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Group check: Defensive line
7:00 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2008 | Permalink
Tim MacMahon
The fifth installment in an 11-part series assessing each position on the Cowboys roster (Be sure to follow the jump for analysis) ...
PLAYERS SIGNED THROUGH 2008: DE/NT Jay Ratliff, DE Marcus Spears, NT Jason Ferguson, NT Tank Johnson, DE Stephen Bowen, DE Marcus Smith, DE/NT Junior Siavii
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: None.
RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: DE Chris Canty
TOP NAMES ON FREE AGENT MARKET: DE Jared Allen (Chiefs), DT Albert Haynesworth (Titans), DT Corey Williams (Packers), DT Grady Jackson (Jaguars), DE Justin Smith
TOP DRAFT NAMES: DT Glenn Dorsey (LSU), DE Chris Long (Virginia), DT Sedrick Ellis (USC), DE Kentwan Balmer (North Carolina), Calais Campbell (Miami, Fla.)
HEALTH OF THE POSTION: Ratliff’s emergence last season gives the Cowboys a lot of flexibility with the defensive line.
The 6-4, 298-pound Ratliff earned a five-year extension by playing well at nose tackle after Ferguson went down with a torn biceps in the season opener. But Ratliff’s frame is better suited to play DE in the 3-4.
The Cowboys could opt to make Ratliff a starter at DE, which is why rumors of the team shopping Spears make sense. It’s likely that the Cowboys will ask Ferguson, who will turn 34 next season, to restructure his contract.
Ferguson and Johnson would form a nice tandem at nose tackle, with Ratliff moving inside in substitution packages.
It’s also possible that the Cowboys could cut Ferguson and keep the starting D-line from last season intact.
Like Ratliff, Canty is an important piece in the Cowboys’ long-term plans. Canty, often described as a “disruptive force” by Wade Phillips, will probably receive the first-round tender. The Cowboys will try to lock him up to an extension in the five-year range before Canty can hit the market as an unrestricted free agent after next season.
Spears has not lived up to his first-round billing, but he’s a solid rotation player who does not have an exorbitant salary. Hatcher and Bowen have shown promise, particularly as pass rushers, but they could end up fighting for a roster spot if the Cowboys keep Ferguson and can’t trade Spears.
7:00 AM Sun, Feb 10, 2008 | Permalink
Tim MacMahon
The fifth installment in an 11-part series assessing each position on the Cowboys roster (Be sure to follow the jump for analysis) ...
PLAYERS SIGNED THROUGH 2008: DE/NT Jay Ratliff, DE Marcus Spears, NT Jason Ferguson, NT Tank Johnson, DE Stephen Bowen, DE Marcus Smith, DE/NT Junior Siavii
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: None.
RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: DE Chris Canty
TOP NAMES ON FREE AGENT MARKET: DE Jared Allen (Chiefs), DT Albert Haynesworth (Titans), DT Corey Williams (Packers), DT Grady Jackson (Jaguars), DE Justin Smith
TOP DRAFT NAMES: DT Glenn Dorsey (LSU), DE Chris Long (Virginia), DT Sedrick Ellis (USC), DE Kentwan Balmer (North Carolina), Calais Campbell (Miami, Fla.)
HEALTH OF THE POSTION: Ratliff’s emergence last season gives the Cowboys a lot of flexibility with the defensive line.
The 6-4, 298-pound Ratliff earned a five-year extension by playing well at nose tackle after Ferguson went down with a torn biceps in the season opener. But Ratliff’s frame is better suited to play DE in the 3-4.
The Cowboys could opt to make Ratliff a starter at DE, which is why rumors of the team shopping Spears make sense. It’s likely that the Cowboys will ask Ferguson, who will turn 34 next season, to restructure his contract.
Ferguson and Johnson would form a nice tandem at nose tackle, with Ratliff moving inside in substitution packages.
It’s also possible that the Cowboys could cut Ferguson and keep the starting D-line from last season intact.
Like Ratliff, Canty is an important piece in the Cowboys’ long-term plans. Canty, often described as a “disruptive force” by Wade Phillips, will probably receive the first-round tender. The Cowboys will try to lock him up to an extension in the five-year range before Canty can hit the market as an unrestricted free agent after next season.
Spears has not lived up to his first-round billing, but he’s a solid rotation player who does not have an exorbitant salary. Hatcher and Bowen have shown promise, particularly as pass rushers, but they could end up fighting for a roster spot if the Cowboys keep Ferguson and can’t trade Spears.
