Should Cowboys Sign Vikings Free Agent Anthony Barr as Micah Parsons Helper?

He has been plagued by injuries as of late; that's why Barr got only a one-year deal last spring. It's likely why he's still on the shelf now. Still ...

FRISCO - Given the fact that the Dallas Cowboys recently flirted with the idea of signing multiple-time Pro Bowl linebacker Bobby Wagner before he landed with the Rams, should they take another swing at another Pro Bowl linebacker in his 30s?

Anthony Barr has been a star-caliber player for the Minnesota Vikings defense, and he's now 30 ... with a connection to the Dallas coaching staff ... and still unsigned. 

Can there be a fit?

First off, of course - as always - is the money. Barr played at $10 million last year. Even as the Cowboys would seem to have $13 million or so of cap room, a big chunk of that is earmarked for the NFL Draft class.

So the Cowboys' offer to Barr might be closer to a vet's minimum, as we believe it was for Wagner. That probably won't fly.

Then there is the question of where he plays. The Cowboys linebacker room is led by Micah Parsons, and Dallas re-signed Leighton Vander Esch, with Jabril Cox coming back from injury. Parsons is best-used as a chess piece; if there was another linebacker available, it would free him to be more of a pass-rusher.

Except ... that's actually what Barr, the former UCLA star who was taken as the ninth overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, is. In fact, as we recall, the Cowboys - who liked Barr in that draft - sort of thought of him as a pass rusher first.

Barr

LVE, Micah

Edwards

That's not a bad thing; in Barr's rookie season, he had 70 total tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles and a touchdown. And then in four consecutive seasons from 2015 through 2018, Barr made the Pro Bowl. (He did so, by the way, under the supervision of Minnesota defensive coordinator George Edwards, now a Dallas assistant.)

He qualified as a Micah helper, or even as "Micah Lite.'' Weak-side linebacker? Rush the passer. Drop into coverage. Veteran presence.

He has been plagued by injuries as of late; that's why Barr got only a one-year deal last spring. It's likely why he's still on the shelf now. Still, the longer he stays on that shelf, the more viable an idea this becomes. Dallas, for all the cap-related criticism it gets, is actually quite successful when it comes to cheap, short-term signings of vets trying to rehab their career. The Cowboys defense today features a host of those guys: Jayron Kearse, Malik Hooker, Vander Esch, Carlos Watkins, Dante Fowler ...

Why not try one more?

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