The Dallas Cowboys pulled a fast one on Day 2 of free agency by making moves they usually wait days, sometimes weeks, on. After sitting out the first day of legal tampering and losing a few own of their free agents, the Cowboys jumped into the fray with a flurry of transactions.
Of course, the moves didn’t involve signing any outside free agents, but the team did swing a trade to cover one of the glaring holes on their roster. Instead of overpaying to improve, the Cowboys decided to pay two of their own and dealt one of Stephen Jones’ precious compensatory picks for an upgrade at cornerback.
All of which was done to keep a top defense intact. Somewhere, defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is smiling.
Two of the moves were expected by the Cowboys. The team could ill-afford to lose safety Donovan Wilson or linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, both of whom were priorities to re-sign.
Wilson returns to be one of the enforcers on defense and keeps a strong trio of safeties on the roster for the 2023 season. Along with Jayron Kearse and Malik Hooker, Dallas has their best group of safeties they’ve had in a long time.
— Malik Hooker (@MalikHooker24) March 14, 2023
All three safeties play unique roles for Quinn and Wilson excels at playing near the line of scrimmage. Wilson is one of the league’s best run-stopping players at the position and is adept when blitzing, leading all safeties in sacks with five.
Without him, the Cowboys would likely have turned to third-year safety Israel Mukuamu as Wilson’s replacement. Mukuamu was used more in coverage last year and the team can still use him in that hybrid capacity.
In re-signing Vander Esch, the Cowboys keep one of their most reliable tacklers. Vander Esch was second on the team in tackles, behind Wilson, with 90 stops, even after missing three games. It was the five-year veteran’s best season since his rookie year when he was a Second-Team All-Pro.
Keeping Vander Esch was essential for the Cowboys. The team is ridiculously thin at LB, especially after losing Luke Gifford to the Tennessee Titans, and considering they are unlikely to re-sign veteran LB Anthony Barr.
If Vander Esch wasn’t retained, Dallas was looking at a LB group that includes Damone Clark, who was able to come back and play after spinal fusion surgery as a rookie, third-year man Jabril Cox, who struggled to get on the field in 2022, last year’s sixth round pick Devin Harper, who barely played before being…
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