The Cowboys hosted several veteran edge rushers yesterday, and in two cases that effort produced an agreement. Both Al-Quadin Muhammad and Shaka Toney landed Dallas deals following a succesful workout.
Those additions will provide the team with depth at the defensive end spot in the wake of Sam Williams‘ ACL tear. The Cowboys are still interested in making moves in the front seven during the summer, however. COO Stephen Jones informed Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Dallas is seeking help at the defensive tackle spot.
2023 first-rounder Mazi Smith did not have a strong rookie season, and plenty of attention will be aimed at his ability to develop this season. The Michigan product logged a snap share of just 28% last year, but he could take on a larger workload moving forward. The Cowboys do not have a big-ticket contract on the books at the moment after watching Johnathan Hankins and Neville Gallimore depart in free agency.
Dallas still rosters 2021 third-rounder Osa Odighizuwa, veteran Carl Davis as well as rookies Justin Rogers and Denzel Daxon along the defensive interior. Odighizuwa has started all but four of his 50 career games, and he enters 2024 as a pending free agent with the potential to help his market value with another consistent season. The team will be aiming to improve against the run in 2024, and Smith taking a step forward would be critical in that effort.
The Cowboys entered Friday with just over $12MM in cap space. That figure will change once the Muhammad and Toney deals are official and if/when any extensions for Dak Prescott or CeeDee Lamb are worked out. A modest addition could still be made at the DT spot, though, and it will be interesting to see if Dallas lines up any visits with the remaining free agents at the position.
Al Woods is still out there if they want to give him a chance.
I’d prefer they bring back Aldon Smith 🙂
I’m curious what Mazi Smith’s body is like right now. He dropped more than 30 pounds between Michigan and Dallas, which made him a very different player than he should be. If he’s got the weight back on and it’s good weight, he should be more useful, even if just as a gap eater. They need that.