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The Dallas Cowboys are adding one of the NFL’s most proven veterans to reinforce their defense before the 2024 season begins. After 14 years and stints with 5 other NFL teams, Linval Joseph is taking his talents to Cowboys Stadium.
The move was first reported on August 21 by longtime NFL insider Josina Anderson. Joseph had been a free agent this entire offseason, but now has a new home with Dallas.
“Breaking: I’m told the #Cowboys are signing DT Linval Joseph, per source,” Anderson wrote on X.
Joseph arrives shortly after Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer publicly called for the team to add to the nose tackle position (more on that below.) In his prime, Joseph was one of the NFL’s premier players at that position and he was playing under Zimmer with the Minnesota Vikings.
However, he is just over a month away from his 36th birthday. Joseph’s latest stint with the Buffalo Bills wasn’t exactly a success, but Dallas will likely not be looking for a huge role for Joseph. Instead, Joseph will probably take on a rotational role that will give the Cowboys a fresh force on the interior.
Linval Joseph Looking to Rekindle Old Success
During the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Joseph was a force of nature on a talented NFL defense. It’s hard for defensive tackles to stand out, but on a defense that boasted multiple Pro Bowlers, Joseph did just that for the Vikings.
In 2016, Joseph made a whopping 77 tackles, earning 5 tackles for loss and 4 sacks. He followed up with 68 tackles in 2017, adding another 5 TFL and 3.5 sacks according to Pro Football Reference. The years before and after featured plenty of success too, but it with Minnesota and Zimmer that Joseph had his best years.
Over the past two years, Joseph has struggled to make an impact with new teams. While he started 11 total games for the Philadelphia Eagles, he failed to produce at the same rate.
With the Bills, Joseph struggled to get on the field. He did not start once in 7 appearances and only played 35% of Buffalo’s defensive snaps.
Cowboys DC Says Team Needed New ‘Noses’
As mentioned above, Joseph’s arrival correlates with the Cowboys publicly admitting they needed coverage at DT. On August 14, Zimmer told reporters that he likes what young Cowboys DT Mazi Smith is doing but that they still need reinforcements.
“Mazi has done a good job in there. We have got to find some more noses obviously, see how these young guys do. So just kind of going from there,” Zimmer said.
On the Cowboys’ official website, the depth chart lists no second-string nose tackle with Justin Rogers as the third-string. Essentially, the chart itself is showing that Dallas doesn’t have a second viable option for the nose tackle job.
Bringing in Joseph ought to help both in the present and the future. Joseph is a proven player who should be able to hold his own. But he is also one of the most experienced players in the league at this point and ought to be able to teach Smith a thing or two this year.
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