The Dallas Cowboys look like the cream of the crop in the NFC East. They are receiving little pressure from the New York Giants, Washington Football Team and Philadelphia Eagles. But, they cannot rest on their laurels and need to continue looking for ways to upgrade the roster so they can compete with the rest of the teams looking destined for a playoff berth in the NFC, and acquiring a pass-rusher like Melvin Ingram III could be the move to make.
One area that the Cowboys have seen a lot of change in recent months is the linebacker position. It was an area they identified as needing an upgrade during the offseason and they attacked it aggressively.
Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons was selected with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. LSU linebacker Jabril Cox was picked in the fourth round. They joined a roster that already had Jaylon Smith, Leighton Vander Esch and Keanu Neal at the position.
Smith has since been waived, as the Cowboys are using Parsons as an every-down player. But, the team could look for some depth at the position still as we head toward the November 2nd deadline. One player that has been mentioned is Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, Melvin Ingram III.
The Steelers have been rewarded for the chance they took on Ingram in free agency. The oft-injured linebacker has been able to play in all six games for Pittsburgh this season but has seen his playing time wane in recent weeks.
After playing at least 64 percent of the snaps every game the first three weeks of the season, including 100 percent of them against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3, Ingram hasn’t topped 60 percent since. He played a season-low 26 percent against the Seattle Seahawks before the bye week and could be falling out of favor with the coaching staff.
Alonzo Highsmith is emerging as the next good pass rusher in Pittsburgh, as they seem to grow on trees there. The coaching staff is giving him more opportunities, seemingly at the expense of Ingram.
This is a chance for the Cowboys to be opportunistic at the trade deadline, something they have plenty of experience doing. They are one of the more active teams at this time of year, and this season should be no different.
Ingram could come in and provide the team with some pass-rushing juice, as they are lacking depth behind Parsons and Randy Gregory. He is second on the Steelers in pressures with 18, tied with T.J. Watt and second in win rate at 17.6 percent. But, he has only totaled one sack.
DeMarcus Lawrence is expected to return, but it may not be for a while. Reinforcing the defense, which has been a pleasant surprise for the Cowboys this season, should be their goal heading into the trade deadline.
