Pro Bowl linebacker Sean Lee would like to return to the Cowboys in 2019
Nine-year veteran, two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Sean Lee plans to return to play next season, he told 247Sports’ Mike Fisher, although it remains to be seen if he will rejoin the only franchise he has ever known.
Lee has long been a leader for the Dallas Cowboys, but while he missed part of last season with a hamstring injury, Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith emerged as star linebackers in his stead.
The 32-year-old is due to make $7 million — none of which is guaranteed — and comes with a cap hit of $10.1 million. If Lee returns, he is likely to be a backup, so the Cowboys will either restructure his deal, or release him and try to retain him at a lower figure.
Earlier this offseason, Lee had signaled that he was leaning towards returning, but this decision could be a big boon for a Cowboys team pushing its chips in on contending now.
How much does Lee have left in the tank?
Since the Cowboys selected Lee in the second round of the 2010 draft, Lee has been one of the more productive linebackers in the league. From his first season as a starter in 2011 through 2017, his 633 tackles ranks 21st in football, and that’s despite 40 games due to injuries, including all of 2014 with a torn ACL. His 374 tackles from 2015-17 ranked only behind Bobby Wagner and Preston Brown.
Before his hamstring injury in 2018, Lee racked up 20 tackles in his first three games, which again put him on pace for triple-digit tackles. However, he was not quite the same the rest of the way with 10 tackles in in his last four games, including four total (one solo) in his final three contests.
Part of that decreased production has to do with the fact that the Cowboys had so many other good options. Vander Esch emerged as a Pro Bowler in his rookie season and finished third in the league with 140 tackles, while Smith was not far behind in his third season at 13th with 121 tackles.
Upon Lee’s return, the Cowboys rotated him in with the other two linebackers — he didn’t even start the final two games — which obviously put a dent in his playing time and raw totals. However, that’s the role he would likely return to, which could help him stay healthy.
What are the financial implications?
The Cowboys currently have over $46 million in cap space, which is the 10th-most in football, but $7 million is still a lot for a backup linebacker. That space may also not stretch as far as the team would like, either, with pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence a free agent and the team needing to factor in quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver Amari Cooper’s impending extensions.
Still, Dallas seems optimistic about working something out. For what it’s worth, Lee took the reduced role in stride and definitely would like to return.
“[There’s] no one we would love to have back more than Sean Lee,” Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said last month, via the Dallas Morning News. “He’s special. He’s what the game is all about. We’ve had some of those special people like that over the course of time and he’s one of them.
“He’s such a vital part of this.”
Should Lee be cut free and not find his way to the Cowboys, there will certainly be a market for productive veteran linebackers, although he would be in competition with other veterans like Thomas Davis, who will soon play his first game not with the Carolina Panthers.
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