Cowboys free agency: Mike Zimmer steals linebacker Eric Kendricks from 49ers

The Dallas Cowboys are on the free agency board with linebacker Eric Kendricks!

It took past working hours on Day 3 of free agency, but the Dallas Cowboys are on the board. And in typical Dallas Cowboys fashion, they did it in style.

Linebacker Eric Kendricks has officially decided to rejoin Mike Zimmer, this time with the good guys.

The Cowboys have spent all of free agency to this point (the entire legal tampering period and the first almost four hours of the new league year) watching from the sidelines. While they did bring back long snapper Trent Sieg early in the process (you can track all Cowboys free agency things right here) like in 2022 they were officially the last team in the NFL to sign an external free agent.

But that is no longer the case.

Kendricks was a second-round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2015, Mike Zimmer’s second season as their head coach. He was a staple of their defense for eight years before spending a season with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023. He joins the Cowboys having freshly turned 32 years old.

As noted the Cowboys did this with a bit of style which Adam Schefter referenced in his tweet. Over 12 hours prior to the Kendrick-to-Dallas news it was reported that he was set to join the San Francisco 49ers. He changed his mind and that will obviously not be happening.

Our friends at Niners Nation thought that Kendricks would serve as a bridge to Dre Greenlaw’s return (remember that he was hurt in the Super Bowl), clearly they will have to figure out other options. It was thought that Kendricks would be joining another former coach in Brandon Staley who obviously ran the Chargers last year and is now on San Francisco’s staff.

On the subject of the Chargers though, Kendricks did serve as a team captain of theirs. Here is what Michael Peterson, managing editor of Bolts From The Blue, had to say about Kendricks’ game at the moment.

Eric Kendricks was just fine as a starting linebacker for the Chargers in his lone season in LA. He was paired with former first-rounder Kenneth Murray in the middle of Brandon Staley’s defense to give the Chargers an athletic pair with both veteran experience and rising potential. Unfortunately, Staley’s defense continued to have woes in year three and all the experience Kendricks brought to the table wasn’t enough to elevate the unit. Individually, Kendricks posted respectable numbers with 117 tackles, 7 TFLs, 3.5 sacks, and 6 passes defended despite missing a pair of games to injury. In a league where high level middle linebacker play is tough to come by, Kendricks gives you above average ability but it’s obvious his best days are behind him at 32 years old.

This sounds exactly what the Cowboys were looking for to be quite honest.

Welcome aboard, Eric Kendricks. Thank you for getting the party started.

Update: 8:13pm ET

It is apparently a one-year deal for Kendricks.

Still waiting on financial details.