Cowboys bolster team with moves that could’ve been done earlier. Better now than never
As Dallas Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones likes to say, roster building is a 365-day-a-year job.
It’s a common refrain used by the Cowboys when they don’t make any significant moves at the outset of free agency in March.
They like let everyone know that they aren’t done yet as they remain open for business after the April draft and deep into training camp.
Well, almost four weeks into training camp and midway through August, Christmas finally came with a couple presents under the tree for the Cowboys coaches who have been looking for moves to improve the roster.
One day after defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer went to the podium in a press conference and seemingly begged for help at the nose tackle position, the Cowboys acquired veteran defensive lineman Jordan Phillips in a rare inter-division trade with the New York Giants late Wednesday evening.
And that was before the Cowboys fans woke up to the news of the team signing veteran defensive end Carl Lawson.
Both are veterans with experience and are familiar with defensive coordinator’s Mike Zimmer’s scheme.
“The biggest thing is obviously experience,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “These guys have played. They get pelts on the wall. Different skill sets, obviously different positions. Their experience level will definitely be an asset. They have experience in Mike’s system.”
Phillips was a second-round draft pick of the Dolphins in 2015. He spent four years in Miami, two in Buffalo, two in Arizona, and two more in Buffalo before signing with the Giants earlier this year.
Phillips has 120 regular-season appearances and 62 careers starts.
The Cowboys saw first hand how disruptive Phillips can be when he had a sack and nearly had an interception in a 31-10 loss to the Bills last season.
Since Johnathan Hankins signed with the Seattle Seahawks in free agency, the Cowboys have needed a proven big body to rotate with 2023 first-round pick Mazi Smith.
Not only is Smith inexperienced —with just three starts as a rookie — but everyone in the defensive tackle room, not named Osa Odighizuwa, is unproven and raw.
Lawson worked with the Cowboys a week into the camp, but the team signed Shaka Toney, who was released with an injury designation on Wednesday due to a groin issue.
“There’s a business component of every transaction and with every opportunity timing always plays into that,” McCarthy said. “So, obviously we had interest. He had interest, his connection. I’m excited. We finally got it done.”
Lawson has 27 career sacks but has been plagued by injuries in recent years.
He played just six games with the Jets last season after dealing with a back injury in training camp. The 29-year-old recorded zero sacks and just five tackles in 2023.
But, when healthy, Lawson has history as a productive pass rusher.
A fourth-round draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2017, Lawson played well enough to earn a three-year, $45 million contract in New York in 2021.
But then he ruptured his Achilles during training camp, missing the entire season. He returned in 2022 to put up seven sacks.
The Cowboys have had an urgent need at end since Sam Williams was lost for a season a week into training camp with a torn ACL. It was a position that was already compromised in free agency when Dorance Amstrong and Dante Fowler signed with the Commanders in free agency.
Lawson will rotate at end with rookie Marshawn Kneeland behind starters DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons.
He gives the Cowboys more flexible to move Parsons around to maximize mismatches up front.
Paul Guenther, a Cowboys senior defensive assistant, was the defensive coordinator with the Bengals when Lawson was drafted in 2017. And Guenther worked under Zimmer for three years prior to his elevation when Zimmer was the Bengals defensive coordinator before he became head coach of the Vikings.
The connection has been there.
The Cowboys finally got it done and got the coaches some help.
This story was originally published August 15, 2024 at 10:18 AM.
