Report: Dallas Cowboys haven’t closed door on veteran free agent linebacker Anthony Barr

Wednesday was a significant day for the Dallas Cowboys in that they held their first practice of training camp. It was a light affair, one that is difficult to draw legitimate conclusions from, but it was football and we have all surely missed these sorts of things.

Another notable thing from the week’s midpoint was that the Cowboys announced the players who they were placing on both the PUP and Active/NFI lists and Jabril Cox’s name was nowhere to be found.

The Cowboys need depth at linebacker in the way that every team does, and players like Jabril Cox factor into that. Mike McCarthy noted that the Cowboys will take it slow with Cox but more depth from an overall perspective at the position could go a very long way.

The Cowboys have reportedly NOT closed the door on veteran free agent linebacker Anthony Barr

As the Cowboys arrived in Oxnard this week, reports emerged that the team had no plans to pursue veteran free agent linebacker Anthony Barr. Our own Aidan Davis wrote shortly after about how nobody should completely dismiss the idea of Barr joining this team and it seems that idea might have sometruth to it.

On Thursday morning, a report from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram by way of Stephen Jones indicated that the Cowboys are still, in fact, somewhat in the running for Barr and that they wanted to see how things progress with Jabril Cox (and other young players) early on in camp before making a concrete decision.

The Dallas Cowboys have been flirting with the idea of signing free agent linebacker Anthony Barr to bolster their depth at the position since May.

And although they opened training camp without making a move on Barr, vice president Stephen Jones said the four-time Pro Bowler remains a viable option for the Cowboys.

He said the team wanted to take a look at second-year linebacker Jabril Cox and other linebackers in training camp before making a final decision on Barr, who has played eight seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.

It is true that there has been a lot of smoke connecting Barr to the Cowboys, no other name has been thrown out amid rumors as much as his in recent weeks. Obviously Dallas has a need at linebacker from a depth perspective, especially given how Dan Quinn uses Micah Parsons, and the reality of things is that betting only on Jabril Cox and Leighton Vander Esch carries a bit of risk.

Aidan noted this in his write-up, but Barr had a bit of a bounce-back season in 2021 as he recorded his highest individual PFF grade since 2018. He is not one of the best defenders in the NFL, but he is a veteran who can contribute.

Typically when names like this continue to swirl things wind up happening. This feels somewhat like the way things unfolded with safety Malik Hooker last year, and you will recall that he was a training camp signing.

Perhaps Anthony Barr winds up a member of the Dallas Cowboys. The door is at least open for that.