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FRISCO, TX — In looking at what the Dallas Cowboys did well during the Dan Quinn era, two things jump right off of the page, and it was their ability to take the ball away as well as pressure the opposing quarterback; and those things eventually reappeared in the thus far single season under Mike Zimmer.
Micah Parsons' greatness may have had something to do with all of the above.
But Quinn departed for the Washington Commanders, who are preparing to face off against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship, Zimmer's future is yet undecided as he is now a free agent, and the Cowboys are in a much more concerning situation at defensive end this offseason.
Where does Dallas go from here at the position?
Past: There is a lot for defensive ends/outside linebackers in Dallas to live up to, to say the very least. In an organization that boasts a laundry list of Hall of Famers and/or Ring of Honor Inductees at the position, it's impossible to walk the halls at The Star in Frisco without seeing names and images of former players like Bob Lilly casting a rightfully judgmental gaze upon you, and it doesn't end there.
After all, Charles Haley literally still walks the building and patrols the practice fields, applying his own brand of advice and criticism with the hopes of pushing the newcomers — as well as the veterans — of the defensive line to heights they probably never fathomed themselves capable of reaching.
You'll also catch legendary outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware strolling the premises from time to time, his own immortalization into the Hall of Fame occurring in 2023.
It all serves as a constant reminder of what the standard is as a pass rusher for the Cowboys, and while it's unknown what the final story will be for the current group, it feels as if the unit is just one major player (or breakout of another current player) away from taking the next and final step in pleasing the myriad of great ones that came before them.
Present: For the longest time, it was DeMarcus Lawrence operating as the staple of the defensive end unit in the post-Ware years. There's a chance that comes to an end as he joins 21 other unrestricted in-house free agents in Dallas, and following a season that was ended by injury, though his wasn't the first season-ending ailment that struck the defensive end unit in 2024.
Sam Williams' torn ACL suffered at the start of training camp turned out to be an outright omen of things to come with the Cowboys, at one point, being without Lawrence, Williams, Parsons or rookie second-round pick Marshawn Kneeland due to injury.
Parsons was able to return and wreak havoc in the process, and Kneeland made it back to the field as well, but the damage to the corps was done and, if not for Carl Lawson and the upswing on Chauncey Golston, things would've been unimaginably worse for the defensive front.
It was an impressive attempt to keep the ship from capsizing entirely for as long as possible.
Future: It's also true, however, that Lawson and Golston are one of the aforementioned free agents set to join Lawrence in trying to figure out if they'll remain in Dallas or take their talents elsewhere as Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler both did when they followed Quinn to the Commanders and, as such, to their first-ever NFC Championship Game.
And, as it stands, free agents have no clue who the next head coach (or his staff) will be in Dallas.
That means the only players that can be counted on for the future as of January are Parsons, Williams and Kneeland as starters with a rotation of Tyrus Wheat (assuming the Cowboys retain him as an exclusive rights free agent) and Luiji Villain (signed to a futures deal); and Williams will take time to reach top form after having his ACL reconstructed.
Looking for other promised names? Well, there are none, and Parsons' contract talks will determine if he's in a Cowboys' uniform beyond the 2025 season. The club will truly have to be active, in some capacity, in upcoming free agency (be that inside and/or outside of the building) as well as the NFL draft in April to not only rebuild the edge, but to also try and avoid the near-disaster created by the injury bug in 2024.
