Should the Dallas Cowboys kick the tires on Eric Berry one more time?

The Dallas Cowboys were unable to land a safety before the trade deadline. With Jeff Heath being targeted heavily, should they check in on Eric Berry again?

The Dallas Cowboys are still in the driver’s seat of the NFC East division. Fresh off their bye week, they should be refreshed and recharged to finish the rest of the season.

Rest, however, doesn’t solve the problem of this defense constantly being challenged over the top though. That issue is directly pointed in the direction of one man. One Jeff Heath.

While teams are going to try and do what they do regardless, as in the Cowboys are going to run Ezekiel Elliott no matter the circumstances as the Kansas City Chiefs are going to try and take the top off no matter the circumstances, there is something a bit more particular going on with the Cowboys. In recent weeks especially, but if you would take notice of the entire season, teams are going after Jeff Heath as if he is the weak link on the defense.

While I don’t feel that is the case personally, more so neither agreeing or disagreeing on the premise with other jobs and responsibilities needing to be accounted for that may result in him appearing as the culprit or the scapegoat, that is what the eyes might tell the average person while they are watching it. That, however, brings us to this question. Should the Dallas Cowboys kick the tires again on Eric Berry?

While he missed almost the entire 2017 season after rupturing his Achilles in the season opener, he only played three games in the 2018 season, the final two regular-season contests and their lone playoff game. He was released by the Chiefs during the offseason and while there had been reported and rumored interest from several suitors, no deal materialized.

It is with the prior knowledge at hand that we have to ask ourselves, would he be an upgrade over Jeff Heath? That answer is unknown, which is made even murkier by the fact that no team has signed him thus far, even after the Cowboys had reportedly done their homework and due diligence on him a while back.

With the minimum salary for someone of Berry’s ilk being $930,000, a nine-year veteran of the NFL, the prorated salary based on the Cowboys remaining nine games would be somewhere around $523,000. Not only would seeing what he still has to offer be more than worth that $523,000, but if it turns out that he still has something to offer beyond this year, then that is one of the smartest investments around.

Not only is the money an investment in itself, but if he shows to still be able to perform, the chance given would be an investment in the good graces of Berry after not being offered a gig thus far. This could put the Cowboys in a good place with the safety for the future if they were to like what they see this season.

While we don’t know what he has left, it is worth seeing in live-action. The Dallas Cowboys missed the opportunity to secure Jamal Adams from the New York Jets and although he has expressed an interest in playing in Dallas, he isn’t a free agent until the season after next, while it appears the Jets wanted a ton in exchange for him this year. That means that the likelihood of an offseason trade is just as unlikely as securing him before the deadline was.

This type of deal could not only give you help and depth now, but it could be the perfect placeholder until Adams becomes available. The Cowboys haven’t had an elite safety since Roy Williams, who was more the shooting comet than an everlasting moon himself. If they want to continue to bolster their chances of playing in February, then Berry is definitely somebody they should take another look at.