3 free agents that fit Micah Parsons's wishlist for Cowboys defense upgrades
By Josh Wilson
Micah Parsons wants to win, and he (thinks he) knows what the Dallas Cowboys need to add on the defensive side of the ball to make that happen.
Parsons and the defense will be under the guidance of a new defensive coordinator in Mike Zimmer next season after Dan Quinn left for the Washington Commanders head coaching gig. Before that hire was made, Parsons was in team owner/GM Jerry Jones's ear at the Super Bowl pitching his master plan.
He says he told Jones that the Cowboys need two things:
- Downhill linebacker (of bigger size)
- 330-plus pound defensive tackle
These are reasonable adds to ask for, and Parsons noted that he came to these conclusions largely by taking a look at what the four teams in the conference title games had this year. Notably, the Cowboys didn't reach that stage of the postseason.
More size on the defensive side of the ball figures to be an upside change. Harder to get through is the name of the game, and size inherently makes it more difficult.
The difficulty in accomplishing this will be with the salary cap situation. As of this writing, the Cowboys have the sixth-least cap space, currently needing to find a way to shed $20 million. There are some massive numbers certain to get restructured in there, like Dak Prescott's nearly $60 million cap hit, but still, the Cowboys are going to be up against the number.
For that reason, some of the most obvious names that would fit the criteria Parsons laid out won't be very feasible. Free agents Danielle Hunter and Josh Allen would both be solid fits in the "downhill linebacker" role, but probably out of Dallas's price range. Same thing with Justin Madubuike on the defensive tackle side of things.
Tackle will be a little bit easier overall to find fits for in the free agent market, but there is no cheaper way to infuse talent into a roster like the NFL Draft. The Cowboys could also look there if they want to fill these needs outside of the veteran market.
That said, here are a few free agents the Cowboys could look at that would check off Parsons' boxes.
Free agent: Tim Settle
Of several Buffalo Bills entering free agency, I think there are at least two that the Cowboys should aim to poach. Settle fits the criteria Parsons laid out. He's a 6-foot-3, 313-pound defensive tackle. While he falls short of the 330-pound bullet point Parsons laid out, make no mistake: Settle's a big boy.
Settle struggles some in run defense, which would be par for the course for the Cowboys, who had that weakness exposed in some particular low moments in 2023 (ironically, in particular in a game against the Bills). But he's an above-average asset on the pass defense side of things based on how PFF graded him.
Ronnie Eastham of BuffaLowDown pegged him as merely a rotation and depth piece, so it would be up to the Cowboys and Settle to get his career up and going the right direction.
Most importantly is he can be had at a relative bargain, with Spotrac projecting he'll make $3.7 million per year on his next deal. He'd be an upgrade over Jonathan Hankins in the role he'll be vacating.