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One down, (at least) two to go?
According to media reports, the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday agreed to trade defensive end Everson Griffen to the Detroit Lions in exchange for a conditional 2021 sixth-round draft pick.
Griffen later confirmed the deal to former ESPN insider Josina Anderson.
“I’m excited. I just got to process everything,” he said in a text message to Anderson. “I’m gonna reach out to (Lions running back) Adrian (Peterson) at some point but I’m going home to pack. … It’s cool, a brand new start.”
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The move comes two days after Griffen registered his best performance in silver and blue, tallying logging five tackles and one sack in a 25-3 loss to Washington. The four-time ex-Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowler, who inked a heavily incentivized one-year, $6 million deal in August, has collected 20 tackles (10 solo) and 2.5 sacks across seven games and 281 defensive reps, outsnapping veteran DE Tyrone Crawford.
Griffen has done little to impact a historically bad Cowboys defense that ranks dead last in scoring. The team had been shopping the 31-year-old to no avail, ESPN reported Monday, coinciding with rumors they’re also looking to unload nose tackle Dontari Poe and defensive back Daryl Worley.
In a Tuesday radio interview, Dallas owner/general manager Jerry Jones confirmed he “for sure” will make personnel changes — particularly to the defensive personnel — ahead of the Nov. 3 NFL trade deadline.
“The facts are that fundamentally, we’re not stopping the run and when you don’t do that, then a lot of other things come in behind that as to what you are lacking. But we got to correct this,” he said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan. “We got to correct it. We’ll change some personnel for sure. We just to step in here and make adjustments. That’s what you do.”
Jones added when asked to address the aforementioned speculation: “I thought Griffen played well. Now, we need all the players we can get on the table. I don’t know about the other guy[s].”
The Cowboys — currently $23.86 million under the salary cap — will clear $3 million and incur no dead-money hit by moving Griffen, per OverTheCap.com. His return compensation gives the club 10 selections in the 2021 draft, including three sixth-round choices.
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Moving Forward
Griffen’s departure is as much about his salary dump and subpar play as it is DE Randy Gregory, who appeared in his first game since 2018 on Sunday following a two-year NFL suspension. Gregory played six snaps against Washington, held off the stat sheet.
Gregory should earn an uptick in reps while Dallas also gets rookie pass-rusher Bradlee Anae and veteran Dorance Armstrong more involved opposite sack leader Aldon Smith and $105 million man DeMarcus Lawrence.
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL
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