The Dallas Cowboys are dealing with a huge loss in the middle of their defense with Sean Lee and now Brian Urlacher has emerged as a free agent option along with Jonathan Vilma, Dan Connor and Ernie Sims to replace him, while Jerry Jones is also looking at trades with teams deep at linebacker, including the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns, Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings and of course Jerry could go crazy with a trade for Aldon Smith with the 49ers.
The Cowboys lost Lee on the first day of OTA workouts and it's a big hit for the defense, as the team had Lee out last year and was hoping to get him back healthy in 2014. Lee has had issues before with his ACL and now he has another injury, as he previous tore his right ACL in college and then his left ACL was partially torn the next season. According to ESPN.com, Lee had an MRI that revealed the damage and he now has a torn ACL and a slight meniscus tear and that means he will be out for the 2014 season. SI.com put together a list of names and both Jonathan Vilma and Ernie Sims were listed as potential replacements.
Pro Football Talk has also thrown Brian Urlacher's name into the ring, as the website reports that the Cowboys may have interest in signing him to help mitigate the loss of Lee. The team has some internal options like Anthony Hitchens and DeVonte Holloman, but the Cowboys may feel more comfortable with established players taking over the middle linebacker responsibilities. Urlacher previously retired after getting a low ball offer from the Chicago Bears and the report says that Urlacher is in shape and could be an option for the Cowboys if they want to bring him in.
Vilma and Urlacher are older players and the team may want to go younger at the position, but they are both experienced and could be solid replacements. Sims has knowledge of the Cowboys system and could also be a good option and this comes after head coach Jason Garrett was looking to put the focus on the defense this offseason. The Cowboys ranked in the bottom half of the league in both passing yards and rushing yards per game and now the team will have to find a replacement. Lee was hurt last season and missed five games with hamstring and neck issues and now he will be done for the year and his future return could be in question as well.
Lee signed a six year extension with the Cowboys and most of it was tied to being on the field, but it still was a big contract and could be worth up to $51 million and has over $40 million in base salary. Last season the Cowboys went 8-8 and missed the playoffs again after losing the final game of the season against the Eagles. The team ranked 27th in rushing yards allowed per game and they need to replace Lee to help that and the team was even worse against the pass, ranking 30th in the league with nearly 290 yards allowed per game.
