The Atlanta Falcons had the worst pass defense in 2020, but that hasn’t stopped the Dallas Cowboys from signing a pair of Atlanta’s safeties in free agency.
Thursday night the Cowboys came to terms with former Falcon Damontae Kazee. Kazee joins Keanu Neal who inked a one year deal last week and former head coach Dan Quinn in Dallas.
Atlanta’s pass defense was ranked last in the the league last season, but Kazee missed nearly the entire season with an achilles injury and Neal was coming off back to back season ending injuries.
The Cowboys are risking that the two can get to their best in 2021. It’s a risk worth taking. Neal was a pro-bowl pick his second season in the league and is still just 25 years old. He still posted 100 tackles in 2020 despite not quite being his best.
Kazee will be 28 years old when the season kicks off, and his best year with the Falcons was 2018 when he posted 82 tackles and seven interceptions. He had 20 tackles last year when he went down in the fourth game with an achilles injury.
The Cowboys have talked about Neal moving closer to the line of scrimmage as a hybrid linebacker, which suits his physical nature well, so they’re not counting on Kazee and Neal to walk right into the starting safety spots.
The Falcons signed Erik Harris as a free agent from the Raiders to help add depth and veteran leadership. They will likely need two more safeties in the draft or free agency before the season starts. There are value picks in the draft should the Falcons go that route.
