Dallas Cowboys Free Agency: Addressing More Needs

The Dallas Cowboys are taking losses left and right during free agency. They will need to continue to build up their roster as the offseason continues.

The Dallas Cowboys will have some serious decisions to make in the coming days as a lot of key role players who have left in free agency. The team must react in a quick and timely fashion to address the new holes that have popped up on their roster.

The Cowboys have lost a lot of talent during this free agency period, more so than usual. Safeties Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox will head to new teams,the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers respectively. While defensive linemen Terrell McClain will head to a division rival in the Washington Redskins and Jack Crawford heads to Atlanta.

On the offensive side of the ball, in addition to the loss of starting right tackle Doug Free to retirement, the Cowboys saw starting offensive lineman Ronald Leary signed away to the Denver Broncos.

So how do the Cowboys cope with such tremendous losses? Simple. The addition of affordable, productive, free agents. And there are a ton of them left!

In fact, there are so many players who could play a positive roll on this team, this roster could be elite before the draft in April.

There are several defensive linemen that could come in for Dallas and help this team advance farther into the playoffs. Former New England Patriot Chris Long, Ex-Detroit Lion Devin Taylor, veteran pass rushers Dwight Freeney and Mario Williams and proficient run stoppers like Johnathan Hankins and Dontari Poe could all make a difference in terms of the production along the Cowboys defensive line.

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Hankins would be a terrific “get” as the Cowboys can hurt a division rival and sign a terrific player in the process. Williams and Freeney could be solid additions especially if they can be signed for the veteran minimum. They both could shine as situational pass rushers in Big D.

The most intriguing name on this list could be Devin Taylor. The former Detroit Lion defender is 6-foot-7, 275 pounds and his physical traits are a lot similar to a current Cowboys defensive lineman David Irving.

But, by far, the biggest name who could help Dallas is former Denver Bronco DeMarcus Ware. Ware could look to re-join the team that he entered the league with as they are finally looking like Super Bowl contenders. The 34-year old could come in as a situational pass rusher and would give the Cowboys an immediate boost.

In terms of a productive safety to sign I believe there are really only two routes the Cowboys can go down. That’s signing former New Orleans Saints safety Jairus Byrd or former Los Angeles Ram T.J. McDonald.

I believe the better choice is McDonald. He is a hard hitter who, at times, struggles in coverage. I still prefer him over Byrd to replace Church as the Cowboys starting strong safety. Even if the Cowboys double down on the safety position in the draft, the team would likely prefer to give a rookie player a full season to develop.

In regards to the cornerback position, former starters Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr are still free agents. Dallas did add former Philadelphia Eagles starter Nolan Carroll, so the team is likely preparing for the loss of at least one of their defensive backs. The market has been quieter for Carr than Claiborne but both could easily end up back in Big D.

Next: Dallas Cowboys 5 Best Free Agent Signings Of All Time

The Dallas Cowboys will have a lot of work to do as teams get ready for the NFL Draft. And typically the team signs a lot more players as their market value goes down. Expect a bunch of solid signings in the coming weeks in Dallas.

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