The Dallas Cowboys may have had a slow start to free agency as is the norm for the front office, but the last week and a half has seen them quite active in the market. They've added solid depth players along the defensive line and starters in the secondary. Now they have their eye on a starter along the defensive line in former Seahawks Defensive Tackle Jarran Reed.
A source has informed Mike Fisher of 105.3 The Fan and Cowboys Maven at SI.com that the Dallas Cowboys are exploring adding Reed to their defensive tackle group. Reed, who is a 300 pound 3-technique defensive tackle, has had quite a bit of success in the NFL. In 2018, Reed had 10.5 sacks starting all 16 games for the Seahawks. In 2020, Reed bounced back from a 2-sack 2019 season with 6.5 sacks.
Reed has been a durable player in his career. He's only missed eight games in his five-year career with six of those coming during the aforementioned 2-sack 2019 season. Those six games he missed in 2019 were due to a suspension for violating the NFL's policy on domestic violence, though he was never formally charged. Law enforcement recommended charges however prosecutors declined to charge.
As we've seen in the past, the NFL haven't required a player to be charged or convicted of a crime before being suspended. They operate under different rules.
The Dallas Cowboys have never been afraid of bringing in a player with questionable off-field situations. The Cowboys would only have to make a couple of phone calls to people they have relationships with to get a feel for who Reed is as a person and a player.
Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Mike McCarthy and Seattle Seahawks General Manager John Schneider have a relationship that goes back to their days working with the Kansas City Chiefs in the late-90s and with the Green Bay Packers while McCarthy was their head coach. They could also reach out to former Defensive Backs Coach and Passing Game Coordinator Kris Richard, who was the defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks when Reed was drafted in the second round (49th overall).
He won't turn 29 until December, so if the Cowboys were willing to take the plunge on Reed, the Cowboys would be getting a player in his prime.
Looking at the Dallas Cowboys depth chart right now, Trysten Hill and Neville Gallimore are slated to be their primary 3-technique defensive tackles. While they've shown some promise, neither has the skins on the wall that Reed has. One could make the argument that Reed has been a top-five interior defensive line player over the last three seasons.
The biggest question, as Fisher notes in his report, will be how much it will cost the Cowboys to bring Reed into The Star. The Dallas Cowboys currently have a little more than $8 million in salary cap space. If Reed is looking for more on the free agent market, it may put him out of the Cowboys' price range. However, the Cowboys can certainly find the money by restructuring the contracts of Amari Cooper or DeMarcus Lawrence, which would leave them enough room to sign Reed and then have enough for their incoming draft picks.
The Cowboys could certainly use a player of Reed's talent level along their defensive line. They haven't been shy about trying to find upgrades at every level of the defense. Jarran Reed would certainly be an upgrade to the defensive tackle spot, but again, much of it will come down to how he fits into their current salary cap situation.
