Things were quiet on the Dallas Cowboys front Friday, until they weren’t. With essentially no new update on Tony Romo, free agency forged on – and moments ago the Cowboys added a fresh body to their defensive line in DT Stephen Paea.
The Cowboys have agreed to a deal with defensive tackle Stephen Paea, according to a source. The seven-year… https://t.co/ea7bPg9B2V
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) March 10, 2017
Paea was with the Cleveland Browns in 2016, but started his career in 2011 as a draft pick of the Chicago Bears. Paea played under now-Cowboys Defensive Coordinator Rod Marinelli, having a career year in 2014 with six sacks and two forced fumbles.
Stephen Paea is exactly the type of player that Cowboys Nation should have been expecting this team to target, as they let Terrell McClain and Jack Crawford walk at the beginning of Thursday’s free agency window.
Paea isn’t a flashy new addition to America’s Team, but he does join a defensive line that needs all the help he can get – bringing the ability to fluidly replace McClain at the 1T position with the flexibility to play some 3T DT or LDE.
So Stephen Paea (@PAEA_90) just posted this on his Instagram 👀 — https://t.co/Q9hDR4eojb pic.twitter.com/Oik7knhhp2
— Sean Martin ✭ (@SeanMartinNFL) March 10, 2017
The Cowboys depth at defensive tackle was one of their strengths in 2016 on defense, and now they are refilling this depth in free agency in order to keep all options available in the draft. Stephen Paea will join Cedric Thornton as the primary 1T defensive tackles on the roster currently.
