After playing his entire career with the Dallas Cowboys, DeMarcus Lawrence is set to hit free agency in 2025. Lawrence is now 32 years old and his play has diminished over the years.
DeMarcus Lawrence Will Sign With the Detroit Lions
While Lawrence hasn’t had more than 10 sacks since 2018, he’s been a solid contributor for the past few years. With Lawrence likely only playing for a few more years, I expect him to try and win a Super Bowl by joining the Detroit Lions in 2025.
Leaving the Dallas Cowboys
Lawrence has been loyal to the Cowboys for his entire career, but it would make sense for him to finally go and chase a Super Bowl. I wouldn’t consider the Cowboys Super Bowl contenders, especially after their 7-10 record in 2024. Even with Dak Prescott back at the helm, the Cowboys have struggled to get over the hump for a while now.
I’m projecting Lawrence to have 1-2 more seasons in the NFL, which doesn’t fit with the Cowboys timeline. The Cowboys have quite a few holes to fix in the next few years before I would consider them real contenders. They’re still a good team, but I would place them in the “reload” category.
Joining the Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are one more elite EDGE away from having an unbelievable defense. I’m not expecting Lawrence to be elite at this point in his career, but despite only playing four games, he displayed some juice during that stretch. Lawrence racked up three sacks in that four-game stretch.
Even if Lawrence isn’t dominant, he’ll be a nice rotational piece alongside Za’Darius Smith. Both are plenty talented, but Smith is getting up there as well, at 32 years old. Making sure both are fresh would be a win-win for all parties involved.
In regards to Lawrence wanting to play for a contender, the Lions absolutely fit that criteria. The team fell to the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round, but their roster is still very talented heading into 2025. According to FanDuel, the Lions currently have the 5th best Super Bowl odds for 2025 at +1000. With that in mind, it would make a ton of sense for the Lions to go and offer Lawrence a contract at this point in his career.
