Cowboys Predicted to Sign Super Bowl Winning EDGE in NFL Free Agency

Jerry Jones promised the Dallas Cowboys would be active during NFL free agency and began clearing cap space this week. Dallas restructured contracts for quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, and guard Tyler Smith.

Those moves got them under the salary cap, but there’s more work to be done for the Cowboys to be players during free agency. The good news is that they have options to free up space, and are expected to improve their defense with outside signings.

One player who makes sense for Dallas is Boye Mafe of the Seattle Seahawks. He has experience as a 3-4 pass rusher and just helped Seattle win a Super Bowl.

Still an ascending talent, Mafe will have suitors this offseason but SI.com’s Gilberto Manzano predicts that he will sign with the Cowboys.

”Perhaps the best way for the Cowboys to fill the gaping hole that Micah Parsons left after being traded to the Packers is to follow the lead of the Seahawks, who had an abundance of pass rushers en route to winning the Super Bowl,” Manzano wrote.

“Mafe was a part of that dominant rotation, and with 20 career sacks, he can drastically improve Dallas’s defense.”

A second round pick out of Minnesota in 2022, Mafe had a breakout campaign during his second season. That year, he had 52 tackles and nine sacks.

He became a rotational player under new head coach Mike Macdonald, but still played well as a pass rusher while providing strong edge support against the run.

Will Boye Mafe be enough to fix Cowboys’ pass rush?

Seattle Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe runs off the field during the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. | Travis Register-Imagn Images

Manzano stated that Mafe would drastically improve the Dallas defense, but signing him alone won’t be enough.

While he would help tremendously, the Cowboys have to look at the way Seattle approached things. Mafe was one of several capable pass rushers, while Dallas is severely lacking in this department. Their most promising edge rusher is Donovan Ezeiruaku, who played well as a rookie, but recently had hip surgery which puts his status to start the season in doubt.

That’s why even if the Cowboys land Mafe in free agency, they must continue to add depth. They could target veteran defenders capable of serving as rotational pass rushers, but still can’t rule out using one of their two picks in Round 1 to bolster the position even further.

Will Boye Mafe be enough to fix Cowboys’ pass rush?

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