The New York Giants are sitting pretty after the release of Bobby Okereke, at least for now. Joe Schoen didn't waste much time capitalizing on their time in Buffalo together to sign Tremaine Edmunds to a three-year deal, but weirdly enough, is paying Edmunds more on a per-year basis.
That could make the release age poorly, but with how much the salary cap has increased in the three offseasons since Okereke signed with the Giants, there's better value now. But the 29-year-old is still a free agent, and as one of the best players available, there are questions about his next destination.
We have no idea where he will end up, but Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport thinks he could stay in the NFC East. While pinpointing the best fits for all of the top available free agents, Davenport has Okereke signing with the worst possible team. Thankfully, I'm not referring to the Philadelphia Eagles, but the Dallas Cowboys, who need the help on defense.
Giants fans would be furious if Bobby Okereke signs with the Dallas Cowboys in free agency
Okereke is a good player who Big Blue only released for additional flexibility. His release was not an indictment on him as a player, but an opportunity for the Giants to retool their defense under new DC Dennard Wilson. But the Cowboys want to do the same with Christian Parker replacing Matt Eberflus.
The Cowboys already missed out on Nakobe Dean in free agency, so naturally they would pivot to another linebacker within the division. Jerry Jones has already done enough this offseason to retool the Dallas defense, so the last team the Giants' own moves should be helping is their hated archrivals.
When DeMarvion Overshown is on the field, he's great, but Dallas has yet to address their LB room, which badly needs reinforcements beyond him. Kenneth Murray is horrible, and Shemar James is still relatively unproven, so if they're able to add someone with Okereke's experience, it'll be a major move.
The Stanford product has surpassed 130 total tackles in four of the last five seasons, and the only reason he fell short of that in 2024 was the five games he missed. In terms of what a defense needs a linebacker to do, especially from a leadership standpoint, Okereke is able to provide a major impact just like Edmunds.
The 2019 fourth-round pick is a good tackler, solid in coverage, and a good run stuffer. That's a lot of positives that the Cowboys defense could benefit from. And after 23 years as a Giants fan, I just know that if he ends up in Dallas, it's going to make Schoen look foolish for choosing Edmunds over him and allowing him to leave for a division rival where they'll be reminded of this mistake twice a year.