Free agent defensive end Everson Griffen is signing with the Dallas Cowboys.
After losing Robert Quinn in free agency this offseason, the Dallas Cowboys took some home-run swings with strikeout potential to replace him. They inked Aldon Smith to a deal and stayed tied to Randy Gregory, hoping both would be reinstated and make a return to football. Yet, it was still a lot of hope that DeMarcus Lawrence would have a counterpart on the defensive line. Everson Griffen is here to quell those concerns.
The former Vikings defensive end agreed to a deal with the Cowboys on Wednesday night, as reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. After a decade in Minnesota, who he voided his contract with earlier this offseason to become a free agent, the 32-year-old is now taking his talents to Dallas for a deal worth $6 million for one year, per Kimberley A. Martin of ESPN.
Obviously, Jerry Jones has inked in incredible veteran player in Griffen, someone who has 57.0 sacks over the last six seasons, including never dipping below 8.0 in a single year in which he played at least 15 games. That adds stability with Lawrence at the defensive end spots, which gives this defense a huge jump.
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There are also long-term implications. As the deadline for the 2021 NFL Draft compensatory pick formula has passed, Dallas will still get a Round 3 or 4 comp pick for losing Quinn in free agency this offseason. But back to the short term, a Cowboys team that was always going to be exciting in the 2020 season now has to seriously be considered a threat to come out of the NFC and win Super Bowl LV.
The Cowboys are a clear-cut Super Bowl threat with Everson Griffen on defense.
No one was questioning Dallas’ offensive potency for the 2020 season. Quarterback Dak Prescott is coming off of the best season in his young career. Ezekiel Elliott remains one of the elite running backs in the league. An already impressive wide receiver duo of Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup added the potentially best wide receiver in the draft class, CeeDee Lamb. And the offensive line remains a top-tier unit as well.
Where the questions arose was about the defense. Despite signing veteran defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe, along with Ha Ha Clinton-Dix joining the secondary, the unit still had questions about the consistency of the front four and the defensive back group.
Full disclosure, I’m not as concerned about the cornerbacks as others seem to be. But even if there is a major drop-off replacing Byron Jones on the outside, adding Griffen changes everything. The best way to help out players in coverage is to consistently create pressure. The starting group of Lawrence, McCoy, Poe/Tyrone Crawford and Griffen can without a doubt accomplish that. And if Smith plays and recaptures his form, that’s the case tenfold.
It’s going to be hard for teams to score with the Cowboys offense this season as head coach Mike McCarthy injects new life into that side of the ball no matter what their defense looks like. But now that Everson Griffen has entered the fray and completely bolstered that group, it’s simply going to be hard for any NFL team to beat Dallas on any given day or night. And that has a realistic chance to carry them into the final game of the year at Raymond James Stadium.