Tyrone Crawford, who's spent his entire nine-year NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys, will be retiring this offseason. The news of Crawford's retirement was announced by Head Coach Mike McCarthy today during a press conference.
A 3rd-round pick by the Cowboys in 2012, Crawford joined the team after playing college ball a Boise State. He was drafted to play defensive end in the 3-4 scheme being used by former Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan.
Former Cowboys DL Tyrone Crawford is retiring, coach Mike McCarthy announced. Expected but official. Crawford gave all he had. Body been through ringer, including surgery to both hips in 2019.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) March 25, 2021
Crawford played as a backup DE his rookie season and then missed all of 2013 with an Achilles injury during training camp. He returned in 2014 as a hybrid DE/DT after the team had switched to the 4-3 defense.
See great potential in Crawford as a pass-rushing DT, Dallas gave him a significant contract extension during the 2015 offseason. They thought they were getting ahead of the market and locking Tyrone up at a discount based on his perceived future production.
Unfortunately, that contract put a bullseye on Crawford for the last six seasons. While always a solid player with valuable position flexibility, Tyrone never had more than 5.5 sacks in a single year and struggled at times to stay healthy.
Over the last few years, complaints about Crawford's contract became an annual topic. He was targeted as a potential salary cap casualty at times but Dallas kept bringing him back as a reliable depth option and locker room leader.
That contract finally expired in 2021 and Tyrone became a free agent last week. Now it appears his career will not be continuing with the Cowboys or any other team.
Through whatever ups and downs, Tyrone Crawford put in almost a full decade of solid work for the Dallas Cowboys. He lived up to being a 3rd-round pick and was a significant piece on some of our most successful modern-era teams.
We wish him well in his next chapter!
