Dallas Cowboys ERFA Antwaun Woods reportedly “expected to sign his tender soon”

The Dallas Cowboys have done a lot to address the interior of their defensive line this offseason. We saw them add both Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe in free agency. After that they drafted Oklahoma’s Neville Gallimore (who you can hear on the BTB podcast feed next week... subscribe right here) in the NFL Draft. All of these moves were made in spite of the team having just drafted Trysten Hill in the second round last year which tells you that they want options.

To be fair, the Cowboys might view themselves as needing options given that Maliek Collins departed in free agency for the Las Vegas Raiders (along with half of the team it felt like). The Cowboys do also still have Antwaun Woods as an option, albeit a different sort of one. Woods is an exclusive rights free agent but he could be re-joining the team in a full capacity soon.

Antwaun Woods is expected to sign his ERFA tender “soon”

Not all free agents are the same as there are different designations for some. These designations depend on different factors and therefore that is how you have different types.

Antwaun Woods is technically an exclusive rights free agent here in 2020. Here is a refresher on that particular type of free agent.

Exclusive rights free agent (ERFA): Any player with fewer than three accrued seasons and an expired contract. If his original team offers him a one-year contract at the league minimum (based on his credited seasons), the player cannot negotiate with other teams.

As you can see, if a team wants to retain their ERFAs then it is very easy to do so. It is for this reason that people have been wondering why things haven’t fully materialized with Antwaun Woods and the Cowboys quite yet.

If you have been one of those pontificating on what could be taking so long, your days doing so might be coming to an end rather shortly. The mothership’s Mickey Spagnola noted on Friday that Woods is expected to sign his ERFA tender “soon”.

Also nice job re-stocking the defensive tackle position, not only signing veteran free agents Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe, but then in the third round drafting Oklahoma defensive tackle Neville Gallimore, a nice fit for rotation time at the start, and who knows what he might play himself into. That, along with last year’s second-round pick Trysten Hill, a guy who better be on the come after a slow-starting, uneven rookie season. And don’t forget about Antwaun Woods, expected to sign his exclusive rights tender soon.

If and when this happens the Cowboys will at the very least have a lot of options inside of their defensive line. A nucleus of McCoy, Poe, Gallimore, Woods, and Hill is a great starting point for new defensive line coach Jim Tomsula.

For so long the Cowboys have refused to invest legitimate resources in the defensive tackle position, yet now we are looking at two free agents and another top 100 pick. The rotation figures to be much better than it has been in recent seasons.