With Robert Quinn's return, Cowboys D-line deeper, stronger
There was a time, not too long ago, when the Dallas Cowboys would have defensive line tryouts on a Tuesday and be forced to play the winner in a legitimate role on Sunday.
Now, the Cowboys are in a situation where their top picks in the 2017 and 2019 drafts, Taco Charlton and Trysten Hill, can't even be active for a game because of the depth along the defensive line.
The Cowboys will get a boost to their pass rush this week in Robert Quinn, who was suspended the first two games for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy.cheap nfl nike jerseys china
"Hopefully your team is built in such a way that it's competitive," coach Jason Garrett said. "Oftentimes over the course of the season, injuries come into play there and determine who's active and inactive, but you'd like to have it be a competition. And it's a good feeling to have as a team if you've gotten to the point where it's competitive and you're having hard discussions about, 'Hey, this guy can help us like this and this guy can help us like this.' That's a good place to be in."
If there is one area the Cowboys need to improve upon early in the season, it is sacks. They have just two in two games. In his eight seasons, Quinn has 69 career sacks in the regular season with a high of 19 in 2013. He had 6.5 sacks last season, which would have been second to DeMarcus Lawrence's 10.5 on the Cowboys.cheap nike nfl jerseys wholesale
"Awesome level of professionalism, no doubt about it," secondary coach/passing-game coordinator Kris Richard said. "First and foremost is the guy. He's an awesome human being. Just having a short amount of time that we've been able to be around him, we love him. He gives us great effort. He comes to work. He works really hard every day and he cares about his craft. And then after that, he's a tenacious pass-rusher. He has a high standard for himself and he's been a top-notch player in this league for years now, so it's like that's what we expect. We expect him to come back and get right back into the groove."
It is just a coincidence that the team that traded Quinn to Dallas in the offseason, the Miami Dolphins, are the first team he will see in his return on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET (Fox).
"He better bring a f------ lot knowing that this team just traded him to us," Lawrence said. "I know, s---, that would sit heavy on my heart, basically saying I'm not good enough to be on y'all's team, so we're going to let ya go. He's got work to do. A lot of work. And a lot of pain."
