Cowboys should kick the tires on LB Dre Greenlaw in free agency

The Dallas Cowboys have a lot of questions to answer in terms of their roster this offseason. One of them will be how to shore up the linebacker position. Second-year sensation DeMarvion Overshown took the league by storm in 2024 after missing his entire rookie campaign with a torn ACL. Unfortunately, he suffered another ACL tear, which puts his 2025 season up in the air as far as when he’ll be back. Veteran Eric Kendricks showed he still had plenty in the tank, but he’ll be a free agent next month.

Marist Liufau had some rookie growing pains but eventually showed his potential as the season went along. However, he’s the only sure thing you can say when it comes to the Cowboys linebacker room next year, seeing as he’s taken a lot of time away from Damone Clark. It would behoove the Cowboys to look at a veteran option before taking one in the NFL draft. Dre Greenlaw of the San Francisco 49ers is a good target.

Greenlaw started the 2024 season on the reserve/PUP list due to suffering a torn Achilles in Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs. He was activated in December. However, he left early in his return against the Los Angeles Rams due to knee discomfort and also left after playing just four snaps versus the Miami Dolphins with a calf strain. So, there’s certainly cause to pause with his recent injury history. When it comes to the Cowboys and how they operate, though, it fits perfectly.

Dallas is known for signing veterans to cheap, short-term deals in free agency, which is usually a one-year agreement in most cases. Being that Greenlaw has been hurt more often than not as of late, that drives his value down. This makes him a prime candidate for a one-year prove-it type of deal. Per Spotrac, Greenlaw has a market value of $6.7 million, which fits like a hand in a glove for the Cowboys.

Now that we’ve got the injury history and money stuff out of the way, let’s talk about play on the field. When healthy, Greenlaw is a stud at the linebacker position. He plays downhill with speed and aggression. He shoots gaps very well against the run, is a sure tackler, and he can cover running backs out of the backfield as well as tight ends. Getting Greenlaw in the building to play with a promising young talent like Liufau as well as Overshown, who plans to play at some point in the 2025, would give the Cowboys something to be positive about at the linebacker spot, and if they could find a way to bring the aforementioned Kendricks back as well, they’d certainly be in good shape at linebacker.