Cowboys add another big body to defense with NT Linval Joseph, as Jerry Jones promised
On Tuesday, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones intimated that the team wasn’t done adding to the defensive line, even with the recent additions defensive end Carl and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips last week.
The Cowboys proved Jones correct on Wednesday, coming to terms on a one-year deal with veteran nose tackle Linval Joseph, a source confirmed.
The 6-foot-4, 329-pound Joseph was brought in to rotate with Mazi Smith at the nose tackle position and help bolster the run defense.
It was a move that was a long-time coming as the two-time Pro Bowler Joseph, 35, is reunited with Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who coached him for six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.
The Cowboys have gotten decidedly bigger in the middle of the defense with addition of Joseph and the 6-6, 341-pound Phillips, who will rotate with Osa Odighizuwa at the three-technique tackle spot.
They give the Cowboys more size and experience to hold up against the run and play the correct technique of occupying blockers so the linebackers can be free to make plays.
Joseph has been credited with 676 tackles in a career that began as a second-round pick of the New York Giants in 2010.
He was a teammate of Phillips with the Buffalo Bills last season.
