Linebacker depth has improved for the Cowboys this offseason.
The Dallas Cowboys made it a mission filled holes defensively through the first wave of free agency. Specifically, they have upgraded the linebacker position due to DeMarvion Overshown recovering from a torn ACL, veteran Eric Kendricks being a free agent, and Damone Clark not taking the next step up until this point. Last week, Dallas signed Jack Sanborn to a one-year deal and traded for Kenneth Murray.
Sprinkle in Marist Liufau, who showed great promise as a rookie in 2024, and the Cowboys linebacker room looks a lot better than it did a few weeks ago. However, Bill Barnwell of ESPN doesn’t think Dallas should stop there. He laid out ideal landing spots for some of the top remaining free agents on Wednesday. The Cowboys were mentioned when it came to White.
Why he’s still a free agent: Once a safety, White can be a tweener in some NFL defenses, which might see him as more of a weakside linebacker than the middle linebacker role he played in Arizona over the past two seasons. Teams prioritized paying three-down linebackers Nick Bolton and Robert Spillane early in free agency, but even while White has been an every-down linebacker, he might not have a ton of teams seeing him as that sort of player in their own defenses.
Why teams should be interested: He’s fun! White makes a ton of tackles; his 11.9% tackle share last season ranked 16th in the league, an impressive figure given that Budda Baker ranked third by the same metric. White’s missed tackle rate was reasonable (5.5%), and he had 2.5 sacks and eight knockdowns as a blitzer.
White is certainly a tackling machine. He logged over 100 in three of the last four seasons and still had 90 in the one season he didn’t (2023). During his seven seasons in the NFL, White has played in 92 games with 73 starts, including 17 last season for the Arizona Cardinals. White hasn’t been hit too hard with injuries during his career as he was placed on injured reserve for the final two games at the end of the 2020 season with a hamstring issue and missed we the final six games in 2023 with a torn biceps.
The 2024 campaign was arguably the best for White as a pro. His 137 tackles were his second most in any season. He also set career highs in sacks (2.5) and quarterback hits (8), and he also tied a career best with nine tackles for loss. So, White is still a very productive player. On top of that, he’s more than cost efficient with a market value of only $5.8 according to Spotrac.
Dallas could be done adding linebacker help until the draft, and it would be understandable with the Sanborn and Murray additions. A guy like White is someone they Cowboys should consider, though, and he wouldn’t stop them from picking up another in the NFL draft next month.
