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The Dallas Cowboys are making a move in free agency by bringing in a veteran defender that is not far removed from his time with the Atlanta Falcons.
Dallas recently came up against a new injury setback as veteran nose tackle Johnathan Hankins suffered an issue with his shoulder or pectoral area. According to the Cowboys’ official website, Hankins is likely out until the playoffs at best.
However, Dallas has identified their intermediate solution to his injury by signing Anthony Rush. The team made the move official on December 14, sharing a Tweet to confirm the news.
“The @dallascowboys signed DT Anthony Rush to the practice squad Wednesday,” the team announced.
It’s never ideal when a player is injured, but losing Hankins after trading for him in Week 8 only to lose him weeks later is a real sting. However, the Cowboys could do much worse than landing Rush and there’s good reason to think he can step in and get the job done.
Rush Continues NFL Journey After Falcons
After playing his college ball at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Rush entered the NFL in the 2019 draft cycle where he was picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles. While he would make his first NFL appearances with Philadelphia, it was only after he was released, then signed by the Oakland Raiders, and then released again into the hands of the Eagles.
Hopping around was something Rush did a lot in 2019 and 2020, spending his second NFL season with the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers. It wouldn’t be until his time with Atlanta that Rush really established himself in the league, which still only arrived after a different short-lived stint with the Tennessee Titans in 2021.
Getting to the Falcons saw Rush start 10 games for Atlanta, doing the job of nose tackle to plug up the center of the line of scrimmage. According to PFR, he made 13 solo tackles and forced a fumble over 14 appearances.
Atlanta blog The Falcoholic describes Rush as your typical nose tackle, who has shown images of dominance during his time with the Falcons.
“As expected for a nose tackle, Rush didn’t post eye-popping production in his six starts,” Falcoholic’s Kevin Knight wrote. “But he did flash some very dominant reps, pushing back the offensive line and setting up his teammates for success against the run.”
However, he was released after four appearances this season, allowing the Eagles to sign him for the third time. But Rush was only a practice squad signing and was released on December 6.
Cowboys Speak on Hankins Injury
The question with Rush is: can he slide into the nose tackle role and quickly produce? Hankins faced the same question when he was traded to Dallas earlier this season, and answered the query by working his way into a starting role in the Cowboys‘ past three games.
The silver lining to the situation is that Hankins could still contribute in the postseason. Speaking to 105.3 The Fan, Dallas owner Jerry Jones addressed Hankins and his potential recovery timeline.
“You could see Johnathan [Hankins] back for the playoffs, he won’t be back before then,” Jone said, while also confirming the team would not be placing him on the injury reserve.
Getting Hankins back in any form would be great, but head coach Mike McCarthy and company are likely just planning as if Hankins won’t be a factor this season. Any return in January is likely a bonus.
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