What felt like a formality from the beginning of the summer became official on Sunday when the Dallas Cowboys signed veteran pass rusher Von Miller.
It's a one-year, $5.5 million deal that has a maximum value of $7.5 million with incentives. Fair value for a player coming off a nine-sack season, but money was never going to be an issue unless Jerry and Stephen Jones completely and utterly low-balled the former Super Bowl MVP.
Miller said it best: "I can roll out of bed and get 8 sacks." If he actually delivers eight sacks, the signing will have been worth every penny. That kind of production from a designated pass rusher should be more than enough to elevate Dallas' defense.
Unfortunately, Miller's arrival could make James Houston expendable. Let's take a look at the updated outside linebacker or EDGE room and get into it.
James Houston isn't a must-keep now that the Cowboys have Von Miller
Here's a look at the depth chart:
- Rashan GaryÂ
- Donovan EzeiruakuÂ
- Von MillerÂ
- Malachi LawrenceÂ
- James HoustonÂ
- Sam WilliamsÂ
- Marist LiufauÂ
- Tyrus WheatÂ
- Isaiah Land
Houston is unequivocally one of the five best pass rushers on the roster. He may even have the upper hand on Malachi Lawrence right now. Coming off a two-sack performance in Saturday's preseason win, Houston reminded the Cowboys just how crafty he is when rushing the quarterback.
However, Houston doesn't bring as much versatility on special teams. For all of their flaws as pass rushers, we know Williams and Liufau bring high energy in the third phase. As superior athletes to Houston, they inherently have more upside in that department.
To be clear, we would not cut Houston now that Miller is a Cowboy. It's not like the 27-year-old is incapable of playing on special teams. He logged 180 snaps last season for Nick Sorensen's unit, which was the ninth-most on the team, per Pro Football Focus.
More importantly, first-round pick Malachi Lawrence isn't ready for a full-time snap load. Dallas will want to ease him in, making a pass-rush specialist like Houston vital insurance in case Lawrence hits a rookie wall. You wouldn't have the same confidence if Liufau or Williams had to fill in.
Cowboys should prioritize James Houston's pass-rush ability over special teams
However, it's not crazy to think that Dallas is second-guessing Houston's value now that Miller is signed. Having two depth pass rush specialists who don't offer much in run defense could be considered a redundant luxury.
Only the now-retired C.J. Goodwin played more special-teams snaps last season than Liufau's 361 snaps, per PFF. That will carry some weight when forming the 53-man roster. If Liufau stands out over the next couple of weeks, it's not crazy to think he could make the team.
Luckily, Christian Parker is creative enough to circumvent Miller and Houston's limitations, which may make this a moot conversation. We would just keep the better player (Houston) at the expense of special teams losing a little bit of splash play potential.
But it's hard to argue that Miller's arrival knocks Houston's value down a peg. Hopefully, Dallas finds room to keep the Florida native.
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