The Dallas Cowboys will place a second-round tender on restricted free agent David Irving, ESPN’s Todd Archer reported Wednesday. It’s a move which means that any team wishing to sign the third-year defensive lineman will have to provide a pick in round two of the 2018 NFL Draft if Dallas chooses not to match the offer sheet. The second-round tender carries with it a value of $2.914 million this season.
The Cowboys have placed the $2.91 million second-round tender on restricted free agent defensive linemen David Irving. The team contemplated using the first-rounder tender at $4.1 million but opted for the lower tag. A team would have to give up a… https://t.co/eV2UI16eiw
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) March 14, 2018
David Irving Receives Restricted Free Agent Tender From Dallas Cowboys
Irving entered the league as an undrafted free agent back in 2015 after playing collegiately at Iowa State. After a short stint with the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad, Irving found himself a home with the Cowboys. Irving made quite an impression during his limited playing time as a rookie. The defensive tackle played in 12 games that season, starting in none, and racked up eight tackles with 0.5 sacks, and three passes defended. Irving’s role was to be a backup. Irving, unfortunately, suffered a fracture in his left wrist late in the season and had to be placed on injured reserve.
Irving’s play only got better in his second season. The 6’7″ tackle played in 15 games in 2016, with just two starts. He notched only 12 tackles but recorded 4.0 sacks and a very impressive four forced fumbles. In a week six win against the Green Bay Packers, Irving earned himself the title of NFC Defensive Player of the Week due in part to his one sack and three forced fumbles. That monster stat line was put up in only 19 snaps. Irving was seemingly unstoppable in that game. Green Bay had paid a large price for trying to block him. Potential was quickly turning itself into productivity for Irving.
The Cowboys re-signed Irving after the 2016 season due to his exceptional play, and huge potential to become even better. However, the following season would be very up and down. He would miss the first four games of the season due to violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy. He played in a total of eight games in 2017, starting them all. In those eight contests, Irving led the league in sacks by a defensive tackle with seven. Unfortunately, Irving also had to miss the last four games of the season because of a concussion that seemed to linger for far too long.
