{"id":153322,"date":"2023-11-24T13:00:30","date_gmt":"2023-11-24T18:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=153322"},"modified":"2023-11-24T06:47:26","modified_gmt":"2023-11-24T11:47:26","slug":"dallas-cowboys-shaq-leonard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/11\/24\/dallas-cowboys-shaq-leonard\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dallas Cowboys Should Pursue All-Star Pro Linebacker"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After the stunning move from the Indianapolis Colts to release star linebacker Shaquille Leonard, the Dallas Cowboys now expressing interest in the three-time All-Pro. The rumors started spiraling even since the linebacker <a href=\"https:\/\/nfltraderumors.co\/former-colts-lb-shaquille-leonard-clears-waivers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cleared off waivers<\/a>. It\u2019s now in Dallas\u2019 full control to lay the hammer to make a move on the star. Leighton Vander Esch&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/nfl\/news\/cowboys-leighton-vander-esch-lost-for-season-due-to-potential-career-threatening-neck-injury\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">career is already in jeopardy<\/a> so this move complements Markquese Bell and Damone Clark.<\/p>\n<p>No matter the severity of the Esch\u2019s injury, it\u2019s clear that Dallas needs serious veteran help at linebacker. They already have <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/10\/14\/rashaan-evans-dallas-cowboys-defense\/\" target=\"_self\">Rashaan Evans<\/a> who was activated to the starting roster. So, one last veteran piece won\u2019t hurt the team\u2019s rotation. However, it\u2019s all up to the Dallas Cowboys&#8217; remaining cap space. As a free agent, Shaquille Leonard could sign with any team, and there is a chance that the Cowboys will need to outbid a handful of teams for his services.<\/p>\n<p>He still has gas left in the tank because he\u2019s still a good asset to add to the already bolstered defense. Leonard started nine games for the Colts this season posting 65 tackles in 2023. The veteran played just three games in 2022 as Leonard had injury issues. Still, he can mold himself back quickly under Dan Quinn and this explosive defense.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Colts\u2019 three-time All-Pro LB Darius Shaquille Leonard cleared waivers today, per source. He is now a free agent.<\/p>\n<p>Teams expected to have some level of interest include the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/l1K3msBc4G\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/l1K3msBc4G<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AdamSchefter\/status\/1727438864061747619?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 22, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>The Dallas Cowboys Should Pursue All-Pro Linebacker Shaquille Leonard<\/h2>\n<h3>Why This Signing Makes Sense for the Cowboys<\/h3>\n<p>If it happens, his monstrous signing would be a big deal for America\u2019s team. Brace yourselves Dallas fans, this would change the landscape of this already extraordinary defense. The loss of Vander-Esch is hurting the team because one last injury would take a hit at depth. Dallas already can\u2019t afford to leave the burden to Bell and Clark, so this signing is imminent.<\/p>\n<p>Evans is expected to get to get some playing time so this signing would only add more fire. However, the only downside is the injuries that Leonard has been battling throughout his career. This won\u2019t matter because when he\u2019s healthy and hungry he plays his best football. <a href=\"https:\/\/premium.pff.com\/nfl\/players\/2023\/REGPO\/shaquille-leonard\/49684\/defense\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Based on his PFF grades<\/a>, he\u2019s playing his best still in running and tackling.<\/p>\n<p>Leonard has grown dissatisfied with his role in Indianapolis so his release was bound for him to find a new team. Despite his injuries and a significant drop in his production on the field, he can make it back to fascinating production in Dallas. However, this situation is validated in a sense since the Colts have taken him off in passing scenarios.<\/p>\n<h3>Shaquille Leonard Could Be the Missing Piece for Cowboys<\/h3>\n<p>Luckily for the Cowboys, they don\u2019t really need a coverage linebacker right now. Between their two starters and a slew of options, they are rich in pass defense. It\u2019s the run defense the Dallas Cowboys are severely lacking in and Leonard can be the answer to that solution. Obviously, the Cowboys still need star power at their depth since they are so young.<\/p>\n<p>It makes the Cowboys very attractive since they are low on depth and may make Leonard want to sign with Dallas. It won\u2019t be a full-time role for the All-Pro like he had with the Colts. It\u2019s potentially still a significant role but now with a dominant defense. The Cowboys can afford it since they will only be shuffling a little bit of cash.<\/p>\n<p>However, the only downside is <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/dallas-cowboys\/nfl-rumors-news-darius-shaq-leonard\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">eating up their cap space<\/a>. This bodes well for Dallas since Leonard is a low-risk, high-reward signing. He\u2019s still a good asset since he will add run support skills to the team that is in need. It\u2019s all up to the man in the front office to make a move.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main Photo: Jenna Watson &#8211; USA Today Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After the stunning move from the Indianapolis Colts to release star linebacker Shaquille Leonard, the Dallas Cowboys now expressing interest in the three-time All-Pro. The rumors started spiraling even since the linebacker cleared off waivers. It\u2019s now in Dallas\u2019 full control to lay the hammer to make a move on the star. Leighton Vander Esch&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4795,"featured_media":153467,"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":[19,54],"tags":[7422,9134,3795,32047,3706,31918],"class_list":["post-153322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cowboys","category-editorials","tag-dallas-cowboys-news","tag-damone-clark","tag-leighton-vander-esch","tag-markquese-bell","tag-rashaan-evans","tag-shaquille-leonard"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153322","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=153322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}