Cowboys Are One Cut Away From Affording Jadeveon Clowney

The Dallas Cowboys have a pass-rushing crisis. Not only did their star edge man with a massive contract, Demarcus Lawrence, disappoint last year, but Robert Quinn bolted for the Chicago Bears, leaving the Cowboys with a hole they should look to free agency to fill.

If Jerry Jones and Co. want to stay on brand and swing for the fences, they should try to replace Quinn with an elite game-wrecker like former Seattle Seahawk Jadeveon Clowney, the single best NFL free agent still available.

The player who would unfortunately need to bite the dust for the Cowboys to afford Clowney is defensive end Tyrone Crawford, who will account for a $9 million cap hit despite playing in just four games last year.

Crawford might be the starter on the depth chart right now, but the presence of youngsters like Dorance Armstrong and Bradlee Anae has to be making him sweat. Wild cards like Randy Gregory and Aldon Smith can still productive when they are in the right frame of mind; keeping Crawford around is the definition of counterproductive.

Getting rid of him and signing Clowney, however, would be another sign that the Cowboys aren't going to tolerate mediocrity at any position in 2020.

Crawford's time has come and gone, as he is too expensive and too injury-prone to be a reliable secondary pass-rushing option at this point in this career. We know Jerry Jones likes stars, so why not get rid of Crawford and bring Clowney in to really take this defense to the next level? It can be done, and there's nothing stopping him.