American Football

Cowboys pending free agents most likely to join Dan Quinn in Washington

February 6, 2024

Dallas Cowboys v Washington Commanders — Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

Several former Cowboys players could follow Dan Quinn to Washington.

Dan Quinn’s departure to become the Washington Commanders new head coach is a bit of a lose/lose for the Dallas Cowboys. Not only are they losing the man responsible for coming in and immediately turning around their defense, but they are losing him to a division rival. If that’s not enough, he could even poach some of their pending free agents.

As of right now, the Dallas Cowboys are little bit behind the eight ball when it comes to free agency. Their salary-cap situation isn’t the best and they have several key players they need to extend/re-sign. On the flipside, with Dan Quinn taking charge in Washington, the Commanders are much better salary-cap wise with a little over $73 million to work with.

As it pertains to free agency, connecting the dots can sometimes help determine where certain free agents end up signing. If we go along those lines of thinking, it’s only logical to believe we could see several of the Dallas Cowboys pending free agents join Dan Quinn in Washington. Today, we are going to take a look at the most likely candidates.

Dallas Cowboys pending free agents

Tony Pollard
Stephon Gilmore
Dorance Armstrong
Tyron Smith
Tyler Biadasz
Jayron Kearse
Jourdan Lewis
Dante Fowler
Noah Igbinoghene
Neville Gallimore
Johnathan Hankins
C.J. Goodwin
Chuma Edoga
Trent Sieg
Rico Dowdle
Sean McKeon

Of the Dallas Cowboys 16 pending free agents, there are a handful who could realistically end up signing with the Washington Commanders in free agency. Taking into account the Commanders roster “needs” based on their own 28 pending free agents, there are several positions Dan Quinn could upgrade with former Cowboys players.

Who’s most likely to join Dan Quinn in Washington?

OC Tyler Biadasz: Tyler Larson and Nick Gates both started at center last year for the Commanders. Gates is still under contract through 2025, but Larson is 33 years old and a pending free agent. Washington could stick with the status quo at center or they could upgrade and get younger by signing Tyler Biadasz, a player the Cowboys might not be able to re-sign. While Quinn didn’t work with him directly in Dallas, he is a player he’s familiar with.

DE Dorance Armstrong: Washington traded both of the best pass rushers (Chase Young, Montez Sweat) last year, making Dorance Armstrong a strong possibility in free agency for Washington. Armstrong flourished under Dan Quinn the last three seasons, finishing with 5.0, 8.5, and 7.5 QB sacks as a rotational/backup DE. He’d immediately upgrade the position for the Commanders in the same type of role or as a potential starter.

DE Dante Fowler: From college to the pros, Dante Fowler has a long history with Quinn and could follow him to Washington like he did in Dallas. Like Dorance Armstrong, he’s been a key rotational piece for the Cowboys the last two seasons, registering 4.0 and 6.0 QB sacks in that two-year span. He’d add much-needed depth for the Commanders and would come relatively cheap considering the contracts he signed recently.

CB Jourdan Lewis: While he didn’t enjoy the same type of success Trevon Diggs or DaRon Bland did playing for Quinn in Dallas, Jourdan Lewis is a player who could follow his former DC to Washington. The Commanders could potentially be losing their best CB Kendall Fuller if they choose not to re-sign him. Considering Lewis’ familiarity with Quinn in his defensive scheme, the former Cowboys slot CB is someone they could be interested in.

S Jayron Kearse: Jayron Kearse was a journeyman special teams player before Quinn pretty much resurrected his career with the Cowboys. He’s played an important role in Dallas’ secondary the last three seasons and could help the Commanders make their transition to Quinn’s defensive scheme much easier. He’d be a relatively inexpensive option to replace Kamren Curl, who Washington could potentially lose via free agency.

While there are other of the Dallas Cowboys 16 pending free agents who could potentially follow Quinn to the Washington Commanders, these five are probably the most likely to do so.