Dallas Cowboys looking at Brian Urlacher, Jonathan Vilma

The Dallas Cowboys were certainly dealt a big blow on an already-poor defense when Sean Lee went down for chunks of time last season, so you can imagine just how difficult it will be for the Cowboys without Lee for a full season. Hopefully somebody can break out for them at linebacker, especially since defense is still a major issue. For now, the Cowboys need to look for more depth at the position, and they currently have their eyes peeled on veteran players.

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ESPN’s Ed Werder reports that the Cowboys are “evaluating all options” when it comes to trying to replace Lee and add some depth at the position, and Werder clearly isn’t understating the “all options” part. Per Werder, the Cowboys are even looking at two washed-up veterans in Brian Urlacher and Jonathan Vilma, who were two excellent fixtures at inside linebacker at points in their careers. He reports that the Cowboys will likely employ a two-man rotation at the linebacker spot vacated by Lee, and that’s the only logical course of action unless if somebody breaks out; there’s currently no clear-cut option.

In a separate tweet, Werder adds that nothing is imminent and that he doesn’t expect a deal with Urlacher to take place, but he notes that Urlacher appears to have at least some interest in joining the Cowboys. I’m sure Jerry and Stephen Jones have better options on the table than Vilma and Urlacher, who are both likely woeful in run defense based on their last respective seasons. Urlacher can still cover, but there’s a reason why the Chicago Bears were unwilling to give into his demands. Neither he nor Vilma can consistently get off blocks and play downhill, so giving significant snaps to either could greatly hurt the Cowboys run defense.

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