Getty Mike McCarthy is heading into a critical season.
The possibility of the Dallas Cowboys signing Minnesota Vikings free-agent linebacker Anthony Barr are “still on the table,” per DallasCowboys.com’s Nick Eatman. The four-time Pro Bowler remains a free agent and the Cowboys continue to be linked to the longtime Vikings star. Barr’s signing could be contingent on how the team’s defense looks at the start of training camp.
“I get the sense Anthony Barr is still on the table, but I see him more as a pass-rusher,” Eatman wrote on July 4, 2022. “And after the offseason we’ve seen from Sam Williams, I think the Cowboys will continue to see what he’s got in training camp. Nothing is off limits right now and linebacker depth is still rather thin. But the last thing they want is to get a progress-stopper and someone that might prevent a young player from developing. I don’t see this as a major issue right now, but something to monitor for sure.”
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The Cowboys Have Shown an Interest in Barr This Offseason
Dallas has been connected to Barr as free agency has gone on without the veteran signing elsewhere. Fort Worth Star Telegram’s Clarence Hill reported on May 14 that the Cowboys had a “definite interest” in Barr but were looking for the right price on the linebacker.
“Free agent linebacker Anthony Barr is a free agent option for the Cowboys, if the price right, per source,” Hill tweeted on May 14. “There definite interest there.”
The Cowboys do not want to prevent the development of their young defenders, but Dallas is also looking to contend this season. Barr continues to be a productive linebacker when he is on the field but has faced challenges staying healthy in recent years.
The former Pro Bowler missed six games last season and 14 contests in 2020. Barr still posted 72 tackles, six quarterback hits, five pass deflections, 2.5 sacks and three interceptions during his 11 appearances in 2021.
Barr ‘Still Very Much So on the Table’ for Cowboys, Says Analyst
DallasCowboys.com’s Kyle Youmans also sees the addition of Barr as “still very much so on the table.” The Cowboys analyst compared Barr’s situation to how Dallas signed safety Malik Hooker after the 2021 training camp kicked off.
“I think this option is still very much so on the table,” Youmans explained. “Think back to last season, when the team was headed to Oxnard, and we were asking the same questions. Why is there so much cap space, and why haven’t they really upgraded the secondary? Then after a few days on the West Coast, Malik Hooker was added to the roster. I think something like that could happen again with the linebackers. It just doesn’t seem likely that they’d go into the regular season with just Parsons, Vander Esch, Cox, and Gifford as their only healthy returners. Adding a veteran to the mix seems like a perfect fix.”
The Cowboys still have an estimated $21.1 million remaining in cap space heading into training camp, per Spotrac. It will be worth watching to see if Dallas will look to add a few more veterans like Barr as the preseason nears.