“How bout dem Cowboys?” Jerry and Stephen Jones have done it again folks. The Cowboys signed former Minnesota Vikings Linebacker and multiple pro-bowler Anthony Barr.

He can bring that extra back-up role for Micah Parsons in case of any injury that may occur. They basically have every defensive role covered with a back-up player, but didn’t have any one who could come close to what Parsons’ brings to the defense. Now they have that in Barr.

Barr’s Contract

Barr’s contract is team friendly as it’s only a one-year deal worth $2 million with incentives that could potentially raise the amount to $3 million. But hey, to Barr, it’s million, shmillion. Today’s athletes are well off financially and with the money they make, Barr is sitting pretty with a rookie contract and now a one-year deal.

Barr is now Dallas’ second most pricey free agent in 2022, but now he will be playing less and getting paid less than if he resigned with the Vikings. I like Barr’s thinking because it shows he cares more about just money. He is dedicated to winning a championship with the Cowboys this year and isn’t thinking about a long term deal.

Heading into the 2019 season, Barr signed a five-year, $67.5 million contract. After four consecutive Pro Bowls with the Vikings, he would never return to form as he played only 16 games over two years, including two in 2020. He then reworked the last three years of his contract down to just one-year, $10 million that made him become a free agent in 2022.

What Barr brings to the team

Barr is a multiple middle linebacker who plays an aggressive style of defense. He wants to play to attack the ball carrier and create fumbles. Last year, Barr had five passes batted and three picks, in only 11 games played. Barr also likes to get after the quarterback and has the ability to create many sacks in a game. The important thing is Barr needs to stay healthy, so that the Cowboys can feel the early impact right away.

Barr spent most of his off season recovering from a big knee injury. He’s a 2021 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award finalist and a great locker room leader.

How Barr’s duties may be different

Barr was mainly a fierce pass rusher under Mike Zimmer’s scheme. It was a 4-3 defense and Barr played the strong-side linebacker role. His job wasn’t to be a pass rusher. With a guy who’s got a quick first step, Zimmer sometimes made him get after the quarterback. He was never highlighted that way.

Now with the Cowboys, Barr and George Edwards will be working together again and working alongside Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn. Last year, Quinn molded the hybrid position for Parsons so expect Edwards and Quinn to find a formula to mold Barr as a hybrid too.

Barr is very similar to Parsons as both can rush the passer like no body’s business. They also can cover wide receivers like db’s and attack the ball-carrier.

The Cowboys are loaded on defense and were covered on every position except for Parsons. Now with Barr entering the picture, they’ve found someone that can complement Parsons. By only having to give up $2 million I’d say that’s a win-win for “Da Boys”.

How will it affect Cap Space?

The Cowboys started with around $22.5 million in cap space. Cap space money not used can be transferred over to the 2023 year league-wide cap amount. Dallas previously released UDFA LB Aaron Hansford, meaning something big was going to happen. And Barr is something, alright!

Determining how Barr’s compensations are grouped, Dallas’ cap space will decrease to no more than $19.5 million. The incentives might or might not be earned because of his poor 2021 stats.

The team has other needs to fill at the Wide Receiver position. While James Washington is expected to be out 6-10 weeks, the team expects to have him and Michael Gallup return before the middle of the season. They did sign USFL, MVP Kavontae Turpin from the New Jersey Generals and he already has experience catching balls against pro-caliber db’s.

Jerry Jones wants to bring in as much cap space moving forward, so he can endorse his young talent. To include: CeeDee Lamb & Trevon Diggs (both entitled to extensions this offseason).

He is standing by his word, if a deal presents itself, comes around at the right amount, could better the team, he would entertain the idea. Just like he did with Pro Bowl LB Anthony Barr at a proportionately small price.

Barr will be beginning his time with the Cowboys on the physically unable to perform list, (PUP) not due to an injury but because he did not go through an off season schedule this spring and needs time to adjust. The team is getting the 30-year-old prepared for camp practices.