How the Cardinals signing of J.J. Watt could benefit the Cowboys

With free agency on the horizon, it's no shock that the Dallas Cowboys have work to do retaining their own players as well as looking for talent to add to the roster. Now that J.J. Watt has signed with the Arizona Cardinals, Cowboys fans can refocus their attention on players the Cowboys can actually sign. And as luck would have it, the signing of Watt may have opened the door for the Cowboys to pursue two Cardinal players who are now free agents, one on offense and defense.

The idea has been floated that the Cowboys need to go after Patrick Peterson on the defensive side. Not so fast. Peterson, while having a down year in 2020, will likely still be out of the Cowboys price range. Instead, the Cowboys should focus their efforts on cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick, while not on Peterson’s level, is still a good cornerback and had his moments last season where it showed.

We already know the Cowboys have flirted with the idea of adding Kirkpatrick to their roster.

As reported last season.

Kirkpatrick could be one of the players the Cardinals try to bring back with Peterson hitting free agency and having suitors. But thanks to the Watt deal, teams will likely be able to outbid the Cardinals for his services. If the Cowboys are able to add Kirkpatrick, they would be adding a veteran presence in the secondary as well as a cornerback who can still make plays. Over the last two seasons Kirkpatrick has had 89 total tackles, three interceptions, 11 passes defended, and a fumble recovery. Not bad for a cornerback who's 31.

On offense, the Cowboys lack of talent behind their starting offensive line was on full display last season. Giving up 44 sacks on the season showed they need to infuse their offensive line with players that have more NFL games under their belt to help when starters go down. They will need a backup swing tackle with Cam Erving becoming a free agent. But they also have two young tackles that got a lot of game experience last season so we will see how that goes.

This leaves us with depth at the guard spot and that's where guard J.R. Sweezy comes in. Sweezy came into the NFL as a seventh-round pick and worked his way into the starting lineup with the Seahawks, later with the Buccaneers, and then the Cardinals. Sweezy was the starter at right guard for the Cardinals, and like most of the line for the Cardinals this season, he struggled a bit and had his share of nagging injuries that sidelined him. Which led to him losing his starting spot.

Sweezy would be able to come in and create competition for Williams and Connor McGovern, giving the Cowboys options. Sweezy is another player the Cardinals would probably want to bring back, but again, if the Cowboys plan on making moves in free agency they could be able to lure Sweezy away from the Cardinals.

These are two experienced players that could either come in and start or give the Cowboys valuable depth at positions of need.