At long last the Dallas Cowboys have to show their cards this offseason

The Dallas Cowboys finally have to show us what their offseason plan is this week.

I have yet to personally encounter anyone who thought that “all in” meant anything serious. Do not get me wrong. Jerry Jones said it and that in and of itself was enough to put some legitimacy into it. But we have all been watching and observing this team, and that individual, for a very long time. We knew better. Or we should have. Whichever side of that fence you land on.

Whatever the case, those two words have dominated the last few months of discussion concerning the Dallas Cowboys and served as the latest bit of meme-ability for the national media to hold the front office accountable for. No free agents signed? Letting notable players walk? Zero movement on long-term extensions for cornerstone players? All in, ALL IN, ALL IN.

It is at best unfortunate for the rest of the team’s decision-makers that Jerry Jones added a fresh coat of red paint for the lurking bulls with his comment, but it is at worst an incredible botching of the effort to build this team to a point that they can reach waters that their boats have not seen in almost three decades.

The good news is that we are about to find out.

At long last the Dallas Cowboys have to show their cards this offseason

This week brings with it the 2024 NFL Draft and thankfully some much-needed clarity on what the Dallas Cowboys (and every NFL team for that matter) are thinking about a variety of things. As it relates to America’s Team though, we are finally going to have something (as in literally something) to work backwards for in the name of understanding their plan.

Obviously the high level of inactivity has run counter to Jerry’s “all in” claim which. makes the idea that this was the plan quite laughable.

In response to that many fans have claimed that the team is clearly tanking and preparing for the future, but they are hardly making decisions pointed in that direction either. While the two external free agents (Eric Kendricks and Royce Freeman) have been signed to one-year deals that is standard operating procedure for this team. They have yet to restructure contracts in such a serious way that would suggest most eggs were in the basket of the future.

There is no obvious North Star that things are pointed towards.

But that all changes this week. The Cowboys are going to be forced to do the something that they have opted against for the last month and a half. Be active. Either turn in their draft cards or forfeit their picks, and while the temperature of the moment makes the latter feel not entirely impossible, we are going to be able to finally draw a legitimate conclusion about this team soon enough.

It is assumed by just about everyone that Dallas will address the offensive line in the first round, and if they do that will serve as step one in the direction of understanding. We will then (assuming this hypothetical) be able to understand just how exactly they are building their new-look trenches. If they take a tackle then we can start to consider pen when writing Tyler Smith’s name down at left guard, or if they take a center then T.J. Bass might wind up playing a legitimate amount of time in 2024. Again, the point is answers are about to be found one way or another.

Generally we do not have to wait this long to get a proper grip on our favorite team, but better late than never. The pencils are about to be commanded down and we are going to get a chance to look at what they have been scribbling on their exam for all of this time.

Prepare to grade.