San Francisco 49ers can score another win over the Dallas Cowboys by signing intriguing free agent
The San Francisco 49ers have a history of investing heavily in the defensive line under head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch and they are likely to do the same this offseason. San Francisco has a host of pending free agents on the defensive line, with the potential departures of Chase Young, Randy […]
The San Francisco 49ers have a history of investing heavily in the defensive line under head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch and they are likely to do the same this offseason.
San Francisco has a host of pending free agents on the defensive line, with the potential departures of Chase Young, Randy Gregory and Clelin Ferrell set to leave the Niners short on depth at edge rusher.
The 49ers have interest in bringing Young back despite an up-and-down postseason and they will likely try to do the same with Ferrell, who suffered a season-ending injury in Week 18 of the 2023 campaign.
But even if they manage to bring one or even two of that trio back, ensuring Nick Bosa is better supported in providing pass rush off the edge is likely to be a focus of the offseason for the 49ers.
Thankfully there are several options in free agency for the 49ers, with a member of their historic arch rivals among them.
Cowboys DE Dorance Armstrong is a free agent option for the 49ers
Several huge names have worn the jerseys of both the 49ers and the Cowboys. Dorance Armstrong certainly doesn't have the profile the likes of Deion Sanders, Charles Haley and Terrell Owens enjoyed, but San Francisco has plenty of reason to be intrigued by the possibility of him going the other direction to those three Hall of Famers.
Armstrong has 21 sacks and 20 tackles for loss along with 40 quarterback hits over the last three seasons.
The 2023 season did not see him hit the heights of 2022, when he had 8.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss and 16 quarterback hits, all of which were career highs. However, he still registered 7.5 sacks, with his sack rate of 3.1% tied with Defensive Player of the Year for 15th in the NFL among players with at least 25 pressures, per Sports Info Solutions.
Against the ground game, Armstrong contributed to a stop on 8.4% of his run defense snaps, per Pro Football Focus, the second-highest rate among Cowboys defenders to play at least 25 run defense snaps.
Beyond the production, Armstrong boasts a key physical trait likely to make him appealing to the 49ers.
Power, length and versatility
Explosiveness is the primary attribute the 49ers desire in their defensive linemen but, in addition to that, they value length.
Armstrong certainly has the latter attribute, boasting arms over 34 inches long that measured in the 88th percentile for edge rushers, per Mock Draftable.
He uses his long arms to excellent effect to get into the pads of opposing offensive linemen and possesses the power to drive even elite tackles like Lane Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles back towards the quarterback.
Beyond that, Armstrong has the flexibility and the quickness to win to the inside as well as around the edge. That kind of versatility is something the 49ers have long since coveted among their defensive linemen and, playing on a front as talented as that of the 49ers, Armstrong would be set up to succeed.
A valuable rotation player
Still only 26 and with a history of impressive production, Armstrong should garner a lot of interest on the free agency market.
San Francisco is in a difficult salary cap situation and the question for the 49ers with Armstrong is likely to concern how much they are willing to pay.a player who, as A to Z Sports' Dallas Cowboys writer Mauricio Rodriguez explains, may be limited to a rotational role.
"Armstrong is a productive depth player at EDGE, who has essentially served as the No. 3 guy behind Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence over the last three years. He's been particularly dangerous in NASCAR fronts (4 DEs) where Dan Quinn masterfully manipulated protections to force one-on-ones. You probably don't want Armstrong to be a starter on your defense but playing for a talented front like the one the 49ers have, he should be able to produce."
Still, the 49ers know the value of having rotational edge rushers who can make a consistent impact. Even with Young, Gregory and Ferrell on the roster last season, San Francisco did not get enough for its non-Bosa defensive ends, and that is something the Niners will be desperate to change for 2024.
Armstrong has a strong track record of creating disruption while playing in a rotational capacity. It might be tricky for the Niners to land on a number that would satisfy the needs of both team and player. However, taking Armstrong from the Cowboys and putting him on the same defensive line as Bosa, Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead could prove to be a crucial offseason victory over Dallas that helps San Francisco maintain its well-established recent superiority over its longtime rival and stay atop the NFC.
The San Francisco 49ers have 17 unrestricted free agents after declining to use franchise tag
They’ll hope to bring at least some back.
