Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Anthony Spencer is set to become a free agent on March 13, that is if the Cowboys don't use the franchise tag to keep him around for at least another season, which is something some analysts expect them to do.
Spencer was selected in the first round of 2007 draft to give the Cowboys an outside pass rusher that would compliment DeMarcus Ware. However, while Ware continued to put up amazing numbers (19.5 sacks in 2011), Spencer hasn't been able to get to the quarterback more than six times in a season.
However, Ware believes that the Cowboys should still keep Spencer around because of his ability to stop the run.
"I think it's really important to get Spencer back because if you look back, he's not a guy who is probably going to have 40 or 50 sacks, but at the end of the day, he's a run-stopper," Ware said Saturday, per the Dallas Morning News. "He drops a lot and you see a lot of pass breakups and a lot of tackles for loss, so he's making a lot of plays for us but they are subtle plays. He's a solid player we need to keep."
The Cowboys have until March 5 to apply the franchise tag. If they don't use it on Spencer and they don't get him re-signed to a multi-year deal before March 13, they could have a hard time keeping him around, especially if other teams are interested.