Top Possible Defensive Signings for the Dallas Cowboys
By author
Ok. So Stanford Routt signed with Kansas City. Don’t panic. So what if he was among the top 5 defensive backs entering free agency, there are others out there right? Yeah, there has to be others out there. Wait…Cortland Finnegan becomes a free agent March 13th? Good thing I didn’t panic. Cortland Finnegan is an animal. Anyone remember the Andre v. Finnegan bout November 28th, 2010 at Reliant Stadium? There were a couple of sweet right hooks thrown. I guess Cortland doesn’t like the Texans too much. Oh yeah, I don’t like the Texans either. Nice job on your play off victory Texans, but you haven’t won the Super Bowl just yet. Anyway, Cortland and I think alike in our disdain for the Houston Texans, but that’s where it ends because I wouldn’t want to fight Andre Johnson. So Finnegan has been added to both the Top Defensive Signings column and Wish List Column in place of Stanford Routt.
Speaking of the Houston Texans, Mario Williams is a free agent this year. The top pick in the 2006 NFL draft, (The Cowboys took Bobby Carpenter 18th, nice move) Mario Williams is the only player taken top 3 in said draft that wasn’t a bust. Williams could make the Dallas Cowboys Defense awe inspiring. Mike Vick, (insert Redskins quarterback here), and Eli Manning would be on the ground with their thumbs in their mouths wanting to go home, which would then take our defensive backs out of the pressure cooker. It’s an awesome thought, but even if the Texans can’t manage to resign him long term, it would be near impossible for the Cowboys to match the asking price and still make a splash in the rest of free agency. So that is why he is on my wish list.
Jim Leonard anyone? Don’t recognize the name? Okay, well Jim has 185 tackles and 15 defended passes in 2 years, and is only 5’8. I’ll give you a hint: He plays next to an Island and a proud father of 9! If you guessed Darrell Revis and Antonio Cromartie, then nice job. Yes, Jim Leonard is that crazy white guy running around the New York Jets backfield. He is pretty tough and I think he would like our Ryan brother (Rob) as much as the Jets’ Ryan brother (Rex). Although he is too important to Rex Ryan’s defense to let him walk, if they do we need to pounce.
Brent Grimes is another stand out for the Dallas Cowboys to sign this free agency. He is a great cover corner and only lets 44.6% of opposing quarterbacks passes be caught (Darrell Revis allows 41.2). A great cover corner could give the Cowboys pass rush a little more time to get to the quarterback. I truly believe that if we had better corner back play last year, we would have at least been NFC East Champions.
Before the Cleveland Browns announced they would put the franchise tag on D’Qwell Jackson unless a long term contract agreement was reached, he was going to be on this list too. (Mon. Feb. 27th, Cleveland Browns resigned D’Qwell Jackson to a 5 year 42.5 Million dollar contract without using the franchise tag.)
Another Cleveland Brown of note is safety Mike Adams. Undrafted in 2004 out of Delaware, Adams was picked up by the San Francisco 49ers. After a few years with the Browns, Adams finally got his shot to start when Abe Elam was signed by our Dallas Cowboys for 2.5 million dollar one year contract. If we were to sign Adams and resign Abe Elam it would greatly elevate our safety play simply because Elam has 3 years of Rob’s defense and Mike Adams has 2. Even though the statistics are not a true insight into the Browns defensive performance under first year Defensive Coordinator Dick Jauron, (teams didn’t have to throw on the Browns because the running game was so effective) with T.J. Ward and Mike Adams at the safety positions the Cleveland Browns had the second best pass yards allowed with 184.9 average. Knowing that the Browns couldn’t stop the run I still wouldn’t want to pass up a shot to at least talk to Adams about becoming a part of the Legend that is America’s Team.
Aaron Ross, cornerback for the World Champion New York Giants, could be a pretty good signing as a 2nd corner. He now has two Super Bowl rings with the G-men, but they might not have him back next year. If the Giants pass on Ross, the Cowboys could not only add a little depth at the cornerback position, but he could have some pretty helpful tips for our offense.
Writers note: Reading some of the comments, a few people don’t agree with me wanting to add a running back to the Dallas Cowboys roster/preseason roster, like I wrote about in the last blog. Think about our running back core. Not a single one of them have stayed healthy for an entire season. We might not have personnel issues in our running back core (they are all talented) but no one can tell me we don’t have injury issues. It’s also my belief that every team should add a few running back prospects each year, if only to training camp. Running backs get old fast so we need a continuous shot in the arm of talent each year. With any luck, we might even discover the next Arian Foster.
Thanks for reading and Go Cows.
Like what you see? Give The Landry Hat a “like” on facebook, become a follower on twitter, or grab our RSS feed.