NFL Free Agency: Cowboys Agree To Deal With Big-Bodied DT Dontari Poe
FRISCO - The real examination of a signing of Damon “Snacks” Harrison was a hint. The agreement Wednesday on a deal with Dontari Poe is a statement.
A 2012 first-round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs, Poe, 29, jumped to the front of the line in Dallas’ search for defensive tackle heft and per an NFL Network report will indeed sign with Dallas. Poe most recently played with the Carolina Panthers with Gerald McCoy, who signed with the Cowboys last week.,
- as did Harrison, who as CowboysSI.com revealed over the weekend was a Dallas target.
Worth nothing: Harrison on Monday tweeted that actual contact from Dallas "would've been nice,'' but never actually occurred. We're told, however, that agent Drew Rosenhaus, who reps Harrison and who recently did C.J. Goodwin's contract to return to Dallas, likely touched base in some form with the Cowboys ... and that maybe Poe ended up being a more affordable option.
Poe, who played 11 games in Carolina in 2019, is a 6-3, 346-pound wide body who has also played with the Falcons. This past year, the Panthers declined his option, putting him in play along with a host of 1-Tech types who fit a Cowboys change on philosophy at The Star. New head coach Mike McCarthy and new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan favor bigger bodies on the inside than did previous coordinator Rod Marinelli.
Poe is a space-eater ... but he's also done some athletic things in his NFL career. To wit:
The big-bodied signing at the other tackle provides Dallas with mass inside teaming with the 6-4, 300-pound playmaker McCoy. And now along comes Poe ... giving the Cowboys about 650 pounds of prime beef in the middle of their new defense.
