More proof the Dallas Cowboys are going for it: Visit set with All-Pro LB Shaquille Leonard

The Dallas Cowboys are no longer on that “we like our guys” mode and appear to be doing everything they can to upgrade their roster for a Super Bowl run in 2023.

Just a couple of weeks after signing free agent receiver Martavis Bryant to the practice squad to see if the the former Pittsburgh Steelers star, who hasn’t played in the NFL since 2018, may be able to help them in December or January, the Cowboys are setting themselves up to make a similar move at linebacker.

Four-time All-Pro linebacker Shaquille Leonard, who was cut last week by the Indianapolis Colts, is slated to visit the the Cowboys on Tuesday, per the NFL Network.

A league source confirmed that the Cowboys plan to do the visit before Wednesday.

Coach Mike McCarthy and owner Jerry Jones both said the Cowboys are interested in Leonard in hopes of shoring up a thin and inexperienced linebacker unit that lost veteran Leighton Vander Esch to a season ending neck injury.

“We got some questions that we need to check on health wise and things like that,” Jones recently said of Leonard. “ I want to do our homework and do what we should be doing. The first thing is how he might fit at us.”

The defense has played well with Markquese Bell moving into the starting role next to Damone Clark with free-agent signee Rashad Evans rotating in.

Leonard offers a different level of play, if healthy.

Leonard saw his role reduced with the Colts having undergone two surgeries to repair nerve damage in his back.

He played in just three games last season.

After playing at least 93% of the snaps in each of his first four seasons, he saw that number drop to 64% this season

There is a question of whether his speed and movement have been reduced.

Leonard, who is the only active player with at least 15 sacks and 10 interceptions over the past six seasons, is not the player he once was.

So the Colts moved on from the franchise cornerstone who they gave a five-year, $98.5 million contract in 2021, making him the highest-paid linebacker in the game at the time.

The Colts will incur $27.7 million in a dead-cap charge.

The Cowboys see an opportunity to add good player at a reduced rate. He certainly could help shore up the team’s run defense on first and second down.

And he is a proven locker room leader as the Colts made him their Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee last season.

The Cowboys just want to check out the medical situation.

The Cowboys are not alone in their pursuit of Leonard. But they are in line for the first visit.

And if things check out, they don’t plan on letting him out the door.