{"id":149596,"date":"2023-10-14T14:30:44","date_gmt":"2023-10-14T18:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=149596"},"modified":"2023-10-14T08:43:57","modified_gmt":"2023-10-14T12:43:57","slug":"rashaan-evans-dallas-cowboys-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/10\/14\/rashaan-evans-dallas-cowboys-defense\/","title":{"rendered":"Former First-Round Linebacker Ready to Shine With Cowboys"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Dallas Cowboys defense is not only taking a beating on the field this past week. But, they have a new wound that\u2019s been opened that needed a quick bandage, which is why the Cowboys recently\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallascowboys.com\/news\/cowboys-sign-lb-rashaan-evans-in-wake-of-lve-injury\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">signed Rashaan Evans<\/a>. The former first-rounder is no stranger to performing under pressure on the big stage.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/cowboys\/news\/dallas-cowboys-officially-move-leighton-vander-esch-ir-signing-rashaan-evans\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">loss of Leighton Vander-Esch<\/a> creates complications either way, as he came into this season with high expectations. This all fell when he went to the injured reserve and Dallas needed to find someone to teach the young linebacker corps. Evans is the answer to that problem and is \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallascowboys.com\/news\/rashaan-evans-ready-to-jump-in-for-the-cowboys\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ready<\/a>\u201d to jump in for the Cowboys. It\u2019ll be up to the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff if they would like to activate him soon.<\/p>\n<p>The Alabama product spent five seasons having produced 67 starts with career-high numbers in 159 combined tackles. He\u2019s also a two-time national champion so his experience is no stranger to what he can bring to Dan Quinn\u2019s spicy defense. This mindset and experience can get that doomsday defense back to where they were. Fans will see if his mentality can match with the explosive defense Dallas has.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Rashaan Evans Locker Room | #DALvsLAC | Dallas Cowboys 2023\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7cUnLCe19Ho?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Former First-Round Linebacker Ready to Shine With Cowboys<\/h2>\n<h3>A Hard Hitting, Physical Veteran<\/h3>\n<p>It very well seems like Rashaan Evans is hungry to get started even on Monday night against the Chargers. He reflected on what attribute he brings to the doomsday defense.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPhysicality. I try not to be too savvy in my words about my play, and I try to leave it up to what I\u2019ve shown on TV, but I can\u2019t wait for that opportunity to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If that\u2019s the case, he\u2019s set to pair and mentor young players like <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/08\/17\/rising-stars-three-cowboy-players-who-could-make-the-roster\/\" target=\"_self\">Damone Clark<\/a> and Malik Jefferson. A lot of work is expected for the linebackers, but they are getting much-needed veteran help. Evans has been waiting for the right opportunity ever since being released from the Eagles practice squad last month. He now has the chance in Dallas to not only continue to bolster the defense but to teach young talent.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s not forget about <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/09\/12\/beasts-of-the-east-three-cowboy-players-impress-in-shutout-win\/\" target=\"_self\">Micah Parsons<\/a> now he still remains the main linebacker for this formidable defense. But just imagine having both Evans and Parsons on the field at the same time. It\u2019ll be like two tanks ready to rush through to scare the quarterbacks.<\/p>\n<h3>Expectations for Rashaan Evans This Season<\/h3>\n<p>Despite only expecting to be playing at the second level for now, he\u2019s still set to make noise this season. Evans has 12 pass breakups, five sacks, 16 quarterback hits, and five fumble recoveries throughout the course of his career. It\u2019s no doubt he still has a lot of gas left in the tank. The Dallas Cowboys defense has been lacking this same gas against Joshua Dobbs and<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/05\/24\/the-brock-purdy-effect\/\" target=\"_self\"> Brock Purdy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This is a perfect match to help one another to get back on track. In 2018, the Cowboys and Rashaan Evans had talked before that year\u2019s draft. But, Dallas went with Vander-Esch during that year and it\u2019s all coming back in full circle. Evans is the one stepping in to help cover the void by Esch\u2019s injury.<\/p>\n<p>The Dallas Cowboys defense shouldn\u2019t be defined by two bad games because they are still heading in the right direction. Evans&#8217; family is even excited for him to finally play for Dallas. He reflected on the call he got from the organization.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were definitely one of the teams I would\u2019ve loved to play for and it\u2019s so funny how things come full circle, to be able to have the opportunity now to come play for the Cowboys. As soon as they made that call, I immediately got on that plane.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019ll get a big taste either way if he doesn\u2019t compete this upcoming Monday Night against the Chargers. Dan Quinn and the linebacker corps are thrilled to have him on board. Feelings are mutual so fans will wait to see if this new move makes an impact.<\/p>\n<p><em>Universal Responsible Gambling Disclaimer:<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Main Photo: Dale Zanine &#8211; USA Today Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the wake of the Leighton Vander-Esch injury, former first-round pick Rashaan Evans is ready to thrive for the Cowboys defense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4795,"featured_media":149773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[54,19],"tags":[7422,9134,217,3795,6993,3706],"class_list":["post-149596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-cowboys","tag-dallas-cowboys-news","tag-damone-clark","tag-dan-quinn","tag-leighton-vander-esch","tag-micah-parsons","tag-rashaan-evans"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4795"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149596\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}