'Fantastic!' Dorance Armstrong Reveals Why He Left Cowboys to Sign with Washington
FRISCO - First off, to be very, very clear, there is one preeminent reason why Dorance Armstrong signed with the Washington Commanders, jumping from the Dallas Cowboys to do so.
In short, the 26-year-old Armstrong got paid. He joins his former defensive coordinator in Dallas, Dan Quinn, in D.C. because he was able to sign a three-year, $33 million deal with the Commanders.
That's it. That the reason. We knew going into free agency that Dallas would've "overspend'' here ... and of course, now we're learning that "Blow It Up!''(?) Dallas might not spend at all.
But others were willing to throw money at "D.A.''; we are told that Armstrong had numerous suitors as he hit the market. But when Quinn called? That helped close the deal.
There were, Armstrong said as he met the media this week in Washington "a lot of options out there. (But) to me, (the Commanders) just made the most sense. It was the most comfortable decision that I could make. Yeah, it wasn't a hard decision, honestly.
Last season, Armstrong played just 42 percent of the snaps for the Cowboys but still managed 7.5 sacks, 12 quarterback hits, and seven tackles for loss.
In 2022, Armstrong again was a bit-part player, only being on the field for 47% of the snaps, but he still produced 8.5 sacks, 16 quarterback hits and 10 tackles for loss. If he moves up the rotation in Washington? .His numbers should move up as well working under Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr., who also jumps from Dallas to D.C.
“I think he'll do fantastic,” Armstrong said of Whitt. “He's going to transfer the things that we were doing over there to over here and just look for our defense to be something very special.”
The Cowboys still have a pass-rush group led by Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence. But Dante Fowler (a long-time DQ guy) and Armstrong create a void. Sam Williams has potential. Maybe Junior Fehoko does, too. And at the end of last season, Tyrus Wheat got a roster spot.
How new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer utilizes Parsons is key to Dallas' 2024 success. But how Dallas replaces the likes of Armstrong is going to matter, too.
