How Dwight Freeney Should Be The Cowboys Answer
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FRISCO (105.3 THE FAN) - No, the Cowboys shouldn't react to the news of pass-rusher Randy Gregory's 10-game drug suspension by signing free-agent Pro Bowl pass-rusher Dwight Freeney.
They should've signed Freeney regardless of Gregory's status. And they still should.
READ MORE: Gregory Checks Into Treatment Facility, Not Reporting To Camp
There are three reasons that I know of that such a deal isn't already done.
One, at 36, Freeney likely wishes to skip the grind of any NFL team's training camp to instead show up with the real football starts.
Two, Dallas — as thin at it is at defensive end — wants to get a look at its own kids at the Oxnard training camp that starts this weekend before pulling the trigger on an alternative move. Maybe Benson Mayowa is "Freeney Jr.'' Maybe.
And three, if Freeney gets a contract before Game 1, as a vested veteran, his new team is salary-cap locked into that salary for the year. The Redskins and the Falcons and other teams share Dallas' reluctance to sign Freeney now, likely for that same reason.
But I can shoot down all of that reasoning as easily as Freeney can lead the Cowboys in sacks (which he undoubtably would):
*Even if Mayowa turns out to be a force, what would be wrong with employing two "forces''?
*Assuming Freeney's salary demand isn't excessive (we don't know that yet), there is little danger in locking into a salary that gives you a talented, proven star at a position of need.
*The argument that Freeney's presence would "block'' the progress of the kids is ridiculous. Actually, the clog on Dallas' camp roster exists if and when suspended players like Gregory and Rolando McClain participate. They're the ones who "get in the way.'' The guy who gets you six or eight sacks isn't "getting in the way.''
*And finally … Dwight Freeney will sign with somebody, eventually. I'll argue there will be a race to do it, even a bidding war. You can sign him now but not require him to be at camp … or you can wait, and then figure out how to block him when he signs with, say, Washington.
The Cowboys' problem here is very evident. So, I think, is the solution.
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