Dallas Cowboys: Damontae Kazee would be significant upgrade at free safety

The Dallas Cowboys are being linked to Damontae Kazee, and his addition would be huge for their defense

As has often been the case since Stephen Jones took a more prominent role in the Dallas Cowboys front office, America’s Team was quiet on the first day of the legal tampering period. But that doesn’t mean there was no noise at all coming out of Frisco.

While Dallas didn’t come to terms with any free agents, there were reports that they have their eyes on a new safety in Damontae Kazee. A former fifth-round pick out of San Diego State, Kazee spent his first four seasons in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, playing under head coach Dan Quinn.

Of course, Quinn is now with Dallas serving as their defensive coordinator which is why the mutual interest is there. And that interest makes sense considering this move would be a win for the player and the team.

For Kazee, it would allow him to play for a defensive coach who he’s very familiar with, which would help him as he returns from an Achilles injury. While Calvin Watkins reports that Kazee is fully healed, he played just four games in 2020 and it would be much easier to get back into form should he be playing in a system he fully understands.

As for the team, Dallas needs a player like Kazee in the worst way. Their biggest issue in recent seasons has been an inability to create turnovers — and that’s one thing Kazee can do.

Listed at 5-foot-11 and 190-pounds, Kazee is on the small side but his speed and instincts more than make up for that. In his first season as a starter in 2018, he had 82 tackles and seven interceptions which was tied for the most in the NFL. He added another three in 2019 but had none in his four games in 2020.

Dallas appears willing to let Xavier Woods walk in free agency and they have high hopes for Donovan Wilson as a strong safety. Adding Kazee would give them two quality starters, which is something they haven’t had at safety in a very long time.