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For the Dallas Cowboys, David Irving is still a useful ‘tool’

By Reid Hanson

ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 30: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Washington Redskins looks to pass in in the first quarter of a football game as David Irving #95 and Tyrone Crawford #98 of the Dallas Cowboys try to rush at AT&T Stadium on November 30, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 30: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Washington Redskins looks to pass in in the first quarter of a football game as David Irving #95 and Tyrone Crawford #98 of the Dallas Cowboys try to rush at AT&T Stadium on November 30, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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Despite the pending 4-game suspension, David Irving is still a useful tool for the Dallas Cowboys. Here’s why you shouldn’t give up on the man…

Here we go again, thought Dallas Cowboys fans when news of David Irving’s suspension broke. For the second time in two seasons David Irving will be spending the first four games of the campaign on the league’s suspended list.

Early summer suspension announcements have become common place here in Cowboys Nation. For some teams, the season is won or lost in December. For the Cowboys, that happens in June (and usually between the hours of 2:00am – 6:00am).

The frustration is understandable.

We pin our hopes and dreams on this franchise we love and then we see key components take the opportunity for granted. It’s upsetting to think we as fans care more about the team than the players themselves, but often times, that seems to be precisely the case.

When Irving rejoined the Cowboys last season, he hit the ground running, raking up six sacks his first four games back.

In the wake of Irving’s suspension announcement two weeks ago, a sizable portion of the fanbase was calling for his release. Again, I get it. But it’s the wrong attitude to take.

How good is Irving?

Over the past 12 games David Irving has played, he’s averaged .833 sacks. Equating to 13 sacks over the course of a 16-game season, he was primed to breakout as one of the top interior pass-rushers in the NFL. Until, of course, he got suspended.

Now, who knows what’s in his future?

In fact, let’s save that future forecast for another day. For now, let’s focus on this season. Primarily, the 12 remaining games of Irving’s 2018 season.

David Irving is a useful tool

To say David Irving has baggage is a massive understatement. It’s not just banned substances that have held Irving back, but off the field incidents and some generally questionable behavior as well. All of this explains why the Dallas Cowboys only offered a one-year tender on their massive defensive tackle, and not a long-term deal.

None of this means David Irving can’t be extremely useful in 2018. Even with the delayed start to his season, Irving can be quite the useful tool (no pun intended).

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If No. 95 continues his pace, he can still collect close to 10-sacks on the season. That would be pretty dang useful, don’t ya think?

Take the emotion out of it all and you’ll find you have a potentially dominant player who’s making a modest salary (relatively speaking, of course). While he’s suspended, he will not count against the 53-man roster so the Dallas Cowboys can sneak a player on, they’d otherwise be forced to cut.

When Irving returns, he’ll be out to prove himself like never before. He’ll breathe life into the pass-rush and seamlessly slide back into the rotation. I mean, he’s been down this road before. When Irving rejoined the Cowboys last season, he hit the ground running, raking up six sacks his first four games back. That’s instant production!

Next: Three internal replacements for David Irving

David Irving may not be the guy in invest long-term in, but he’s certainly someone you use to his fullest extent as long as you can. David Irving is a VERY useful tool.

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