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The latest "rumor" about the Cowboys linebacker position is that they are considering a couple of vets. If Ed Werder is correct, the Cowboys are considering Brian Urlacher, who has been in retirement for a year, and Jonathan Vilma, who hasn't been able to find a new team in free agency.
Cowboys evaluating all options for replacing LB Sean Lee, including vets like Brian Urlacher and Jon Vilma. Will likely be 2-player platoon
— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) June 2, 2014
How far this "evaluating all options" goes is probably the key here. Are they just bringing up names, then shooting them down for various reasons? Or are they doing stuff like calling Urlacher to see if he actually wants to un-retire? "Evaluating all options" is a pretty nebulous term that opens up all kinds of possibilities.
[UPDATE] Actually Werder does answer this to some extent.
Cowboys have internally discussed Brian Urlacher and Jon Vilma, tape watched and evaluated. Team source on how much interest: "Not much."
— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) June 2, 2014
As O.C.C. mentioned in this morning's news post, Jonathan Vilma recently reached out to the Dolphins to see if they were interested in his services, they were not.
It appears free agent linebacker Jonathan Vilma was hoping for a homecoming this year, returning to the place where he played college football. The former University of Miami Hurricanes star contacted the Miami Dolphins this offseason to see if the team would have any interest in signing the 10-year veteran, according to a report from the Miami Herald. The Dolphins did not reciprocate the interest.
What I would also like a little more info on is the statement "will likely be 2-player platoon." Does that mean one guy who is a run specialist and another who is a pass-coverage specialist? It would be nice if Werder would give us a little more detail. Otherwise, this has the smell of hearing a rumor and throwing it out there so everyone will report it, like I've just done. Did I just get suckered?