Keanu Neal will not return for the Dallas Cowboys in 2022, but that was not unexpected. After reuniting with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn for 2021, a move that served as a prerequisite to the veteran safety being moved to linebacker, Neal has had a change of heart and now wants to return to being a full-time safety -- something the Cowboys weren't interested in. As such, he's now taken his talents to Central Florida, where Tom Brady has officially unretired, agreeing to terms with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, per his agency.
This puts him under the tutelage of yet another elite defensive mind in Todd Bowles, the Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator who was recently named head coach following the retirement of Bruce Arians to the front office in Tampa. The terms of Neal's deal with the Bucs have not yet been disclosed, but it's expected to be similar to the one-year agreement signed in Dallas one year ago.
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For the Cowboys, they'll move on to former fourth-round pick Jabril Cox as the key contributor opposite All-Pro phenom Micah Parsons, with aid from Leighton Vander Esch and potentially a 2022 draft pick.
Neal entered the NFL as the 17th overall pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2016, a draft overseen by Quinn, who was the team's head coach at the time. He burst on to the NFL scene fairly quickly, landing both a Pro Bowl nod and PFWA All-Rookie Team honors in his first year out, playing in 14 games that season followed by 16 in Year 2 before injury began to slow his progress -- suffering a season-ending knee injury in 2018 and a season-ending torn Achilles in 2019.
Having returned to physical form in 2020, he raised his stock before going on to log just five starts for the Cowboys, active in 14 games but missing some due to bouts with COVID-19. He now joins a safety unit led by Antoine Winfield Jr. and the acquisition of Logan Ryan, as Bowles and the Buccaneers hope to upgrade their defense with a goal of returning to the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons.
