The Dallas Cowboys appear to have one of the most talented rosters in the NFL already, but they are still adding to their team, even with training camp well underway. After swinging a trade with the New York Giants on Wednesday night for defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, the Cowboys front office added another veteran piece to their d-line on Thursday morning.
While Dallas has a pair of star pass rushers in Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence at their disposal, their depth behind those two is a bit lacking. That led the Cowboys to take a flier on former New York Jets standout pass rusher Carl Lawson, as the team scooped him up on the free agent market in an effort to beef up their depth chart behind Parsons and Lawrence.
Cowboys hoping Carl Lawson can find his form with them
Lawson signed a three-year, $45 million contract with the Jets back in 2021, but he missed his entire first season with them after he ruptured his Achilles' tendon during a joint practice against the Green Bay Packers. He bounced back by posting a seven-sack season in 2022, but he had virtually no role with the Jets in 2023, as he played sparingly over the course of six games.
It was pretty clear that Lawson wasn't going to re-sign with New York, but he found interest hard to come by over the offseason. He stayed patient, though, and eventually the Cowboys came calling, leading to them hashing out a deal. Lawson isn't going to be a day one starter, but he has the potential to carve out a role for himself in obvious passing situations if he can make their 53-man roster.
Lawson thrived in a similar role earlier in his career with the Cincinnati Bengals, as he racked up a career-high 8.5 sacks back in 2017 as a rookie while being used primarily as a situational pass rusher. Throughout the course of his career, Lawson has become a skilled all-around defensive end, but given how poorly his 2023 campaign went, Dallas may only have plans to use him in a couple more straightforward roles.
This deal isn't going to be for an outrageous amount of money, so there's fairly little risk involved on the Cowboys side of things. There's a chance Lawson pans out for them, but after his ugly 2023 season, there's no guarantee that will happen. He will be a player worth keeping an eye on for Dallas in their upcoming training camp and preseason action, but even if he doesn't stick with the team, it won't hurt them all that much.
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