Dallas Cowboys: Time to Bring DeMarcus Ware Back Home

The Dallas Cowboys need pass-rushers and former Cowboy DeMarcus Ware needs a team. This could be could lead to a mutually beneficial reunion.

Few will argue the Dallas Cowboys have a significant need in the pass-rusher department. Their 36 team sacks represented an improvement this season, but without a single player over six sacks, it was difficult to know who to lean on in key situations.

That’s why adding a player like DeMarcus Ware makes sense for the Dallas Cowboys

DeMarcus Ware, a Jerry Jones favorite, was cut three seasons ago largely for salary cap purposes. With mounting injuries, a decline in production, and a $16M cap figure, it was hard to blame the Cowboys brass for cutting the fan favorite loose.

The Cowboys still need to search for a young, and potentially dominant, pass-rusher this spring in the NFL Draft. Adding a veteran like Ware shouldn’t discourage that.

DeMarcus Ware would of course go on to join the Denver Broncos and proceed to win a Super Bowl. Built on the back of their pass-rush, Ware proved to be an integral piece on the Broncos defense.

Now after three years in Denver, DeMarcus Ware finds himself a free agent once again. This time the Dallas Cowboys have cap space and a Super Bowl-caliber roster to entice him with.

The only question is does DeMarcus have anything left in the tank…

In eight starts last season, Ware had four sacks. In eleven games the season before he had 7.5 sacks but an additional three in the postseason. And in 2014 he had a cool 10 sacks. He didn’t go to Denver to be put out to pasture, he went there to produce. And despite dealing with various injuries throughout his time in Denver, he produced pretty darn well

At 34, DeMarcus Ware is no longer a player capable of handling a full-time workload. But as a situational pass-rusher he could make a significant impact on a team like the Dallas Cowboys. He doesn’t solve the defensive line problem for the Cowboys but he certainly helps.

Plenty of Room on the Dallas Cowboys D-Line

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DE Benson Mayowa, Dallas’ sack leader, only tallied six sacks on the season. DeMarcus Lawrence, was suspended for the first four games of the season and was relatively ineffective the rest of the season. Randy Gregory is expected to miss the entire 2017 season after being banished for violating the NFL substance abuse policy so many times. Charles Tapper looks to secure a role in 2017 after missing all of 2016 to injury but he’s an unproven redshirt rookie.

In other words, there’s hardly a logjam at DE for the Cowboys.

Most of the other linemen have enough position versatility that they can play anywhere on the line.

Tyrone Crawford, the Cowboys’ highest paid defensive lineman, split time between DE and DT. Despite logging 650 total snaps, he only collected 4.5 sacks. He may be better on the end but with only 4.5 total sacks, how much better?

David Irving, the breakout lineman of the year, proved he could play anywhere along the line and do so in dominant fashion.  DT Maliek Collins and DT Cedric Thornton are clearly tackles only and will not add to the numbers on the outside at all.

The Cowboys still need to search for a young, and potentially dominant, pass-rusher this spring in the NFL Draft. Adding a veteran like Ware shouldn’t discourage that. A team can never have enough pass-rushers and with so much versatility along the line, the Cowboys should add pass-rushers wherever they can get it.

The great news is DeMarcus Ware isn’t going to break the bank. His last season in Denver he took a pay-cut in order to stay on a competitor. If he sees Dallas as a legitimate contender in 2017 (and I can’t imagine he doesn’t) then money will not be an issue.

Next: One Easy Fix for the Cowboys

DeMarcus Ware is old, fairly prone to injury, and only a part-time player. But despite all of that he’d be a welcomed addition on the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys still need to draft young pass rushing talent but in a league where you can never have enough pass-rushers, Ware should be welcomed back home to Dallas.