Dallas Cowboys make decision on Dorance Armstrong Jr.

On Thursday afternoon, the Dallas Cowboys ensured one of their defensive ends is staying in town for a bit longer. Dorance Armstrong, Jr. parlayed a breakout 2021-2022 campaign into a new contract with the team. He officially signed a two-year deal worth $13 million with the franchise, per Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. With Randy Gregory departing for the Denver Broncos, locking up Armstrong became even more of a priority for the team. He’s coming off a career-year last year. The Cowboys defensive end played a career-high 507 defensive snaps. Armstrong appeared in 13 games, tallying career-highs in tackles (37), quarterback hits (12), and sacks (5). He also returned a fumble for a touchdown. He’ll likely be a starter during the 2022-2023 season, alongside DeMarcus Lawrence.

Armstrong just completed his fourth year in the NFL after a three-year career with the Kansas Jayhawks. In three seasons with the Jayhawks, Armstrong recorded 142 tackles, 34.5 tackles for loss, 15.5 sacks and six forced fumbles. As a sophomore, Armstrong earned first-team All-Big 12 honors and followed it up with second-team All-Big 12 honors the next year, before declaring for the 2018 NFL Draft. Armstrong’s best season with the Jayhawks came during his sophomore season. He racked up 10 sacks, the highest number recorded by a Kansas player since the 2001 season.

Throughout his entire NFL career, Armstrong has racked up a total of 98 tackles, six tackles for loss, and 20 quarterback hits. He battled through a number of injuries during the 2021-2022 season. The Cowboys are thankful they were able to retain Armstrong, due to losing Gregory to the Broncos. The Cowboys actually had a verbal agreement in place with Gregory, before he decided to reverse course and head to Denver. The change of heart was due to some issues he had with the wording of the contract.

The Dallas Cowboys drafted Armstrong in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft.