After not addressing the defensive tackle position in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys may have lucked out with a familiar face becoming available in Terrell McClain.
In 2017, the Dallas Cowboys had to make a tough business decision in letting defensive tackle Terrell McClain hit the open market. He played extremely well for Dallas the year prior, but the money he was commanding was simply to rich.
McClain wound up signing with a divisional rival in the Washington Redskins for four years and $21 million. The move immediately raised a lot of eyebrows as Washington and Dallas play a much different style of defense — and we had been down this road before as Washington has signed other former Cowboys defensive linemen only to see their production dip.
There was no exception with McClain and, after just one season, he has been released by Washington. Since, the Cowboys have been open about considering bringing him back now, but there’s a problem.
Since they didn’t draft a defensive tackle, Dallas decided to make a trade for Jihad Ward, formerly of the Oakland Raiders. That could be the one hiccup in reuniting McClain with the team he played his best football for.
Timing is everything. If Terrell McClain had been released by Washington earlier in offseason, he’d likely be back in Dallas by now. Cowboys draft day trade for Jihad Ward makes that problematic. Still, Cowboys will discuss McClain.
— David Moore (@DavidMooreDMN) April 30, 2018
Ward’s presence may give Dallas pause, but the fact is McClain is a known commodity in defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli’s defense and Ward is a former second-round pick that had two tackles in five games last season.
With the issues Dallas has had filling out the one-technique spot, it would make sense to have someone like McClain on the roster. Worst case scenario would be that Ward beats him out and you now have a strong, trustworthy backup.
Speaking honestly, it’s incredibly unlikely that would happen. McClain should be able to walk into Dallas and take back his former spot. This is a move that makes too much sense not to happen.