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Durant is familiar with the Cowboys' system, adds veteran depth, and gives the Cowboys more options at linebacker heading into camp.
According to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com, the Cowboys apparently are in talks with Justin Durant about a return to Dallas.
With Rolando McClain suspended, Cowboys talking to LB Justin Durant about reunion after 1 season w/ Falcons, sources say. Could sign soon.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 11, 2016
After Rolando McClain's 10-week suspension was announced at the beginning of the month, speculation had been running rampant about what the Cowboys' plan would be replace McClain for those 10 games and possibly more. And what that discussion showed is there aren't really a lot of options currently available that would be able to replace the production of a healthy Rolando McClain.
Justin Durant, who will turn 31 in September, is a name that had been floating around, and it now looks like the Cowboys are looking at him as an option at the MLB spot. The Cowboys know Durant well - he was a defensive captain in 2014 before leaving for Atlanta last year - and Durant knows the Cowboys scheme well.
If nothing else, Durant will provide the Cowboys with some cheap insurance and an additional option as they head into camp. The Cowboys wanted him on a 2-3 year deal a year ago, so why not try him out now on a 1-year deal?
Durant was released by the Falcons in February after a mixed 2015 campaign. The Falcoholic, SB Nation's Falcons site, summarizes:
Durant, 30, wound up playing 12 games for Atlanta in 2015, with mixed results. There were times where he was clearly the best linebacker on the field for Atlanta and times where he looked just as lost as the rest of the corps, and given that the team clearly plans to add linebackers and can save $2.3 million this year and over $3 million the next by cutting ties with him, this wasn't their most difficult call.
If the Cowboys do end up signing Durant, there's one thing they can rely on right now: he'll show up and he (probably) won't be suspended.
In Dallas, that's already something.
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