NFL Spin Zone
Fansided

Dallas Cowboys: Losing Bruce Carter hurts defense

By Stephen Forsha

facebooktwitterreddit

Plain and simple, the Dallas Cowboys lost a lot of versatility when Bruce Carter accepted a four-year, $20.5 million deal to play linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wednesday.

I believe not re-signing Carter to a new deal will hurt the defense of the Cowboys in the long run.

When it comes to the 27-year-old Carter, whom the Cowboys drafted in the second round (40th overall) in the 2011 NFL Draft, he’ll be tough to replace. The Cowboys didn’t play their cards correctly when it came to allowing Carter to walk on Wednesday and join the Buccaneers, and it was a move that didn’t need to be made.

Todd Archer of ESPN.com made a good point in a recent article, writing this on Carter before he signed with the Buccaneers:

"“They see a player who is as athletically gifted as they come. He can run with running backs, tight ends and even a receiver. He is strong. He can make the hard things look easy, but sometimes he makes the easy things look hard.”"

Those words by Archer are so very true, but can we also say the Cowboys made an easy decision look hard by not re-signing Carter as well?

Carter in his four seasons as a member of the Cowboys collected 242 tackles, three sacks and five interceptions, with those interceptions all coming last season.

Sep 22, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Isaiah Pead (24) is tackled by Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Bruce Carter (54) in the third quarter of the game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The versatile LB played in double-digit games each of his four seasons with the Cowboys, including 28 regular-season games the past two years, which were his two most productive seasons with the team.

In those past two seasons, Carter totaled 164 combined tackles, three sacks and those aforementioned five interceptions.

More from Dallas Cowboys

So can we sit down, take a deep breath and ask this: Did the Cowboys make a mistake and let go of a player who is about to hit his prime?

I still believe the answer is yes … what about your take?

Lately, I’ve agreed with many of the decisions the Cowboys have made (the DeMarco Murray free agent situation being one of them), but it would have been nice to see the Cowboys keep Carter for the next four seasons.

Having Carter around for his versatility alone makes him a player the Cowboys need on their roster, especially with the inconsistent health of Sean Lee and the uncertainty that is the future of Rolando McClain.

Having Carter on the roster (and on the field) would have been a nice security blanket for the the “D” in “Big D.”

But that four-year, $20 million price tag most likely scared off the Cowboys when it came to business, but shouldn’t the Cowboys know to make money (or to be competitive in the NFL), you have to spend money?

With the loss of Carter, is it wrong to think (or say) for all the steps forward the Cowboys have taken as of late (the are the NFL East champions and won 13 total games last season) this decision has them taking two steps backwards, instead of moving forward?

What are other fans of the Cowboys and the Buccaneers saying about this move? Here is a glimpse of what was said on Twitter recently:

Maybe this is just me being worried, but I believe for a defense that already needed some fine tuning, the loss of Carter just adds unnecessary needs to a defense, which could have been avoided.

Time will tell who will have the the best end of this decision, but currently the Cowboys have many questions at linebacker, and let’s all hope the front office can come up with the correct answers before the 2015 season begins.

Next: Should the Cowboys draft Jalen Collins in the 2nd round?

More from NFL Spin Zone

Home/Dallas Cowboys