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It’s been slow going on the free-agent front of the Dallas Cowboys this offseason, which apparently, has been the plan all along at The Star. A handful of starters has exited and a handful of players have re-signed but there has been but one addition of note, with former Chargers linebacker Eric Kendricks added to the mix after he initially agreed to a deal with the 49ers.
That’s pretty much the sum total of the Cowboys’ offseason thus far. But then, team VP Stephen Jones said all along that was the plan for he and his father, owner Jerry Jones.
“I don’t look at it as the next few weeks,” he said. “I look at it as all the way up and through the season, in terms of how we continue to address this. As we all see, that first negotiating day is wild and it’s big, big, big dollars. But things are calming down now. And that’s where we think we can be efficient and do good things.”
Now, one good thing the Cowboys could do is shore up their pass rush. And Bleacher Report has a suggestion for doing so: Adding underused edge rusher Carl Lawson, a free agent after languishing with the Jets last season, to the roster.
Cowboys Could Land Larson on a $3 Million Contract?
In an article titled, “Bargain Contracts Cowboys Must Consider in 2024 NFL Free Agency,” analyst Alex Ballentine tabbed Lawson as No. 1 on the list, a player who is probably too good to still be on the market. The Cowboys have just around $8 million on the books and might need to create more space going forward (they’ll need money to sign draft picks), but Lawson could be had on the cheap.
Ballentine proposes a one-year, $3 million contract for Lawson, who came back from a torn Achilles in 2021 with the best season of his career (and first with the Jets) in 2022, including 7.0 sacks.
Wrote Ballentine of the Cowboys’ need for a pass-rusher: “The Cowboys could go to the draft to address the need, but some veterans on the market could help right away.
One that stands out as a fit is Carl Lawson. The 28-year-old has a connection to new Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. The defensive end played for Zimmer when the two were with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Lawson left for the Jets in 2022 free agency and enjoyed his best season with seven sacks and 24 quarterback hits. However, he was a non-factor for the Jets defense this season.”
‘I’m a Football Player, Not a Cheerleader’
In fact, Lawson went from a 17-game starter to playing just six games, with no starts to his credit. The Jets defense was good and deep at pass-rusher—Bryce Huff, Jermaine Johnson, Michael Clemons—and Lawson was squeezed, despite being in the final year of a three-year, $45 million contract.
He was not happy about it. He sounded off on his benching last year, telling reporters, “I’ve always wanted to help the Jets win. I’ve always wanted to be the best version of myself for the team. But at the end of the day, I do want to be a football player, I do want to produce and I do want to help, because I’m a football player, not a cheerleader, so that’s kind of where my head is at with that.”
He wants to prove he can still play. The Cowboys would be the perfect team for which to do that.
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