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Cowboys News: Ex-Lions DE Kerry Hyder Signs Contract with Dallas
March 18, 2019
The Dallas Cowboys announced on Monday the signing of former Detroit Lions defensive end Kerry Hyder to a three-year contract.
Hyder, 27, has registered 42 tackles and nine sacks in 24 career games. Eight of those sacks came in an impressive 2016 season, though an Achilles injury cost him the entire 2017 campaign and he made just seven appearances for the Lions in 2018.
As Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News noted, Hyder "wasn't a great fit when Detroit changed its defensive scheme last year. He's a better fit in Dallas as a 4-3 defensive end."
The Cowboys needed to address their depth on the edge.
Randy Gregory has been banned indefinitely by the NFL for another violation of the league's substance-abuse policy, while the future of Demarcus Lawrence remains up in the air with the star pass-rusher unsigned (though the Cowboys did hit him with the franchise tag to keep him from signing elsewhere in free agency).
Hyder won't single-handedly address those concerns, given his lack of production last season, but if he can come anywhere close to replicating his 2016 form, he should be a nice addition in Dallas. He also offers some versatility, as he can line up as a defensive tackle on passing downs and generate pressure from the interior.
It isn't a sexy signing for the Cowboys, in an offseason defined by mostly low-key moves, but it fills a need.
