Ex-Cowboy Admits New Life With Commanders Won’t Be ‘Easy’

Dorance Armstrong Jr. joined former Cowboys DC Dan Quinn in Washington this offseason after spending the first six years of his career in Dallas.
Dallas Cowboys v Washington Commanders
Dallas Cowboys v Washington Commanders / Scott Taetsch/GettyImages
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The Dallas Cowboys saw a mass exodus of talent on both sides of the ball in free agency as they saw defensive coordinator Dan Quinn become the new head coach of the Washington Commanders.

After Quinn was named the head coach, Washington took Tyler Biadasz, Dorace Armstrong Jr., Dante Fowler Jr., and Noah Igbinoghene in the offseason. Quinn will be leaning on his former Cowboys to help turn things around in the nation’s capital.

One player who will play a huge part in the turnaround is Armstrong, who posted 28 quarterback hits, 17 tackles for loss, and 16 sacks in his last two years with the Cowboys.

The 27-year-old defensive end was asked about the challenge of trying to change the narrative around the Commanders and gave an insightful answer.

“Trying to turn a program around, it takes a lot,” Armstrong said via David Harrison of Commander Country. “You got to be willing to sacrifice a lot of things. It's a big grind. It's not easy. It's going to take everybody.”

After spending the first six years of his career with the Cowboys, where Dallas is always viewed as a contender and in the hunt, Armstrong will try to hopefully bring that same mentality over to the Commanders this season.

The Commanders have only made the playoffs twice since 2015 and subsequently lost in the wild-card round twice. Last season, Washington went 4-13 and lost both games to the Cowboys, being outscored 83-20.

Coincidentally, Armstrong played well against the Commanders in 2023, posting five combined tackles, two quarterback hits, a sack, and a tackle for loss.

Nonetheless, Quinn and Armstrong will try to do their best to make sure it’s not a similar result this coming season.

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