It was announced early on Thursday that the New England Patriots would not be picking up defensive tackle Vince Wilfork's 2015 option as they deal with salary cap issues. Might the Dallas Cowboys swoop in and sign the veteran to join their defensive line?
Wilfork will save the Patriots an $8.1 million hit to their cap and he'll become a free agent. New England was well over the cap before this move and still they have other contract issues to settle, but now that Wilfork is gone, it's time to speculate who will make a run at him. With immediate interior defensive line needs, the Cowboys could be a top candidate.
Wilfork posted a statement on Twitter and seemingly made it known he has no plans to retire. Dallas is still working on re-signing Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray to long-term deals and they have $130 committed to 2015 with the cap number standing at $143.28 million. The team has defensive linemen Henry Melton, Anthony Spencer, George Selvie and Nick Hayden hitting free agency, so there is definitely a need on that front.
"They have a nice young player to build around in Tyrone Crawford at the three-technique, however, it drops off significantly after him," writes Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News. "Terrell McClain started to emerge at the end of the year and he should be a quality contributor in 2015, but they need to address tackle in free agency or early in the draft, if not both. [Defensive coordinator Rod] Marinelli likes to rotate his players in waves. With [Henry] Melton no longer under contract, the Cowboys defensive coordinator needs some talented additions to his group of rushmen."
Being that Wilfork's price tag will probably be much less than the amount he was projected to earn with the Patriots in 2015, the Cowboys wouldn't be doing their due diligence if they didn't consider the 11-year veteran, who could serve as an excellent presence on defense as well as a mentor among the team's younger players.
The 33-year-old is nearing the end of his career, so it's probable he won't be seeing as many snaps as he has in previous years. He saw 73.9% of the Patriots' defensive snaps in 2014 and it wouldn't be surprising if that number went down after enduring a long 19-game season.
Keep an eye out for Dallas to express interest in Wilfork.
