The Dallas Cowboys have some work to do this off-season. A 13-3 year is nice, but falling to accomplish their ultimate goal means there is plenty to improve upon. As we’ve written here, there are in-house free agents they must entertain re-signing before they make any outside moves, but the Cowboys will also have to move on players outside the organization as well.
In the past few years, free agency for the Cowboys has meant paying their own players and waiting for the market to calm down before jumping into the fray. This has resulted in the team signing bargain players who fit their scheme and style of play.
Gone are the days of Jerry Jones spending all willy nilly on players with brand name recognition. This has been a major shift in philosophy with Jason Garrett, Stephen Jones and Will McClay all becoming more involved in recent years.
It’s the right approach that most of the top organizations in the league adhere to and it takes discipline to operate this way. In the limited sample size, the results have been positive for Dallas, they are getting the right fits for the best price on the market. Not overspending has allowed them to keep their young core of talent, supplement the roster and should see them thrive for years to come.
However, if there was a year to loosen up the purse strings and go big game fishing, this is it. The Cowboys might not be one player away (I think that theory only seriously applies to quarterbacks), but they are one big upgrade away from becoming a major threat to win the Super Bowl for years to come. With the good, young quarterback on the roster, to go along with the stud running back with fresh legs, a great wide receiver, and a dominant offensive line, the Cowboys have everything in place on offense to continue to make serious playoff runs every season.
The defense can do more than come along for the ride, IF they spend the money on the team’s biggest weakness. It’s no secret that Dallas needs a major upgrade at pass rusher and there are a few about to hit the open market. The Cowboys don’t need to make a habit of spending big money in free agency, but this year might be the exception.
A few of the names that should interest the team are Chandler Jones, Jason Pierre-Paul, Melvin Ingram and Nick Perry. Even DeMarcus Ware should make the list, probably at a lower rate from the others, which may benefit the team. Each of these players could help upgrade the pass rush significantly and make the defense a much better unit than they have been in the past few seasons.
If the Cowboys want to get over the hump, the opportunity to add someone who can help is there. If they want someone to knock down and disrupt Aaron Rodgers from making game winning plays against them, go get a pass rusher. They don’t grow on trees and they rarely come at the bottom half of the first round in the draft; the price will be high, but it will be worth it.
The other pieces are already there for the Cowboys to be Super Bowl worthy and even though it doesn’t look like it now, the team can make room under the cap to sign one of these elite edge players. In today’s NFL, it’s all about the quarterbacks, how well they play and disrupting them is how to win games. The Cowboys currently win in just one of those ways, but that can easily change.
Overall, the Dallas Cowboys have made great strides in how they approach the off-season. They make very good business decisions and are becoming more fiscally responsible every year. This type of move would be an outlier to how they go about free agency, and it would be a costly maneuver, but now is the time to strike. Even if they sign a premium pass rusher, they still need to attack the position in the draft. As the new saying goes, you can never have enough pass rushers.
It’s probably a pipe dream to think the team will go after a premium edge rusher, but they should. Charles Haley was once the final piece to a Super Bowl dynasty and these Cowboys should leave no stone unturned to final a similar answer now.
The free agent waters await, maybe a championship too.
You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi
Ben Grimaldi
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Ben, do you see Irving as a DT or DE? If he could start at DT that solves one problem. However, this team does not need more SDEs. I look for the team to sign a FA ( not expensive( and then drafting one early ( 2nd or 3rd round) and one late. The team has drafted enough DE in the recent past, but drugs and injuries have let them down ( Lawrence, Gregory & Tapper).
Great question Paul, I’m really not sure. Irving’s made plays from both spots & the team benefits from moving him around. If they find a true left defensive end, he might be better served for the team on the inside.
Not to get too far ahead of myself but- on 2018 the team has 13 free agents list. 9 unrestricted and 4 restricted. As I see it, all are replaceable except 2- Zack Martin and David Irving(maybe). We need to get through this offseason in good shape and be in great shape for 2018. This offseason is KEY. 2019 looks even better.
Stud pass rushers are as hard to find as QB’s. Cowboys need to draft at least two DE’s high in this draft. Plus a couple CB’s. Good draft to go ALL defense. Do it.
Agree Hard, but they will definitely use a mid round pick (2nd-5th) on a WR, prob a RB somewhere too. But I’m on board with a heavy defensive draft
WR I can understand but not RB. Gotta go DE in first round unless there’s a CB or FS that’s that much clearly better. Right now, Cowboys can barely staff the DE position and the later in the draft they wait the harder it will be to find one.
do you think we’ll get draft picks for Romo this year
No. I think Romo gets released to pursue a team of his choice. Designating him a post June 1 cut allows Dallas a little manipulation of the salary cap.
I actually still believe they get a pick for Romo. Jerry needs to sell his butt off in Indy to get interest, think he pulls it off.
We need to draft a qb too. And I’m not kidding.
Signing a Freeny or other older FA would have been prudent. We also didn’t know Gregory was a total year drug fail. Recall how Haley and others raved about him early on.
Gm Jerry signing a Freeny also kind of says he should have kept Ware. So I did hear they were gonna kick the tires on Lomg and he went to NE and never left.
The rookie from Nebraska and the DT play overall was good. We definitely need an edge rusher. Irving might improve again next year. DLaw might be healthy and get double digit sacks. Gregory won’t take a snap. Dallas should draft DE and sing an FA. Is Freeny available? Ware on the cheap as a last roundup?
Jaylon Smith and Sean Lee will help any defense if both are healthy but neither is a pass rusher. I think other than DE, TE is the next most important. Aikman says it wasn’t Irvin’s injury but Novacek retiring that hurt his offense the worse. The old wise Witten is well Old and reliable but his replacement isn’t on the roster. Even if it is our first a two TE set could be lethal with Zeke.
People forget how banged up Ware was with us his last couple of years (not too mention his frequent offsides in critical passing downs), and that trend has continued in Denver, would be shocked if they bring him back outside of retiring as a Cowboy…….best FO decision on FA since the new group took over from GM Jerry……youth is key as is healthy bodies…….need to draft DEs and corners…period, but need a speedy, WR as well in case both Butler and TWill depart (Gathers seems like a project, but i still believe Hanna has huge upside) and possibly a RB, since Dunbar is probably gone unless he signs a team friendly deal.
He had a hell of a super bowl. And if Von miller didn’t play lights out MVP.
He’s old but i like the idea of a vet working with the youth. Freeny did well in ATL.
Freeney has never had multiple back issues, played in mostly 4-3 defenses as opposed to DWare….just saw a mock draft (total shots in the dark) where they had us picking 3 DEs, but none in the first round, corner from Washington was the pick, Sydney Jones, Lawson from Auburn in the 2nd (DE)……of course we all know that the combine will have some unknowns rise to the stratosphere (ala Byron Jones) while others will decline ……McClay did a great job in 2016 (some luck for sure by teh Chargrers selecting Rosa, who turned out to be a pretty darn good player), not sure he can duplicate it in 2017……..drafting 24 spots lower….
Since the team will not go for a high dollar DE in FA ( according to BTB ) would JJ et al be interested in maybe trading for Tank Carradine who does not want to be a LB or add weight to be a 3-4 DE? He is misused in SD.
Sorry in SF
I liked him in the draft a few years back. Could definitely see him as a fit with the Cowboys, but I wonder what new coach and system think about him? But a name I would like too Paul. Very good potential there.
Since Saleh was hired as the defensive coordinator in SF, will they go back to a 4-3 since that is in his roots?
(according to BTB)….um
Apart from JPP, all these guys are OLB types, which is not a great fit for us. See if we can trade TCraw, or release him post June 1, sign Lawrence commensurate with his production, then draft rushers. JPP is going to get a lot of money, out of our range.
The cap cost of releasing Crawford way too high, he’s staying. I’m all for JPP, think it’s the right move…Ware and Perry would be just fine in the system, Rod will work them in. Actually, think Perry might be best/sensible option if team does decide to spend some money.
Good article Ben.