IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys have signed defensive tackle Henry Melton to an incentive-laden one-year contract with the free agent coming off a major knee injury. The deal signed Wednesday has a $1.25 million base salary and could be worth up to $5 million. The Cowboys hold a three-year option after the 2014 season. The 27-year-old Melton missed most of last season for Chicago after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee against Pittsburgh on Sept. 22. Dallas is trying to rebuild its defensive line after franchise sacks leader DeMarcus Ware was released and 2013 leader Jason Hatcher signed with Washington. Melton has 15 1/2 sacks in 48 career games but will be needed more as a disruptive force in the middle. His best years came in 2011 and 2012, when he had 13 of his sacks and 50 of his 63 career tackles. Melton was a running back in high school in the Dallas area before becoming a defensive lineman with the Texas Longhorns. He was a fourth-round pick by the Bears in 2009 and missed his rookie season with an ankle injury. He will be reunited with former Chicago defensive co-ordinator Rod Marinelli, who now has the same title with Dallas after Monte Kiffin was reassigned after the Cowboys finished last in the NFL in total defence. "Its like youre betting on yourself," Melton said on the teams website. "I feel like with me and my rehab and coming back with Rod and the good defence thats here, I can get back to that form. I believe in that, and obviously they believe in me to get it done." Melton was arrested in December in Grapevine, where he went to high school, on charges of assault and public intoxication after police say he refused to leave a bar and fought with employees. Police say Melton was accused of punching the bar manager in the face and biting his arm. Meltons agent, Jordan Woy, said at the time that his client didnt start the altercation. 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Yaya Toures seeming discontent Tuesday may complicate that, as does the little issue of Financial Fair Play.PARIS -- France reached the World Cup against the odds after beating Ukraine 3-0 on Tuesday, overturning a first-leg deficit with a performance full of pride and confidence after most observers had written the team off. Backs to the wall after a 2-0 defeat last Friday, France started at a frenetic pace and never let up against a dispirited Ukraine that played most of the second half with 10 men. France was already leading 2-0 by then after Mamadou Sakho scored his first international goal midway through the first half and Karim Benzema added a close-range finish in the 34th. "Ive experienced some great moments but this one is special. Its fabulous, especially after the first game and the bad result we got there," France coach Didier Deschamps said. "The players should get all the credit because they did something special." Ukraine went down to 10 men when fullback Yevhen Khacheridi was red-carded for fouling Franck Ribery in the 47th minute. France sealed qualification in the 72nd when Ukraine subsitute Oleg Gusev turned a cross into his own net under pressure from Sakho. "We should have worked harder and been more organized," Ukraine coach Mykhailo Fomenko said. "I warned my players before the match to avoid the yellow and red cards but this was very difficult." There were delirious scenes at the end as France players rushed off the bench to celebrate. Bullied all night in Kyiv last Friday, the French responded brilliantly in a performance full of bravery, panache and determination. "Its the magic of football. Four days ago we were bad, very bad," Deschamps said. "Tonight the players were present and I had no doubt they would be." The players, under intense pressure in the build-up to the game, grabbed flags and sprinted around the field in jubilation as France avoided the embarrassment of failing to qualify for a major tournament for the first time in 20 years. "Its been a very long time since we saw the Stade de France like this," Ribery said. "We took a big slap in Ukraine and we woke up. We were stuck together until the end and we showed it on the pitch." Olivier Giroud grabbed a microphone and got the crowd singing along to the national anthem as pent-up emotions were welll and truly released.dddddddddddd "Weve suffered so much, theres been so much sadness," Ribery said. "This is wonderful, magnificent." In a match four years ago, 10,000 travelling Irish fans drowned out the home support. But there was no danger of that this time from Ukraines considerably smaller following. Pre-match footage on the stadiums big screen showed clips of glory days: the Platini years, the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. Perhaps this was an attempt to jog the crowds memory, a last-ditch plea to get them to rally behind the team. Or perhaps it was a simpler message: "This is how to win, remember?" The words to "La Marseillaise" then popped up on the screen, offering further encouragement to show their support. It seemed to have the desired effect as France poured forward and had Ukraine firmly on the back foot from the outset, with Mathieu Valbuena going close with a rising shot and Paul Pogba and Benzema heading over from good positions. Piatov had kept eight consecutive clean sheets but his resistance was finally broken when Sakho pounced to turn the ball in from close range after Piatov pushed away Riberys shot from the edge of the penalty area. The way Sakho sprinted to the bench, thumping his chest with pride, showed just how intense the strain had been on the French since Friday. Some of the tackling was ferocious, as this time France stood up to the physical challenge after their battering in Kyiv. "I know the French team is very strong and can play at a very high level. They were playing at home and their fans were very good," Fomenko said. "I regret a few things. We werent good psychologically. We needed to be ready and I dont think we were." Piatov was well beaten for the second goal when Cabayes attempted shot deflected favourably into the path of Benzema and he stroked it into the bottom corner. Moments before halftime, Sakho stretched his leg high to poke the ball away from Roman Zozulya as he was about to shoot and, from the resulting corner, Andriy Yarmolenkos goal-bound hit Mathieu Debuchys chest. The French bench rose in unison when Gusev turned a cross into his own net and substitute Giroud almost made it 4-0 but his point-blank header was superbly saved. ' ' '