{"id":56893,"date":"2025-06-18T07:43:59","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T07:43:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56893"},"modified":"2025-06-18T07:43:59","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T07:43:59","slug":"cowboys-urged-to-sign-94-million-nfl-all-pro-lb-for-struggling-run-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56893","title":{"rendered":"Cowboys Urged to Sign $94 Million NFL All-Pro LB for Struggling Run Defense"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1453838428-e1750182634983.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1453838428-e1750182634983.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1453838428-e1750182634983.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1453838428-e1750182634983.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"C.J. Mosley\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-img-load-time=\"287\" data-dom-ready-time=\"413\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">New York Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The numbers don\u2019t lie when it comes to the\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0defense \u2014 they were really bad in 2024. Like, close to the worst in the NFL.<\/p>\n<p>The Cowboys were 28th in team defense and even worse against the run, finishing 30th. That\u2019s why\u00a0Bleacher Report\u2019s Kristopher Knox\u00a0has trying to improve the run defense as one of Dallas\u2019 top priorities remaining this offseason.<\/p>\n<p>The problem for the Cowboys right now is they can\u2019t really do anything on defense to\u00a0move the unit forward\u00a0until they\u00a0settle the contract situation\u00a0of NFL All-Pro edge rusher\u00a0Micah Parsons, who could become the highest paid defensive player in NFL history with his new deal.<\/p>\n<p>After that, Knox thinks one player the Cowboys might bring in who could make an impact \u2014 and stop teams from running up the middle \u2014 is 5-time NFL All-Pro and free agent linebacker\u00a0C.J. Mosley.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce Dallas has sorted out Parsons\u2019 situation, it should seek additional help for a run defense that ranked 30th in yards per carry allowed last season,\u201d Knox wrote on June 17. \u201cPlayers like C.J. Mosley and\u00a0Raekwon Davis could help strengthen the depth of Dallas\u2019 front seven.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mosley, who will be 33 years old when the season starts, would not just add depth but could very well be pressed into starting duty in Dallas. That\u2019s because one of the projected starters,\u00a0DeMarvion Overshown, won\u2019t be back on the field until at least Thanksgiving. There\u2019s a chance Overshown might not even play in 2025 after suffering a\u00a0devastating knee injury in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLinebacker\u00a0C.J. Mosley\u00a0wasn\u2019t released with a \u2018failed physical\u2019 designation, so he\u2019s presumably healthy after missing significant time last season with a herniated disc in his neck,\u201d\u00a0ESPN\u2019s Rich Cimini\u00a0wrote on March 16. \u201cMosley, who turns 33 on June 19, apparently isn\u2019t ready to retire.\u00a0He\u2019s still looking for a team.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-content entry-content\">\n<h2>Mosley Has Been Dominant LB in Past<\/h2>\n<p>The Cowboys would be lucky to squeeze one more great season out of Mosley, who has been one of the NFL\u2019s dominant inside linebackers for the last decade.<\/p>\n<p>Mosley was a 2-time All-American and 2-time BCS National Champion at Alabama and won the Butkus Award as the nation\u2019s top linebacker in 2013 before the\u00a0Baltimore Ravens\u00a0selected him in the first round (No. 17 overall) of the\u00a02014 NFL draft.<\/p>\n<p>Mosley earned NFL All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors 4 of his first 5 seasons and signed a 5-year, $85 million free agent contract with the\u00a0New York Jets\u00a0in March 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Like anyone who plays for the Jets is bound to do, Mosley saw his career go off a cliff in New York. He missed all but 2 games over the next 2 seasons after groin surgery in 2019 and sitting out all of the 2020 season due to the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>Mosley, who has approximately\u00a0$94 million in career earnings through the 2024 season, bounced back with 3 consecutive seasons of at least 150 tackles from 2021 to 2023 and earned All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors for the fifth. He missed all but 4 games in 2024 with toe and neck injuries.<\/p>\n<p>The Cowboys made several moves to shore up their inside linebackers in the offseason \u2014 although neither inspires much confidence. Dallas traded for\u00a0former first round pick Kenneth Murray Jr.\u00a0and signed\u00a0Jack Sanborn to a 1-year, $1.5 million free agent contract.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"l-article__author-bio\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty New York Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley. The numbers don\u2019t lie when it comes to the\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0defense \u2014 they were really bad in 2024. Like, close to&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cowboys Urged to Sign $94 Million NFL All-Pro LB for Struggling Run Defense - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56893\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cowboys Urged to Sign $94 Million NFL All-Pro LB for Struggling Run Defense - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty New York Jets linebacker C.J. 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