ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys have waived Dan Bailey, the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history, in a surprise move to get their roster to 53 players for the regular season.

Bailey was the Dallas kicker for seven seasons and made at least 93 per cent of his kicks in three of his first five years. The former Oklahoma State player tailed off badly last season after injuring his groin against San Francisco in the sixth game of the season.

By waiving Bailey, the Cowboys are going with former CFL kicker Brett Maher. The sixth-year player from Nebraska hasn't kicked in a regular-season game. He made a 57-yarder in the Cowboys' 14-6 loss to Houston in the preseason finale.

Maher, 28, played last season with the Ottawa Redblacks, making 41 field goals on 50 attempts over 18 games. The Nebraska product has four years of CFL experience in both punting and field goal kicking.

Before the injury, Bailey was the most accurate in NFL history among kickers with at least 100 attempts. He was 8 of 13 after the injury. The 30-year-old Bailey's accuracy dropped nearly 20 percentage points over his final two seasons.

Bailey is at 88.2 per cent for his career (186 of 211), second to Justin Tucker at 90.2 per cent.

Tight end Rico Gathers made the 53-man roster a day after he was arrested on a charge of possession of marijuana. The former Baylor basketball player hasn't played in the regular season going into his third year.