Now Cowboys elder statesman, Sean Lee returns to supporting role

Sean Lee again finds himself in a supporting role for the Cowboys linebacker corps, giving Mike McCarthy a strong veteran presence.

One of the few holdovers of the Jason Garrett era, Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee was revitalized in 2019, turning in a surprisingly productive season. Last season, Lee played 637 defensive snaps, the most he’s logged since 2016, when he was first-team All-Pro. He played a full 16 games for the first time in his career, making 13 starts.

It wasn’t a vintage Lee campaign, but the 34-year-old veteran did enough to return for an eleventh year, keeping a familiar face in Dallas.

Lee took on a new role in 2019. No longer was he expected to be a featured contributor of the Cowboys defense. The team even re-worked the last year of his six-year, $42 million contract to keep him around. When the season began, he was relegated to the team’s third linebacker behind Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch, signaling a changing of the guard from when Lee was once the upstart and promising LB patrolling the middle of the defense.

Yet Dallas leaned on Lee much more than they likely anticipated last year, and his play earned him a spot on Mike Nolan’s 2020 Cowboys defense.

He also played the most special teams of his career in 2019 (89 snaps), something he embraced heading into last year. Lee eventually became a full-time starter after Vander Esch’s season ended due to injury. Just over half of his defensive snaps (327) came in Weeks 11-17.

All told last year, Lee made 86 total tackles (53 solo, four for loss), and one interception. He had three games with 12+ tackles, including a 17-tackle game in Week 16 against the Eagles. He also provided a few emotionally-charged flashes that the entire team rallied around, especially in Week 14 vs Los Angeles.

Now the team’s second-longest tenured player (behind long snapper L.P. Ladouceur), Lee has weathered many ups and downs during his Cowboys career. His experience coming back from injuries and maintaining a high-level of play is invaluable for the still-budding Vander Esch, who was ecstatic to learn Lee re-signed with Dallas. He’s again set to serve as key depth behind Smith and Vander Esch, but how much Lee plays will likely be determined by how Nolan and new position coach Scott McCurley choose to deploy their LBs this season.

In 2019, the Cowboys played nickel defense 63% of the time (league average: 55.9%). They also played out of their base 4-3 defense 32% of the time, opening up snaps for a third linebacker. While these tendencies will change under Nolan, the defense likely has a plan for how to best utilize Lee, especially if Smith is to see more snaps as a pass rusher in 2020. He showed down the stretch last year he’s still capable of making an impact on-field impact.

He’ll also serve as essentially another coach on the sidelines for a young and changing defense. It’s a role he’s accustomed to, as seen here during the 2017 season, when Lee pointed out the holes in a previous coaching staff’s defense.

In some way, shape or form, Lee’s presence will contribute to the Cowboys’ success this season. A tackling machine, Lee may no longer be the force he once was, but his experience and willingness to fill in wherever makes him a unique and key role player for Dallas. Just stay away from his personal water bottle on gamedays– the salty veteran is reportedly sipping black coffee on the sidelines.

This is part of our Countdown to the Regular Season player profile countdown. 

| Antwaun Woods | Tyrone Crawford | Trysten Hill | Jalen Jelks |
| Dontari Poe | Randy Gregory | Gerald McCoy | Dorance Armstrong |
| L.P. Ladouceur | DeMarcus Lawrence | Blake Jarwin | CeeDee Lamb |
| Cole Hikutini | Dalton Schultz | Noah Brown | Sean McKeon |
| Ventell Bryant | Jon’vea Johnson | Blake Bell | Justin Hamilton |
| Cody Wichmann | Tyron Smith | Ladarius Hamilton |
| Neville Gallimore | Terence Steele | Joe Looney | La’el Collins |
| Zack Martin | Brandon Knight | Ron’Dell Carter | Wyatt Miller |
| Connor McGovern | Tyler Biadasz | Adam Redmond | Luke Gifford |
| Leighton Vander Esch | Justin March | Connor Williams |