{"id":725696,"date":"2026-02-03T07:21:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T07:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/725696\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T07:21:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T07:21:14","slug":"who-is-demarcus-lawrence-10-things-to-know-about-ex-cowboys-de-playing-in-super-bowl-lx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/725696\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is DeMarcus Lawrence? 10 things to know about ex-Cowboys DE playing in Super Bowl LX"},"content":{"rendered":"

For 11 seasons, DeMarcus Lawrence<\/a> was a mainstay on the Dallas Cowboys\u2019 defensive line. He played a key role as a leader in the locker room.<\/p>\n

His time in Dallas ended in 2025. Now, he\u2019s playing for the Lombardi Trophy as a member of the Seattle Seahawks.<\/p>\n

Here are 10 things to know about the former Cowboys defensive end playing in Super Bowl LX:<\/p>\n

1. Tank<\/p>\n

Cowboys<\/p>\n

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How\u2019d he get the nickname? Here\u2019s what he said during a Q&A on the Dallas Cowboys\u2019 website in 2015.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt originated when I was very young playing outside on the basketball court. One of my friends and I were play fighting and he DDT\u2019d me on my head, so ever since then he would say \u2018I tanked him on his head, I tanked him.\u2019 So ever since then, people have been calling me Tank.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a childhood nickname. I got it growing up playing little league … just running over people as a fullback in my days,\u201d he said. \u201cIt transpired to me growing up and going to high school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have this little funny story. My coach, I had a bad game, and he was telling everybody, \u2018I don\u2019t want to hear you call him Tank. I don\u2019t want to hear you call him Diesel. He can\u2019t play football.\u2019 That inspired me. I have to live up to my nickname. So I\u2019m the Tank.\u201d<\/p>\n

A DDT is a professional wrestling move that looks something like the GIF below.<\/p>\n

2. His exit from Dallas was… interesting<\/p>\n

Lawrence\u2019s time with the Cowboys ended in 2025. He joined the Seattle Seahawks as a free agent after 11 seasons in Dallas. His exit generated a lot of buzz when he told a Seahawks reporter that he knew \u201cfor sure\u201d he wouldn\u2019t win a Super Bowl with the Cowboys.<\/p>\n

That comment incited a response from then-Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis what rejection and envy look like!\u201d Parsons wrote on social media about Lawrence.<\/p>\n

Lawrence further responded<\/a>: \u201cCalling me a clown won\u2019t change the fact that I told the truth. Maybe if you spent less time tweeting and more time winning, I wouldn\u2019t have left.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. He\u2019s Super Bowl-bound<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take long for Lawrence to make an impact in Seattle. He started 16 games for the Seahawks in the 2025 regular season, posting 53 tackles, six sacks and three forced fumbles. He returned two of those fumbles for touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Lawrence was a key part of Seattle\u2019s No. 1-ranked defense. With the veteran defensive end on their roster, the Seahawks powered through the postseason as the NFC\u2019s No. 1 seed.<\/p>\n

Now, Lawrence and the Seahawks are one win away from a Super Bowl title.<\/a><\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Seattle4. Made an impact in the D-FW community<\/p>\n

Lawrence participated in numerous charitable events throughout his time in Dallas. In 2024, the Cowboys nominated the veteran defensive end for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award.<\/a><\/p>\n

While discussing how proud he was of being nominated for the honor, Lawrence credited his dad for setting the example in taking care of others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really pride myself on my integrity,\u201d Lawrence said. \u201cJust doing the right thing when nobody is looking. I preach that to my family each and every day. That\u2019s just the standard I want to live by. Definitely going to keep doing what I\u2019m doing. It doesn\u2019t matter who\u2019s watching. Just me as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n

5. He\u2019s a top 100 Cowboys player of all-time<\/p>\n

In 2025, The Dallas Morning News ranked the Cowboys\u2019 top 100 players in franchise history. Lawrence ended up on the list at No. 69.<\/a><\/p>\n

From 2014-24, he posted 61 1\/2 sacks as a Cowboy.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Photos\/DMN6. Had some good times and bad times at Boise State<\/p>\n

Before the Cowboys drafted him in 2014, Lawrence attended Boise State. He accumulated a pretty impressive stat line as a Bronco.<\/p>\n

In two seasons (23 total games), he finished with 120 total tackles, 20 sacks and seven forced fumbles. He also had 34 tackles for a loss.<\/p>\n

Now for the not-so-good parts.<\/p>\n

Lawrence was suspended for one game three separate times while at Boise State. One suspension led to him missing the Las Vegas Bowl against Washington and another included a regular-season home game against UNLV.<\/p>\n

During the draft process, his behavior was brought up by Cowboys officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just asked me if I put the BS and the suspensions behind me; my childish behaviors,\u201d Lawrence told SportsDay\u2019s Brandon George<\/a>. \u201cI let all the teams know that I put my childish behaviors behind me and I\u2019ve moved on and it\u2019s time for me to become a Cowboy. It\u2019s time for me to grow up and do my duties and play football.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garrett called him the \u201cright kind of guy we want to bring to this football team.\u201d<\/p>\n

7. He talks trash, according to an ex-Eagles player<\/p>\n

Ex-Eagles running back Miles Sanders, now with the Cowboys, was asked about trash talkers before Super Bowl LVII<\/a>. He was trying to think of players with the best banter and landed on Lawrence.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a very angry guy on the field,\u201d Sanders said in the video posted by FOX Sports. \u201cI just be wanting to give him a hug on the field. But yeah, he\u2019s pretty angry on the field. He lets me know it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sanders played for the Cowboys in 2025, meaning he and Lawrence just missed the chance to team up.<\/p>\n

8. Short-yardage butcher<\/p>\n

When he was in Dallas, Lawrence was known for his ability to disrupt the run game. Late in the 2023 season, former Dallas Morning News writer Michael Gehlken described Lawrence as the team\u2019s \u201cbutcher in goal-line and other short-yardage situations.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s done it like that forever,\u201d ex-Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. \u201cI know competing against D-Law, and he\u2019s still doing it at such a high level. I think when you play defensive end in this league, the first thing people talk about is how many sacks or pressures you have. When I see Michael Strahan, I say, \u2018Here is a guy who broke a lot of records and sacks, but he played the run as good or better.\u2019 D-Law is that same kind of player.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that speaks volumes about him as a football player. Obviously, he can pass rush and has pressures and sacks and has excellent numbers. But when they bring up how good you play the run, I think that\u2019s a huge compliment.\u201d<\/p>\n

9. He had Jerry Jones \u201cfrothing at the mouth\u201d\"Dallas<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones talks to the media during a press conference about the Omni Frisco Hotel at The Star in Frisco as Frisco Mayor Maher Maso listens, on Tuesday, November 3, 2015. (Vernon Bryant\/The Dallas Morning News)<\/p>\n

Vernon Bryant \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

Lawrence had some injury issues after getting drafted and wasn\u2019t able to make his season debut until Week 9 of the 2014 season against the Arizona Cardinals.<\/p>\n

The Cowboys were in desperate need of some sacks from their defensive line. And Jerry Jones was really optimistic about adding Lawrence to the mix.<\/p>\n

\u201cLawrence had everybody frothing at the mouth a little bit out there last week,\u201d Jones told 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM] at the time. \u201cHe has really improved his body during this time off. He\u2019s used it to really have a lot of strength work. It\u2019s something that he didn\u2019t do as much [in college] as he\u2019s doing now. He\u2019s had quite a physical improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n

10. Favorite NFL player growing up<\/p>\n

From a previous Cowboys Q&A:<\/p>\n

\u201cRay Lewis because of his intensity, his demeanor, his swagger. He had all the tools.\u201d<\/p>\n

One win away from Super Bowl title, DeMarcus Lawrence reflects on his Cowboys exit<\/a>Former Dallas Cowboys running back Scott Laidlaw dies at 72<\/a><\/p>\n

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For 11 seasons, DeMarcus Lawrence was a mainstay on the Dallas Cowboys\u2019 defensive line. He played a key…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":725697,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2066],"tags":[230,229,257,2461,5735,7,6,9,4662],"class_list":{"0":"post-725696","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-cowboys","8":"tag-cowboys","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-cowboys","11":"tag-dallascowboys","12":"tag-demarcus-lawrence","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-things-to-know"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116005496460419351","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=725696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/725697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=725696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=725696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=725696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}