Skip to main content

DeMarcus Ware: Switch to defensive end good for me

DeMarcus Ware's health will be a major topic of discussion again this season as the Dallas Cowboys remain incredibly thin at pass rusher.

The seven-time Pro Bowl selection played most of last season with a torn labrum in his right shoulder -- he had surgery to fix it this offseason -- and never looked like himself.

Wyche: Dallas' D depends on two

How DeMarcus Ware and Sean Lee fare this season, Steve Wyche writes, will determine if the Cowboys' new defense flounders or flourishes. **More ...**

While addressing the media after the Cowboys' morning walk-through Sunday, Ware discussed, for the umpteenth time, the move from 3-4 outside linebacker to 4-3 defensive end.

The soon-to-be 31-year-old believes the switch will keep him healthier in 2013 and might prolong his career.

"At outside linebacker, there is a lot more moving parts, so to me, I feel like it's easier to get hurt," Ware said. "But at defensive end, you're not moving as much, but the thing is you are using more of your technique, you're using more of your sort of savviness to make plays. For me -- being able to be more fundamentally sound -- I think for me should actually keep me more healthy during the season. Yes, I feel like (the move) could actually extend my career."

We hope the nine-year veteran turns out to be correct. Who -- besides quarterbacks -- wants to lose out on those huge Ware hits?

Follow Kevin Patra on Twitter @kpatra.