Instead Dallas won the right to overpay for veteran free agent DE Igor Olshansky. From Blogging the Boys:
On Friday, the Dallas Cowboys signed defensive end Igor Olshansky (formerly of the Chargers) to a 4-year/$18 million deal. Jerry Jones was wise to play the waiting game, and was rewarded by landing a solid, experienced player at a clearance sale price.
I usually like Blogging the Boys, but giving a 4 year contract, with $8 million guaranteed, to a guy who lost his starting job and produced only 20 tackles and 2 sacks is not a reward. Greg Bedard over at JSOnline.com was surprised the Packers didn't make a serious run at Igor too.
Why?
I know the Igor Olshansky Bandwagon was in motion at this site, but I didn't think he was a great free agent.
Free agent DE Kevin Carter shows why Olshansky isn't an important free agent. The Packers appear interested in the 36 year old veteran, and there probably isn't much of a market for him. He's probably not going back to Tampa Bay because they appear to be cleaning house.
Carter started 16 games last season with 28 tackles and 4 sacks. Basically the same thing San Diego got, and Dallas will get, from Olshansky. At 6'5" and 300 lbs., Carter has the size to play at left DE for the Packers. He probably is looking for one-half of what Olshansky was paid and he's never lost his starting job. It doesn't even look like he's missed a game in his 14 year career.
The Packers need to sign a defensive end in free agency, to provide some depth and insurance in case DE Cullen Jenkins is slow to rehab from his torn labrum. They need to address this area in the draft too as they restock the defensive line to adjust for the switch to a 3-4 defense. But there are a lot of candidates available, and missing out on someone like Olshansky isn't a big deal.