Will the Cowboys sign anyone else before the season starts?

The Dallas Cowboys are just nine days away from their season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Additionally, America’s Team has to cut its roster size down to 53 men, which is likely one of the hardest decisions that the team has to make all offseason. The deadline for this is August 31 at 4:00 p.m EST.

Although the Cowboys will be making their official roster cuts by the deadline, Dallas could decide to sign a veteran in the coming days or in the future. With running back Ezekiel Elliott’s contract being restructured, the team possibly has something up their sleeve. This move created an additional $7 million in cap space for 2021.

On the other hand, Elliott’s restructured contract not only helps the team this season but also for next season. As a result, this move might be looking into the future in 2022. The Cowboys already have an estimated cap space of $-26 million for next season, according to spotrac.com.

According to the Dallas Cowboys, the team can carry over the money and create $5 million of cap space for next season. Even though this likely is the reason for this move, there can be plenty of players that Dallas can target through free agency.

With the Dallas Cowboys offense expected to be towards the top of the league, there are probably no moves that they need to make for this side of the ball. However, the defense could use more pieces. This was a unit that ranked bottom half of the league in rush yards allowed per game (158.8), points allowed per game (29.6), and opponent’s yards per play (5.9).

With the Cowboys’ selecting eight defensive players in the draft, this likely pushed the team in the right direction. However, Dallas could still sign a veteran to help these young rookies progress their game.

Which players should the Dallas Cowboys target?

There are still plenty of names on the free agency market that would make a solid addition to this team. More importantly, the Dallas Cowboys could probably use a veteran defensive tackle like Geno Atkins, Kawann Short, or Jurrell Casey.

All three players are at least 32 years old and would provide Dallas with a possible leader at that position. With the season starting shortly, the asking price for these players is likely not too high.

Furthermore, Atkins’ doctor is none other than Dallas Cowboys team doctor, Dan Cooper. Cooper is the one who cleared the former Cincinnati Bengals star for activities. The eight-time Pro Bowler has managed to stay relatively healthy throughout his career except for last season.

The 32-year-old defensive tackle would fit right in with the team. Players like defensive tackle Neville Gallimore and defensive tackle Trysten Hill are battling injuries to start the season, which could make room for Atkins.

Although Atkins is coming off a labrum tear in his right shoulder, Dallas doesn’t shy away from past injuries that players have suffered. Just this season, they have signed safety Malik Hooker, linebacker Keanu Neal and safety Damontae Kazee, all of whom have suffered major injuries in the past two years.

The former Georgia star would probably be a solid asset to this team. He could provide his veteran experience to a young defensive line and likely help this defense improve from a season ago.