Mike McCarthy uses vivid analogy to describe veteran edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence

The Dallas Cowboys will rely on veteran pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence this year as much as any as he enters the final season under contract with the team. Before Wednesday’s training camp practice, head coach Mike McCarthy used a vivid analogy to describe the 11-year vet, calling him “a bowling ball full of butcher knives.”

“Looking back, one of the things I did when I came here in 2020 is you pull up your old game plans from playing the Cowboys and one thing we talked about with DLaw is he’s a bowling ball full of butcher knives,” McCarthy said. “He’s that kind of player. I think that’s what everybody knows and loves about him. He’s hard all the time. He’s been a good leader for us in my time here. Commands respect and he’s earned it.”

“He’s the senior guy in there,” McCarthy added. “He’s the one that speaks up on the leadership council and he’s got a big responsibility for us in the locker room.”

McCarthy’s colorful description of Lawrence isn’t the first time an NFL coach has used the phrase to describe one of his players. Former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano also called running back Maurice Jones-Drew a “bowling ball of butcher knives.” The phrase must have stuck with the Cowboys coach because he’s still using it more than a decade later.

Lawrence enters contract season with Dallas

Despite the fact that he’s one of the Cowboys’ most important players, Lawrence has had one of the quietest offseasons before a contract year in recent memory. While reporters pepper the front office officials like Stephen Jones with questions about CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott and Micah Parsons’ potential extensions, there hasn’t been much chatter on a new deal for Tank. He signed his current deal for three years and $40 million. If his price tag remains high, he could be the odd man out on the balance sheet next March.

It appears that Lawrence is going into the twilight of his NFL career considering very few defensive ends have managed to maintain an elite level of play after a decade. Luckily, he’s had a relatively healthy career so far. He didn’t miss a game between 2017 and 2020, then missed nine in 2021 before playing complete seasons in the past two years.

In 2023, Lawrence, a former second-round pick for Dallas, had 50 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. He also had one forced fumble. He added another four tackles in the post-season, including 1.5 for a loss.