Cowboys To Sign Bryan Anger
The Cowboys are signing Bryan Anger to a one-year deal (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo). The veteran punter is now set for a training camp competition Hunter Niswander for the job.
The Cowboys have been on the hunt for a new punter ever since releasing Chris Jones in March. Previously, Jones was set to enter the final year of the four-year, $8.7MM extension he inked in 2017. At the time of signing, Jones had the team’s’ all-time highest percentage of punts downed inside the 20 with 39.9% (113 of 283). He had also been with the club for years while posting a solid 44.5-yard average. Unfortunately, that dipped to ~42 ypp over the last two years. Then, he missed the latter half of 2020 with an abdominal injury.
Anger, meanwhile, has spent the last two years with the Texans, where he cleared 46 yards per punt in each campaign. But, last month, Houston cleared his contract from the books to save $2MM against the cap. Anger has also spent time with the Buccaneers and Jaguars, but he’s perhaps best known for being a punter that was drafted in the third round.
Details On Damontae Kazee's Cowboys Deal
- After hiring Dan Quinn as defensive coordinator, the Cowboys brought both Keanu Neal and Damontae Kazee over from Atlanta. The latter’s deal will be worth the veteran minimum, according to ESPN.com’s Todd Archer (on Twitter). Kazee will count just $988K against the Cowboys’ cap. Attempting to return from an Achilles tear, Kazee will collect $250K guaranteed.
This Date In Transactions History: Cowboys Extend Jason Witten
Four years ago today, the Cowboys inked Jason Witten to a brand new deal to take him through the 2021 season. The contract was set to cover four years, but the tight end wound up playing just one year on that pact and two more Dallas years in total — with a retirement sandwiched in between. 
[RELATED: Jason Witten Retires After 17 Seasons]
At the time, Witten was on the verge of his 35th birthday. But, after all of those seasons and crushing blows, he was still productive. The veteran was riding a 13-year streak of perfect attendance — his only missed contest came as a rookie in 2003. In 2016, Witten hauled in 69 passes for 673 yards and three touchdowns — solid work, even if it wasn’t quite as impressive as his past 1,000-yard efforts.
Witten delivered again in 2017, posting 63 grabs for 560 yards and five scores en route to his tenth Pro Bowl selection. But, in May of 2018, he announced that he would “pass the torch to the next generation” and join ESPN’s Monday Night Football booth. Witten’s transition was short-lived – in February of 2019, he surprised everyone by returning to Dallas. His un-retirement was huge for Dallas. Previously, they were looking at a tight end group consisting of Blake Jarwin, Dalton Schultz, Rico Gathers, and Geoff Swaim.
When Witten changed his mind, the Cowboys issued him a new one-year, $4.5MM deal. It was widely assumed that this would be the final contract of Witten’s career, allowing him to retire in Dallas. Still, Witten had more left in the tank and he was willing to go elsewhere after Jason Garrett‘s departure. That led him to the Raiders, where he turned in an uncharacteristically quiet year. In his age-38 season, Witten caught just 13 passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns. Having been leapfrogged by Pro Bowler Darren Waller and TEs around the league, Witten announced his second retirement in January.
Cowboys In Discussions With LB Sean Lee
The Cowboys remain in discussions with longtime linebacker Sean Lee, according to head coach Mike McCarthy (via Jon Machota of The Athletic). The 34-year-old is a candidate to retire, but he is apparently interested in a 12th season in Dallas.
The oft-injured ‘backer is long removed from his days as an elite defender, but he could still be useful in a rotational role. Though he played in just nine games in 2020, he played in all 16 contests in 2019 (including 13 starts) and ended that season on a high note. He tallied double-digit tackles in two of his final five games in 2019 and finished out with 86 stops, a sack, an interception, and four passes defensed, leading to a one-year, $4.5MM re-up last offseason.
But sports hernia surgery delayed Lee’s 2020 debut until Week 8, and he wound up recording just 20 tackles while playing in 16% of the Cowboys’ defensive snaps (both career lows outside of the 2014 season, which was wiped out completely due to an ACL tear). If he were to return, it would likely be for much less than his $4.5MM 2020 salary, and he would be the fourth LB on the depth chart behind Leighton Vander Esch, Jaylon Smith, and free agent acquisition Keanu Neal. The Cowboys, though, should have a real chance to win the NFC East in 2021, and Lee may want to sign up for one more chance at a deep postseason run.
In related news, McCarthy pushed back on a recent report indicating the Cowboys have informed Aldon Smith that he won’t be retained. One of 2020’s best comeback stories, Smith is not a great fit in the 4-3 scheme that Dallas will run under new DC Dan Quinn, so the report didn’t come as much of a surprise. Still, McCarthy said the team remains in contact with the 31-year-old pass rusher.
“That’s still fluid,” McCarthy said. “I personally haven’t moved on. I was in a conversation yesterday about Aldon, so we’ll see how that works out moving forward. … We’re still talking there.”
LB K.J. Wright Interested In Playing For Cowboys
It’s been relatively quiet on the K.J. Wright front, but that could be because the free agent linebacker is eyeing one particular team. The veteran told Mike Fisher of Sports Illustrated that he wants to play for the Cowboys.
“Dallas has certainly always been on my list of ‘dream teams,”’ Wright said. “With coach Dan Quinn there, and with other aspects of that team and that defense, I do think it’s one of the teams I fit in with.”
The connection makes sense. As Wright pointed out, new Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn held the same role in Seattle in 2013 and 2014, with Wright starting 29 games for the Seahawks during that span. Further, Dallas could use some reinforcement at linebacker. Sean Lee has missed 16 games over the past three years, and Leighton Vander Esch was limited to only 10 games in 2020.
Even though Wright will be 32 years old by the start of the 2021 campaign, he’d still provide Dallas with a reliable and consistent option at the position. Wright graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 8 overall off-ball linebacker last season; he was the only player to post double-digit totals in tackles for loss (11) and passes defensed (10). He has started 140 of the 144 career games he has played since the Seahawks drafted him in the 2011 fourth round.
Back in February, the veteran linebacker revealed that he wouldn’t be taking a discount to stick around Seattle, but it’s uncertain if that sentiment would apply to the Cowboys.
“I do way too much on the football field to take a discount,” Wright said. “It makes absolutely no sense. If you want to win all these championships and look good on Sundays, you’ve got to compensate your guys that are making plays.”
Cowboys Sign Damontae Kazee
The Cowboys have agreed to terms with free agent safety Damontae Kazee, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). Veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson says it will be a one-year deal (Twitter link).
Kazee visited with Dallas yesterday, and even though he followed through on his plan to visit the Lions today, it didn’t take him long to strike an accord with the Cowboys. Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Cowboys’ medical staff was satisfied with Kazee’s recovery from the Achilles tear he suffered in October, and once he passed that test, Dallas was quick to extend a contract offer.
Dallas has been looking for a true free safety for a long time, and it hopes it has found what it’s looking for in the 27-year-old Kazee, whose 10 interceptions from 2018-19 were tied for the most in the NFL. The fit was a good one, as the Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn, was Kazee’s head coach for the first four years of his career in Atlanta, and secondary coach/pass game coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. was his position coach in 2020.
Kazee follows longtime Falcons teammate Keanu Neal from Atlanta to Dallas, so Quinn will have several familiar faces at his disposal. Interestingly, Kazee got his first real chance to start at safety due to Neal’s season-ending injury in early 2018, but Neal is expected to play some linebacker in Dallas, and Kazee clearly feels he will have enough snaps to re-establish himself as a ball-hawking playmaker in the defensive backfield.
In addition to Kazee, the Cowboys auditioned Jayron Kearse and Malik Hooker yesterday. The club ended up signing Kearse, and with Kazee now in the fold as well, Hooker will probably need to look elsewhere for his next opportunity.
On a related note, Ed Werder of ESPN.com says that Neal’s double-duty role as an LB/S hybrid could eat into linebacker Jaylon Smith‘s snaps, but that Smith’s roster spot is not in jeopardy (Twitter link). That jibes with a report that was published late last month.
Cowboys’ Tyrone Crawford Retires From NFL
Tyrone Crawford has retired from the NFL, head coach Mike McCarthy announced. Crawford, still only 31, has been limited by serious hip injuries on both sides. 
[RELATED: Cowboys To Sign Kearse]
Crawford, a 2012 third-round pick, struggled to stay healthy throughout his career. He battled back from a 2013 Achilles tear to deliver a solid 2014 campaign. He notched 37 tackles, three sacks, and four tackles for loss that season, leading to a five-year, $45MM re-up. He kept up the solid work despite positional changes and shoulder injuries, but his damaged hips halted him after from 2019 onward.
Last year, Crawford appeared in all 16 games, but didn’t look like his old self. So, after 25 sacks across eight seasons, one of the Cowboys’ longest-tenured players is calling it a career. We here at PFR wish Crawford the best in retirement.
Cowboys To Sign S Jayron Kearse
The Cowboys held auditions for safeties today, and it sounds like at least one of the auditionees will be joining the team. Josina Anderson reports (via Twitter) that the team will be signing safety Jayron Kearse to a one-year deal.
Kearse signed a one-year, $2.75MM deal with the Lions last offseason and proceeded to have a career year. He was suspended for the first three games of the 2020 campaign for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, but he ultimately finished the year with a career-high 59 tackles in 11 games (seven starts). He was waived by the Lions late in the season and spent the rest of the season on the Ravens practice squad.
Malik Hooker and Damontae Kazee were also among the safeties who were visiting the Cowboys today, and Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News tweets that the Kearse signing doesn’t preclude the team from adding another player at the position. In fact, Gehlken adds that the Cowboys are “engaged in contract negotiations” with Kazee’s camp, but the sides haven’t agreed on a deal.
The Cowboys have been busy revamping their safeties corps. The team is set to add Keanu Neal, adding the veteran to a core that includes 2020 starter Donovan Wilson.
Cowboys Won’t Re-Sign Aldon Smith
Aldon Smith made an impressive comeback to the NFL last season, but if he wants a go around, it won’t be with the Cowboys. Dallas has informed the defensive end that they’ll be moving on from him and won’t re-sign him, a source told Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
It’s interesting because Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made it sound like back in November that he wanted to keep Smith in the fold. Werder noted in a follow-up tweet that the Cowboys’ desire to give Randy Gregory an expanded role and their recent signing of defensive end Tarell Baham both played a part in the decision.
Once one of the best pass-rushers in the league, Smith hadn’t played since the 2015 season before improbably returning to the field last year. Considering it was his first game action in five years he played pretty well, racking up 48 tackles, five sacks, and a couple of fumble recoveries.
The seventh overall pick of the 2011 draft, Smith became a star right away with the 49ers and was a firs-team All-Pro in 2012 when he had an eye-popping 19.5 sacks. Unfortunately, off-field issues quickly derailed his career and caused him to miss games in every season after that.
After a third DUI arrest in 2015, Smith was cut by the 49ers and signed with the Raiders, playing in nine games for them that season. It would be his last NFL action for a while. Suspended numerous times and denied reinstatement often, he finally made it back last year.
The 31-year-old showed last year he’s still got something in the tank, and it’ll be interesting to see who takes a flyer on his upside.
Cowboys Hosting S Jayron Kearse
Malik Hooker and Damontae Kazee won’t be the only two safeties visiting the Cowboys. ESPN’s Todd Archer reports (via Twitter) that Dallas will also be hosting defensive back Jayron Kearse. Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News tweets that the auditions will take place tomorrow.
The 2016 seventh-round pick had spent the first four seasons of his career with the Vikings, missing only a pair of regular season games over that span. He ultimately started five of his 62 games for the organization, compiling 79 tackles, 0.5 sacks, eight passes defended, and one interception.
Kearse signed a one-year, $2.75MM deal with the Lions last offseason. He was later suspended for the first three games of the 2020 campaign for violating the substance-abuse policy, and he ultimately saw time in 11 games (seven starts) for his new squad, compiling a career-high 59 tackles. He was waived by the Lions late in the season and spent the rest of the season on the Ravens practice squad.
Now, the 27-year-old will have an opportunity to catch on with the Cowboys. Watkins notes that the Cowboys interest in Kearse, Hooker, and Kazee (along with the signing of Keanu Neal) doesn’t mean the team is done with Donovan Wilson, who started 10 games for the Cowboys last season. Rather, the team’s just looking to improve their defensive backs corps.