Cowboys Make Perfect Free Agent Signing Ahead of Preseason Week 2

The Dallas Cowboys have been looking to improve their defensive depth ever since they lost Sam Williams to a season-ending injury. They worked out a lot of veterans to bolster their defensive line, and most notably traded for versatile defensive lineman Jordan Phillips. The former Giants defender can play nose tackle and defensive end but after the latest free agent signing, it looks like he will mostly be used on the interior.

According to Tom Pelissero, the Dallas Cowboys are signing 29-year-old defensive end Carl Lawson. Formerly of the Bengals and the Jets, Lawson had worked out with Dallas during the training camp and the mutual interest between the sides have been noted.

Cowboys Sign DE Carl Lawson Ahead of Preseason Week 2

This means that Lawson is reuniting with the Cowboys' defensive run game coordinator Paul Guenther, whom he was with in Cincinnati back in his Bengals days.

The former Auburn star was a promising defensive player throughout his football career. He was a consensus five-star recruit and was ranked one of the best players in his class before committing to Auburn.

However, unfortunate injuries never allowed him to fully reach his potential. He missed his sophomore year due to a torn ACL and missed half of his junior season with various injuries.

Despite availability concerns, his unlimited potential made him a fourth-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. After a promising rookie season, Lawson suffered another torn ACL eight weeks into his second NFL campaign.

Lawson was still able to get his career back on track, playing in 16 games and finishing with 36 tackles and 5.5 sacks in his final season with the Bengals.

After signing a three-year, $45 million deal with the Jets in the 2021 offseason, he ruptured his Achilles tendon, missing the entire season.

He once again returned from his injury and had a solid 2022 season before losing his snaps in New York last year, only appearing in 6 games and spending time on the inactive list.

Lawson is obviously not the player he once was but he has largely been productive every time he was able to stay healthy for an extended period of time. It is, therefore, a worthy flyer for the Cowboys this close to the season opener.

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