Cowboys reportedly face competition from NFC East rival to sign Anthony Barr

The NFL’s upper-echelon of free agents are long gone at this stage of the offseason, but that shouldn’t dissuade the Dallas Cowboys from looking to bolster their roster before the start of (or during) training camp, which opens next week.

With teams around the league already reporting, some of the remaining free agents, including Julio Jones, Odell Beckham Jr., Trey Flowers, Sheldon Richardson, among others, will start coming off the board, so it would behoove the Cowboys to get a move on if they’re striving to make any signings.

Short on linebackers for the 2022 season, it’s long felt that Dallas would ultimately reach an agreement with veteran Anthony Barr, the former Vikings stud.

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell predicted Barr to sign with the Cowboys. Plus, the reigning NFC East champs were in the race to sign Bobby Wagner and Von Miller earlier this offseason, so their interest in signing a LB is well-documented.

While Dallas is still in the running for Barr, they now reportedly face competition from the Washington Commanders, whom KSTP’s Darren Wolfson understands have “kicked the tires” on signing the 30-year-old linebacker.

Are the Cowboys and Commanders battling to sign Anthony Barr?

Look, the Cowboys shouldn’t lose sleep over the Commanders flaunting interest in the same free agent. At the end of the day, playing for Dallas should trump the idea of playing for Washington, who have three winning seasons since 2007. Additionally, their fans are always out-numbered by Cowboys fans at FedEx Field.

Having said that, it’s a little concerning that Dallas reportedly faces competition to land Barr’s signature. That’s not to say other teams haven’t expressed interest in the four-time Pro Bowler, but the Cowboys should probably accelerate the process of signing the player if their interest is as legitimate as reports indicate.

Capable of filling multiple roles in the front seven, Barr’s versatility is everything Dan Quinn’s defense needs at linebacker. While Micah Parsons is a game-breaker at the position, he doesn’t play it full-time due to his ability to get after the quarterback. Behind him, Leighton Vander Esch, having battled various neck injuries in his career, and Jabril Cox, coming off a torn ACL, both have injury concerns.

Barr comes with his own recent injury struggles, but his experience would be a welcome addition to Dallas’ new-look front seven. In just 11 games last year, Barr posted 72 tackles, three interceptions, five passes defended, six quarterback hits, and 2.5 sacks to go with a 72.3 pass-rush grade from PFF.

With the Cowboys offense expected to take a step back this year, the front office should look to give Quinn as many weapons to work with on defense as humanly possible. Barr is begging to be had … likely at a discount, too.

The organization has already embarrassed itself enough for one offseason. Don’t make it worse by losing Barr to the Commanders.

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