For the Dallas Cowboys and the NFL as a whole, this is an uncertain period. After the season is ended, there is a period of uncertainty between the last gun of the Super Bowl and the opening of negotiations between teams and prospective free agents. That means a lot of us are quickly skimming anything regarding the Cowboys and are desperate for opinions.
That’s one of the reasons the ludicrous rumor that Jimmy Johnson was on the team’s advisory board recently surfaced. It’s possible for those of us who write, podcast, and report on the team to get a little too eager for content. When Johnson talked about how his relationship with Jerry Jones had repaired since the latter’s long overdue entrance into the Ring of Honor, he was merely being humorous. There is merely Jones’ personal network of contacts that he follows; there is no advisory board. On occasion. That didn’t stop some ill-considered news coverage of his radio broadcast comments.
Hopefully, Jones is paying attention to knowledgeable people since now is the time for the organization to solidify their plan for handling the next major goal of the soon-to-be NFL season: roster construction. With the hiring of Mike Zimmer to replace Dan Quinn and a strong start to filling the defensive coaching roles, they have largely handled their first one. That has been discussed and cursed a lot. What therefore ought to be done regarding their plan for roster building?
One significant issue—which columnist Brandon Loree has already investigated—is whether to use the franchise tag. They have been tagging players for the last six seasons, but there are rumors that they are going to break that streak soon. Dallas is in another cap crunch, and it is not worth it to pay the hefty price of a tag when there is no way to defer the cost into subsequent seasons. Even while they should definitely bring back a few of their own free agents, they will almost surely be considering far better bargains than tagging them. Tyron Smith is one of the most significant; he supposedly wishes to return. When healthy, he is still a top left tackle, but there’s a catch, as a well-known writer once stated. It looks almost inevitable that he will miss some time, and possibly a lot of it. Anticipate them to attempt to work out a deal that is significantly less expensive than the $18 million plus cost of tagging offensive linemen. That will hold true for any other individuals they bring back.
Tony Pollard, who did play on the tag last year, is one guy on that list who may not be the subject of a new contract. Running backs are one of the easiest positions to replace production at, and they are in high demand in free agency. The squad did not think Pollard would perform as well as he did last year, especially in the beginning. Running back is one position where it makes a lot of sense, despite the fact that we frequently complain about the incessant emphasis on bargain hunting for free agents. Malik Davis, Hunter Luepke, and Deuce Vaughn are still under contract with the team. Rico Dowdle might be the better choice for them to re-sign than Pollard if they decide to do so. Most likely, doddle would be far more economical. After that, they could acquire a reliable fourth back for depth by waiting for outside free agency to calm down. They could do the same with other positions like linebacker, where they have some urgent needs, by offering someone a very reasonable one-year prove-it deal.
The date is January 14, 2012. We are in San Francisco at Candlestick Park. The 49ers need a touchdown with 14 seconds remaining, down three, and facing a third down to maintain their hopes of making the playoffs without having to go to OT. In the meantime, the Saints can draw a conclusion from this and move on to the NFC Championship Game. We need to look back in time to comprehend how we got here and to fully appreciate what this moment signifies.
Even though we concentrate mostly on players to add, they may need to decide whether to release certain players who are still bound by contracts. This has an impact on the cap position, where it’s critical to consider future expenses. The names of wide receivers Michael Gallup and Brandin Cooks have recently come up as potential cut candidates. Cooks was worth a lot more than Gallup. Despite having lower yardage totals than Gallup, he was a potent offensive weapon with eight touchdowns compared to just two for Gallup. Due to the fact that maintaining him will result in a substantially higher cap cost for the remainder of his contract, the latter is a strong candidate for release. Dan Rogers offered a thoughtful examination of this, concluding that Gallup’s publication is imminent. It makes sense. If he hits the mark on this one, don’t be shocked.
In only one week, the NFL combine will take place, which is the next major event. The opportunity to sit down and converse with the invitees is quite useful, even though the actual outcomes of the drills and measures at the Underwear Olympics are frequently overestimated. Teams may use it to finalize the assessments that the scouting crew has been working so hard to finish.
It’s highly likely that the Cowboys will search more closely for specific spots. For example, they won’t be all that interested in quarterbacking, but they will be focused on positions like offensive line, defensive line, center, wide receiver, and safety, and depending on the decisions made at those positions, even running back and wide receiver. With just seven draft picks currently slated for them—too many of which are from the last three rounds—that is a lot to attempt and cover. This year, on draft day three, Will McClay and his scouting team will be hard at work trying to locate potential gems in the rough. Additionally, UDFAs will be crucial in a year with little available draft money.
We still have a voracious appetite for news these days, but we also have to deal with a lot of speculations and assumptions. We will continue to wait for any official developments, however we anticipate hefty contracts for Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. The team can create a significant amount of cap room in those two areas. They may get about $22 million in room if they just restructure Prescott in the final year of his contract. If both are extended, they might have access to over $39 million. They might arrive at any time, and since they are now almost $22 million above the cap, as reported by the aptly named above the Cap website, they need to take action before the league year begins on March 13. This implies that they will be considering restructures or extensions for players other than Prescott and Lamb, and other players may sign before the anticipated massive contracts for the star quarterback and wide receiver are completed. Restructures are built-in possibilities that don’t need to be negotiated because they simply move the team’s decision on whether to give the players their money to an earlier date. The management is willing to use those without reluctance.
Many people think it’s a waste of time, but a lot is actually going on behind the surface. Things will start to move forward, maybe very soon, and we’ll be interested to watch how everything turns out.