Dallas Cowboys sign the Detroit Lions’ 2016 sack leader

The Dallas Cowboys added another piece to their defensive line, signing a former member of the Lions who was their sack leader just three years ago.

Earlier this offseason, the Dallas Cowboys lost two major players from their defensive line. Defensive end Randy Gregory and defensive tackle David Irving both received drug-related suspensions, with the latter also being a free agent Dallas had opted not to re-sign. Now those voids are slowly being filled by the Cowboys via free agency.

Last week, Dallas signed former Houston Texan defensive tackle Christian Covington as a rotational player who is expected to contribute along the interior of the Cowboys’ line. And on Monday, they made another critical defensive signing.

The Cowboys announced they have signed former Detroit Lions’ pass rusher Kerry Hyder to a one-year contract. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Hyder is a native of Austin, Texas who played his college ball at Texas Tech. He went undrafted in 2014, spending his rookie season on the practice squad for the New York Jets.

The Lions signed Hyder off the Jet’s practice squad in 2016 and he promptly led the team with 8.0 sacks later that season, despite only starting in two games. The following year was expected to be a breakout season for the young pass rusher, but he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in the team’s first preseason game.

Hyder returned to Detroit last year, but a head coaching change resulted in the 27-year old playing in less than 16 percent of the defensive snaps in Motor City. And he was allowed to leave Detroit this offseason as a free agent without much fanfare.

In Dallas, Kerry Hyder has a real chance to revive his career. The 6-foot-2, 270 pounder has the flexibility to play both inside and out along the defensive line. But the Cowboys undoubtedly hope he can provide the team with some much-needed pass rush and post a similar performance to the one he had just two seasons ago.