Cowboys Sign EDGE Tarell Basham

Basham as a senior totaled nine sacks and 14.5 tackles for a loss, made the All-Mac team and won conference player of the year honors.

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys have added to their collection of edge defenders with the NFL free agent signing of Tarell Basham, who turned 27 today, a former third-round pick of the Colts who was a part-time starter last year for the Jets.

The 6-foot-4, 266-pound Ohio University product played in all 16 regular-season games for New York while starting in nine of them. He recorded 19 solo tackles, 12 assists, four sacks, and three forced fumbles, all of which earned him a PFF grade of 64.6. 

Basham's contract with Dallas is a reported two-year deal worth $6.5 million.

Basham has length, fitting what Dallas likes in "traits'' at the position. And he does have a college track record that shows some promise. In his breakout senior season. Basham totaled nine sacks and 14.5 tackles for a loss, made the All-Mac team and won conference player of the year honors.

The Cowboys, it is worth mentioning, liked Basham in that draft class. And now? DeMarcus Lawrence is the starter at one end and if this works out, Basham can compete for time behind him and Randy Gregory.

He is a perimeter player, unlike the other two Thursday signings by Dallas, with former Texans d-lineman Carlos Watkins and former Bears d-lineman Brent Urban signing with the Cowboys on short-term deals.

READ MORE: Cowboys NFL Free Agency Tracker

Urban - who happens to stand 6-7 and weighs 300 - started eight of the 16 games he played for the Chicago Bears last season and recorded 36 tackles and 2.5 sacks. He signed with Chicago during two seasons after stints with the Titans and the Ravens, where the 29-year-old Canadian was a fourth-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Watkins, a 2017 fourth-round pick out of Clemson, played four seasons with the Texans before becoming an unrestricted free agent after finishing out his rookie contract with the Texans. The 6-3, 297-pound defensive lineman was a starter with Houston in 2020, registering 11 first-team appearances. He recorded two of his career four sacks last season while playing about half of the snaps for the Texans.