Should the Dallas Cowboys sign Dwight Freeney?
By Tim Kohut
The Dallas Cowboys have been linked to 37-year old Dwight Freeney in the past, but could this be the year a deal comes to fruition?
With OTAs officially underway, the NFL season is beginning to feel within arm’s reach. While most teams are mostly finished stacking their initial rosters before actual training camp begins, there are a couple of notable free agents that are still available.
One guy that falls under that category is future Hall-of-Famer Dwight Freeney, as the 37-year old pass rusher has made it be known he’s not ready to hang up his cleats quite yet. While there are a few teams that could benefit from having a veteran guy like Freeney in a limited pass-rushing role, the Dallas Cowboys might just be the perfect fit for the grizzled war-daddy.
Upon first glance, it might not seem like Freeney is the best fit, due to the Cowboys’ youth movement on both sides of the ball. But that’s what actually makes him the perfect fit– he could serve as a mentor for the Cowboys’ young defensive lineman. Don’t forget, Dallas was interested in signing DeMarcus Ware before the former Cowboy decided to call it quits on a stellar career. Freeney would prove to be the cheaper option, and has arguably just as large of a pedigree as Ware.
Also, with David Irving possibly facing a four-game suspension, Freeney could help pick up some of the slack on pass-rushing downs. He’s by no means an every down player at this stage of his career, but he could certainly still put in work on third down.
And while Freeney’s numbers on the Falcons last year weren’t eye popping (he only recorded three sacks in 15 games and one start), he still managed to show some of his old explosiveness at times, and was even able to notch a sack in the Super Bowl. More importantly, he served as the perfect mentor for Vic Beasley, who led the league in sacks last season with 15.5. His leadership was instrumental in Beasley making a huge leap from year one to year two.
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So let’s just go over the basics one more time.
A)–The Cowboys need pass-rushing help.
B)–They could certainly use a mentor on defense.
C)–They’ve been linked to Freeney in the past.
Can we make this thing happen already?