News: BTB: The Cowboys were one of the teams to put in a claim for Kony Ealy

[NewsBot]

If you have been pounding the table for the Cowboys to go acquire help in the pass rush, the good news is they tried, but the bad news is they failed.

It was about three and a half years ago that a lot of Cowboys fans were highly interested in Missouri pass-rusher Kony Ealy. Dallas chose to take DeMarcus Lawrence instead in the 2014 NFL Draft, but when the Patriots released him last week they had a free shot, and they took it.

For those wondering if #Bills put in a claim for Kony Ealy -- they didn't.

ARIZ, WAS, DET, TB, DAL, NYG + NYJ all put in claims.

— Kimberley A. Martin (@KMart_BN) August 28, 2017​

Ealy was awarded to the New York Jets given the priority order, and they serve as Kony’s third team in the last five months. His original team, the Carolina Panthers, traded him and a third-round pick to New England for a second-round pick. Then he was released... by the Patriots... which is always a chin-scratcher of sorts.

The Cowboys, considering their priority was near the back end of the league, conceivably had no shot at Kony Ealy, but they put in a claim anyway. What can we discern from this?

Dallas is obviously not totally satisfied with the state of their pass rush


The Cowboys have a rotation of pass rushers that is kind of like a bowl of Cinnamon Life cereal. It’s tasty, but it’s really just impersonating Cinnamon Toast Crunch. We want the real thing, the one that kicks, and it’s been a long time since we’ve had it.

On top of the dissatisfaction-like feeling surrounding the Cowboys defensive front line, two of the promising pieces of it are going to be suspended to start the season (David Irving and Damontre Moore). While Taco Charlton has started to look better as of late, the Cowboys obviously feel the need for more.

The Cowboys didn’t like Kony Ealy enough to do more than put in a claim for him


In situations where a team isn’t awarded a player after a claim is placed, people respond with the same exact answer every time.

“Why didn’t they just trade a sixth or seventh-round pick for him?!”

Yes, if the Cowboys truly valued Kony Ealy to the point that they felt that they absolutely had to have him, it would have made sense to insure that they got him by giving up a late-round draft pick, especially considering they’ll likely have a few compensatory ones next season. If they didn’t do that, what do we think that means?

It’s possible that the Cowboys liked the prospect of Kony Ealy enough that if they were awarded him after their claim they would’ve been great with that, but that they didn’t like Kony Ealy enough to even give up a late-round pick for him. Kony Ealy has had some success in the NFL, but perhaps the Cowboys aren’t willing to bite that hard on this line.

Rest assured, if the Cowboys really wanted Kony Ealy, they would’ve gotten him. This simply wasn’t a situation where they felt it was worth whatever it required. Another player, another claim, another day by day.

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