the Cowboys staff hasn't met on the subject of the availability of 31-year-old six-time Pro Bowler.

That doesn't mean that COO Stephen Jones and personnel guru Will McClay aren't "on the case.'' Nor does it mean that Dallas lacks the cap room to make a bid on a player like this, who was owed $13 million prior to his release but now as a free agent can negotiate a new deal with his next team.

The "very little'' almost shuts this down for me.

And the "not yet'' I get from the Cowboys does, however, speak to the faith Dallas has in what it has built in its defensive line, starting with the top-draft-pick commitment to second-round tackle Trysten Hill.

McCoy has experienced the sort of career that Hill now dreams of. McCoy has totaled at least five sacks in each of the last seven seasons, the league's longest active streak among interior D-linemen. Since 2010, McCoy has 50.5 sacks, the third-most among all defensive tackles. His six Pro Bowl selections since 2012 tie him with Cincinnati's Geno Atkins for the most among defensive lineman at any position.

But Dallas has developed a cap-beating philosophy of not over-spending in free agency while preferring to give draftees (along with their more affordable contracts) every opportunity to be impact guys. It could be argued that under McClay's influence, the Cowboys now give a draftee like Hill -- who is already a favorite here inside The Star -- every chance at success before moving on to a vet.

Cowboys coordinator Rod Marinelli loves Hill and thinks he's a "Right Kind of Guy.'' Meanwhile, in Tampa, they have suggested the opposite on McCoy, as new coach Bruce Arians has said less-than-flattering things about him before the Monday release.

Is there a way to do a one-year "prove-it'' deal in Dallas? Sure, especially as McCoy is a regional guy, an Oklahoma City native who starred with the Sooners. I truly think the "local tie'' is a card worth playing, at some price. But my sense is that there are other teams (Philly? New England?) with greater desire to pull this off, with greater desire to make this investment.

Dallas' position to me is "very little'' interest. That suggests the Cowboys will let someone else chase this big fish ... while hoping Central Florida rookie defensive tackle Trysten Hill becomes big himself.