It is quite possible the Cowboys already consider themselves done with free agency.
Fans of the Dallas Cowboys are enduring what has become an annual rite of the offseason. While virtually every other team in the league, most certainly including their three division rivals, are signing some possibly very helpful talent in free agency, almost nothing has happened in Dallas. They have acquired exactly one outside free agent, linebacker Eric Kendricks. He does seem like a good fit for Mike Zimmer’s defense and fills a clear hole with the release and subsequent retirement of Leighton Vander Esch. But one economical signing is hardly what fans want. They anxiously look at the remaining pool of talent and worry what the team can still do.
Let me advance a theory. It may well be they aren’t going to sign another outside free agent until after the draft. The still have a couple of their own free agents that they may bring back on cap-friendly deals. They just added one of those in re-signing running back Rico Dowdle. He is a known quantity at a position of need and makes a lot of sense to bring back, probably on a very cap friendly deal. Another player who would fit that profile would be nose tackle Johnathan Hankins, who remains available and could also come back. There is a smaller chance they might also try to bring back Stephon Gilmore if his market is soft, but that remains to be seen. They would probably be affordable deals and not eat up much cap space, which seems pertinent given that the team currently has only about $8 million following the restructuring of the latest payment to quarterback Dak Prescott.
That is a fairly minor addition to the space. The team already has more coming on June 1st when the $9.5 million from releasing Michael Gallup hits, but that can’t be used until then. It would allow them to add a player if they have an unfilled need after the NFL draft. Given the lack of draft capital this year, that seems likely. If they were to decide they have to make a move before then, they could always go to the restructuring well again and easily generate up to $20 million more cap space. There is always the chance they could do so to add someone, but there is a big reason they may want to hold off on that.
They are believed to be working on an extension with star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. That could net them almost $13.5 million more. But that space, along with what is available through restructures, might be planned for making something else happen. That is an eventual extension for Prescott. As mentioned in the article linked above, they seem to be targeting later this year to get that done, possibly during training camp. Extending a franchise quarterback always comes with a staggering price tag, at least until the next one gets done somewhere else in the league. Prescott’s extension will tie up a big chunk of cap space for its duration.
We are all aware of Stephen Jones and how he covets his precious salary cap pie. Another major component of his approach to constructing the roster is how he wants to do most of the big talent acquisition through the draft. Since that is very limited, he seems to have painted himself in a corner with the lack of resources to acquire free agents. But when you also consider his aversion to spending on outside free agents, it is entirely possible he is content to stand in that corner. It would mean having to rely mostly on what the team already has on hand to put on the field. Of course, the management does tend to like their own guys.
Undoubtedly, this is an extremely conservative approach. It is also consistent with what we have seen for years from the team. It is a logical conclusion to point to this as one of the reasons we have become so scarred by quick exits from the playoffs. That does not seem to matter to the ownership, as we have bemoaned ad nauseum. Owning by far the most valuable sports franchise in the world plus a bevy of highly profitable other investments contributes to that conservative approach.
We keep hoping for the decisions making to become more focused on success on the field, but that has been a vain hope for years, and the chances of things changing seem vanishingly small. When the biggest offseason moves in recent memory were the trades to acquire Brandin Cooks and Gilmore last year, it begins to feel like all we can do is accept the inevitable and brace for the pain that is threatened.
Related to all this is that head coach Mike McCarthy is in the last year of his contract, along with most of his staff. It does not seem unreasonable to consider all this as setting the team up for one of two things. Either McCarthy and company are going to do a pretty incredible job and finally break through the postseason wall that the Cowboys have broken against time and time again, or there will be a housecleaning and a brand new staff brought in for 2025.
That fits with another disappointing trait in Dallas. While the NFL is such a “win now” league, the Jones family tends to use a longer range view that often conflicts with immediate success. The current situation looks exactly like that is in play. Managing the cap to help pay for the big deals coming for Lamb and Prescott plus setting the table for a new coaching staff definitely is planning for the long term.
All this argues that there are not going to be any significant outside free agent signings at least until summer, and possibly not even then. This is just a prediction that may blow up completely. But given the history of the team, it doesn’t seem far-fetched in the least.
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