Former Chicago Bears defensive tackle Henry Melton has agreed to join the Dallas Cowboys, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Melton was probably the top player still on the open market and was one of the better defensive linemen to hit the market at all this season. Now he's going to Dallas on a multi-year deal.
Henry Melton, Cowboys agree on multi-year deal, per reports
The Dallas Cowboys managed to secure defensive tackle Henry Melton on Tuesday.
US PRESSWIRE
Melton has been meeting with teams since free agency opened, with the Bears, St. Louis Rams, Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks all expressing interest at some point. Dallas does not have a whole lot of cap space to work with -- they only recently became cap compliant by releasing several players -- but there are other things that Dallas brings to the table that may be appealing to Melton.
The biggest factor is Dallas defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli. Melton had arguably the best season of his career in 2012 when Marinelli was in charge of Chicago’s defense. Melton made the Pro Bowl that season, and Dallas reportedly tried to sway Melton by getting him together with Marinelli for dinner while he was in town.
Apparently, it worked. Melton told ESPN Dallas that he’s “excited to come back home and work with Rod, and get back to my Pro Bowl form,” as reported by Calvin Watkins of ESPN. If Melton excels under Marinelli, it will mean bigger and better contracts for him in the future.
Melton is a five-year veteran of the NFL, though he did not play during his rookie season. In fact, he has played in all 16 games of a regular season just once in his career, in 2010. Last season, he only played in three games before suffering a torn ACL. Melton isn’t likely to make a lot of money on his new contract, given that Dallas doesn’t seem to have much to spare, but he’s young and will get every opportunity to earn a new deal sooner rather than later.
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