NFL Free Agency: Will the Cowboys Bid on Seahawks DE Jadeveon Clowney?

FRISCO - If you are in search of a "name'' defensive lineman to hook up alongside DeMarcus Lawrence and under Mike McCarthy, Mike Nolan and Jim Tomsula, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better name than "Jadeveon Clowney.''

He was the first overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, he has qualified for three Pro Bowls, and his name is "Jadeveon Clowney.''

How much more "name'' does it get than all of that?

The Dallas Cowboys coaching staff (head coach McCarthy, defensive coordinator Nolan and D-line coach Tomsula) joins management in being well-aware of how bare the D-line cupboard is at present.

DeMarcus Lawrence is under contract. But starters Robert Quinn and Maliek Collins are free agents. So are helpers Christian Covington and Kerry Hyder. And, just for the record, the rental Michael Bennett is also free.

The Cowboys would like to find a way to re-do Tyrone Crawford's deal in order for him to stay on, like Antwaun Woods on the cheap as an exclusive-rights free agent, and can't give up on top 2019 pick Trysten Hill just yet.

All totaled, it's little wonder why Cowboys observers are trying to attach defensive linemen to Dallas.

Some of the speculation comes with logical ties. Is there player with a McCarthy tie, a Nolan tie, a Tomsula tie, or someone who was once high on Will McClay's Dallas draft board who has fallen out of favor and needs a reboot?

ESPN writes that "you can't count out the Cowboys in the Jadeveon Clowney pursuit, even if it means paying two defensive ends like franchise players.''

But we're not sure who actually views Clowney as a "franchise player'' - except, that is, for Clowney himself. In reality, doesn't he fall closer to the "needs-a-reboot'' category?

The start-of-2019 trade that sent Clowney from the Houston Texans to Seattle was lauded as a Seahawks steal; they gave up only a third-round pick and two bodies. But ... did it work?

Clowney logged just three sacks in 2019. He was a playmaker in other ways; he forced a career-high four fumbles and he's a willing run-defender. And he's only 27, so there is more good play in his future.

But "pay him like a franchise player''? And acquiesce to his plan (per a note from Matt Miller of Bleacher Report) that he's "looking to reset the market''?

A “market-setting contract” means in excess of Aaron Donald's $22.5 mil per year, in excess of Khalil Mack's $23.5 mil, in excess of Lawrence's $21 mil. "It only takes one team,'' as the saying goes, to vault Clowney’s contract into that stratosphere. But there isn't any evidence that Dallas judges him to be "great.'' More likely? The Cowboys think he's a good player who needs to "reboot his career'' rather than as a great player who gets to "re-set the market.''