2012 NFL Free Agents: Dallas Cowboys to Sign Free Agent CB Brandon Carr?

As we close in on the start of NFL free agency, it's no secret that the Dallas Cowboys are in need of help in their secondary.

A year ago, Dallas finished 23rd in the NFL against the pass with almost 250 passing yards allowed per game. They stand to lose Terence Newman, a long-serving veteran in the secondary, because of a salary ($6.016 million in 2012) that doesn't fit his quality of play. 

Most have assumed they'll address that need early in the 2012 NFL draft, but there's chatter now that the Cowboys will look to free agency to shore up one its biggest holes.

According to Tony Pauline of Sports lllustrated and TFY Draft Insider, the Cowboys are widely assumed to be the front-runners for soon-to-be free agent cornerback Brandon Carr. 

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"Teams here in Indianapolis feel when the dust clears in free agency cornerback Brandon Carr will be the newest member of the Dallas Cowboys," Pauline wrote on Sunday.

"The team will then look to use their first selection on an offensive lineman, but who?  Last night we reported the Baltimore Ravens would likely target Cordy Glenn.  They may need a back-up plan as word is Glenn continues to sky-rocket up draft boards and ending up with Dallas in the top half of round one is a real possibility."

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Pro Football Weekly says the Cowboys are prepared to go "all-in" on acquiring Carr once free agency opens up on March 13. 

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"Sources have said the Cowboys would love for Chiefs CB Brandon Carr to hit the open market, so they can make a run at him," PFW wrote from the NFL Scouting Combine.

"The expectation is that the Chiefs could franchise Carr and are said to be in fine cap shape, but they also have WR Dwayne Bowe to worry about. If Carr somehow makes it to March 13 unsigned, expect the Cowboys to go all in for him and worry about a high-profile guard (Carl Nicks or someone else) thereafter."

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Certainly the focus for the Cowboys is to find an answer at cornerback through free agency and then address the offensive line through the draft.

Carr, 25, fits the bill of a top-level cornerback in free agency. Playing alongside Brandon Flowers in Kansas City, Carr has helped the Chiefs develop one of the top young cornerback combinations in the NFL.

The fourth-year cornerback has eight interceptions since the Chiefs took him out of Grand Valley State in 2008, including a career-high four in 2011. Kansas City would likely want him back at the right price.

But you can't forget that the Chiefs also signed former Raiders cornerback Stanford Routt last week, which many thinks could take them out of the running for Carr. At the very least, they've given themselves a security blanket if Carr does leave for a team like Dallas.

Carr isn't a sure thing, and he hasn't had to play as the No. 1 cornerback on an NFL defense before. But acquiring the young playmaker would be a big step in the right direction for the Cowboys, who can then focus their offseason on adding a pass rusher and offensive line help through early picks in the draft.