Earlier this week, Dallas Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy was asked his thoughts on a variety of topics from QB Dak Prescott’s contract negotiations to WR CeeDee Lamb’s absence from OTAs.
He answered each question candidly but still made sure to downplay each situation and show that it’s just business and he’s not worried about how it will play out in the end.
McCarthy has been a head coach for many years and certainly, those years of practice on the podium have taught him how to handle the media with grace.
One of the topics that was brought up was a meeting between McCarthy and VP of Player Personnel Will McClay. The meeting was reported to discuss the remaining available roster spots before camp.
At this point in the offseason, teams are permitted to roster 90 players. The Cowboys sit with 86, even after adding their annual slew of undrafted rookie free agents.
According to McCarthy, the team is “poised to complete multiple moves before training camp to round out the roster.”
That got me thinking about where those four players could come from. Unless they plan to dip into the undrafted rookie free agent pool again, they’d need to dip into the veteran free agent pool.
Surprisingly, there are several big-name free agents out there that could come in and immediately help the current version of the team.
Some of those big names also come with a big price tag and we already know the Cowboys don’t spend big money on outside free agents. So you won’t see Justin Simmons on this list, but you might recognize a few others.
Here is my list of the top three defensive free agents left that can help the Cowboys in 2024. We will cover the offensive side tomorrow.
DE Shaq Lawson
Experience: 8 seasons
2023 Salary: $1.092 million
One of the positions circled as a need for the Cowboys in free agency and the draft this offseason was defensive end. Dallas lost two of their top players in the rotation to Washington.
Dan Quinn, now the head coach of the Commanders, poached several players from the defense he led for the past three seasons. Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler Jr. were among those poached.
Dallas addressed the position early in the draft, selecting Marshawn Kneeland from Western Kentucky in the 2nd round to complete with Sam Williams at right defensive end.
Shaq Lawson, a former 19th overall pick of the Buffalo Bills could come in and provide valuable depth behind those two or even help spell DeMarcus Lawrence.
Lawson has seen his role diminish gradually over the past few seasons in Buffalo but he’s still just 29 years old with much left in the tank and worth a kick of the tires.
DT Linval Joseph
Experience: 14 years
2023 Salary: $1.527 million
Ironically, Linval Joseph last played with the Buffalo Bills, just like the Lawson as mentioned earlier.
The biggest difference between the two besides 60+ pounds of mass is age. Joseph isn’t playing in a 29-year-old body. He’s played 14 seasons and would turn 36 years old early in the season.
Joseph doesn’t need youth to do the job the Cowboys need him to do: clog the middle of the line as a space-eating 1-tech defensive tackle.
It’s no secret that the Cowboys’ run defense has been soft up the middle. Johnathan Hankins helped remedy that but he plays for the Seahawks now.
Mazi Smith, last year’s 1st-round pick, is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. Behind him are practice squad warrior Carl Davis and 2024 7th-round pick Justin Rogers.
Neither of those three have played at a level well enough for us to trust they can help the defense. Joseph, who played for DC Mike Zimmer in Minnesota, could be that veteran presence to help the rest of the room develop.
S Tashaun Gipson
Experience: 12 years
2023 Salary: $2.9 million
If there is one thing Mike Zimmer loves to have in his defense, it’s smart safeties on the back end. We saw that in Cincinnati with Jessie Bates and also in Minnesota with Harrison Smith.
Veteran Tashaun Gipson could come in and add some of the savvy and coverage skills needed at the back of the defense.
Gipson is on the wrong side of 30 but he can still play. His snap count declined in 2023 after the emergence of Halanoa Tufanga, but he had a five-interception season just the year before.
Dallas currently has Malik Hooker as their only true free safety. Donovan Wilson plays better near the line of scrimmage but the days of those packages might have left with Quinn.
Wilson has proven to be somewhat of a liability in coverage at times. Imagine Hooker and Gipson on the field together in obvious passing downs.
Signing Gipson would also reassure the fanbase that prioritizing the safety position wasn’t just a passing phase.
It also wouldn’t hurt to have some of that San Francisco toughness and mentality leak into the Cowboys locker room for a change.