Linebacker Sean Lee is officially an unrestricted free agent after ten seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. Any team who wants to can now make the former second-round draft pick an offer to suit up for his 11th NFL season.
One of those teams is reportedly the Dallas Cowboys.
The #Cowboys reached out to Sean Lee last week. I’m told there is a “strong interest” there to bring him back per source informed
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) March 16, 2020
Lee contemplated retirement after the 2018 season, but returned a few months later on a voluntarily-restructured deal. Lee had approached the team about a pay cut, citing- in part- the number of games he’d missed due to injury over his tenure.
In more of a timeshare with younger stars Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch, Lee largely made the most of less time on the field. He was in on 86 tackles (55 of them solo), recorded a sack versus the Rams, and logged his first interception since 2017. And he did it all while playing in 16 games for the first time in his career.
He’s undoubtedly lost a step physically. But he has shown himself to be still be capable on the field, so long as he can be kept fresh. What Lee really brings to the team is his intelligence. Lee is as smart a player as there is in the league, long considered to practically be a defensive coach who just happens to wear a helmet and pads on gameday. That combination of brains and brawn makes Lee a commodity who still has considerable worth to an NFL team.
But the 33-year-old Lee found himself in familiar territory after the season and told reporters after Week 17 that he would need some time to evaluate whether or not he would return for 2020.
As recently as early February, Lee seemed set on playing. What was more uncertain was where he might do it.
“I’m waiting to kind of explore what some of my options are,” he told Sports Illustrated. “I love it in Dallas and I love the Cowboys,” Lee said. “I hope it works out, for sure.”
Lee says he hopes it “works out.” The Cowboys apparently have “strong interest” in making it happen.
But now there are potentially other suitors at the door with flowers and chocolates.