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Jerry Jones stands put on Cowboys’ 2024 motto: ‘All-in. All-in. All-in.’ – Grant Gordon, NFL.com
‘All in’ seems to be the slogan for the Dallas Cowboys in 2024.
“We feel great about what we’ve been in free agency,” Jones said, via team transcript. “All-in. All-in. All-in. We’re all-in with these young guys. We’re all-in with this draft.”
Jones’ original all-in musing was never free-agent specific. He spoke about “key contracts we’d like to address,” along with the team not building “for the future,” and authoring a time-is-now narrative in the aftermath of a disappointing defeat on Super Wild Card Weekend against the Green Bay Packers.
It kept the Cowboys buzzing, but regardless of what the onus of the statement was, the offseason has sputtered along with the re-signing of running back Rico Dowdle and the free agency adds of RB Royce Freeman and linebacker Eric Kendricks standing as the most notable moves in an otherwise silent spring. Meanwhile, contract extensions talks with Dak Prescott have been non-existent and long-term pacts with CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons have yet to be worked out.
All has been quiet on the Dallas front aside from more than a handful of notable losses, among them Tyron Smith, Tony Pollard and Jayron Kearse.
With the ‘Boys cap-strapped to the tune of having just $6.29 million available (per Over the Cap), gambling on free agency would’ve been a taxing endeavor. Conventional wisdom suggests getting some of the aforementioned long-term deals worked out earlier to free up some cap room.
Next Man Up: Where Brock Hoffman fits on O-line – Nick Eatman, DallasCowboys.com
All signs point to “Big Time Brock” being the next man up if the Cowboys don’t draft a center this weekend.
The Past: Hoffman joined the NFL as a rookie free agent of the Browns in 2022, but spent most of the year on the practice squad. He was released in November of that season and picked up by the Cowboys, who held him on the practice squad, but elevated him three games that season. In 2023, Hoffman made the Cowboys’ roster and played in all 17 games, including a pair of starts. He replaced Tyler Biadasz at center in the Week 3 loss to the Cardinals, although the offense rushed for a season-high 185 yards. Hoffman then started at right guard for Zack Martin in the season finale as the Cowboys once again put up big numbers, totaling 440 yards. Two of the Cowboys’ top three offensive games were starts by Hoffman, who was a serviceable backup on game day with his ability to play both center and guard.
The Present: The Cowboys didn’t make much of an effort to re-sign Biadasz, who signed a free-agent deal with Washington. Hoffman, along with T.J. Bass are both in-house candidates to compete for the starting job. There has been some talk of the Cowboys possibly drafting a center in the first round, although some of the Day 1 prospects also have position flex to play other spots, as does Hoffman. So it’ll be interesting to see how it sorts out after the draft. Players such as Hoffman, who has started in two spots, and Tyler Smith, who also has started at both guard and tackle, give the Cowboys a little flexibility on draft day. If the best available is a tackle, guard or center, having players like that on the roster can make it an overall smooth transition for everyone involved. One way or another, look for Hoffman to compete at training camp at one of the starting spots.
The Future: Technically, this is the last year on Hoffman’s contract, however, he is an exclusive rights free agent (ERFA), meaning the Cowboys can easily retain his rights for 2025. After that, he would be a restricted free agent in 2026 and then unrestricted in 2027. So if Hoffman performs well, like he did in his first two starts, the Cowboys will be able to keep him around before having to issue a multi-year deal. A lot will depend on this season, and that won’t even be ironed out until the draft and offseason. So it’s early to predict the future for Hoffman, but there is seemingly always a spot for versatile players who have position flex.
All in a financial storm: Why the Dallas Cowboys have been so inactive in free agency – Michael Gehlken, Dallas Morning News
This article is worth reading for anyone wondering why the Cowboys haven’t spent money this offseason.
Kicking the can
The Cowboys have done it repeatedly with quarterback Dak Prescott over the years. They’ve done it, too, with left tackle Tyron Smith and the likes of defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, right guard Zack Martin and wide receiver Michael Gallup.
To create immediate cap space and enhance the capacity to construct a competitive team, Dallas has restructured many of its largest contracts, deducting cap space from future years and depositing it into the present.
Here is how it works.
Hypothetically, if a player is owed a $10 million salary in 2024, his entire salary counts against the 2024 salary cap. A club, however, can convert most of that salary into a signing bonus. The player would receive the same compensation amount, but unlike salaries, signing bonuses prorate evenly across the salary cap for up to five years.
Void, or dummy, years can be slapped to a contract’s back end, letting the bonus spread over the maximum time.
For example, Prescott was owed a $20 million salary in 2022, one year into his four-year, $160 million extension. The team performed an automatic conversion on his salary, dropping it to $1.6 million. The other $18.4 million became a signing bonus that stretched over five years — he was under contract in 2022-24 and had void years in 2025-26.
Dallas added $14.72 million in 2022 cap room while subtracting $3.68 million from the 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 caps. If Prescott’s contract expires in March 2025 without an extension, the $3.68 million in the 2026 void year will accelerate against the 2025 cap for a $7.36 million hit.
When these restructures are completed, how much immediate cap space they create is typically what makes headlines. But how much money is pushed into the future cannot be brushed aside. That is a key element to Dallas’ dead-zone free agency.
The Cowboys pushed a problematic amount of money into the future to compete in seasons that burned out upon reaching mid-January atmosphere. Contracts that aged poorly for the team, including 2019 extensions for running back Ezekiel Elliott, linebacker Jaylon Smith and right tackle La’el Collins, and the 2021 decline in the league’s salary cap following COVID-19 are partly what compelled these moves.
Last year, a Prescott restructure helped allow cornerback Stephon Gilmore and wide receiver Brandin Cooks to be acquired via trade.
The reckoning for restructures is here.
The case for Dallas drafting another 1st-round defensive tackle – Jess Haynie, Blogging the Boys
Just hear Jess out. He makes a lot of great points, and you should listen to him.
Two names to watch this Thursday night are Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton out of Illinois and Byron Murphy II from Texas. Some have both ranked in the top 15 overall of this year’s prospects, but one or both could also wind up falling to Dallas at the 24th pick. Both are athletic, disruptive DTs with the potential to contribute immediately to the rotation. And if Dallas chooses to let Odighizuwa walk in next year’s free agency, they’d ideally have either Newton or Murphy ready to slide into a starting role with 3-4 years left on their rookie deals.
This isn’t to say that the Cowboys should take a DT if a comparable OL talent is also available, especially a candidate to play left tackle. But a lot can happen in those first 23 picks, and there’s a possibility that Newton or Murphy could be the best player available once Dallas is on the clock. If the next option up at OT, C, RB, WR, etc. feels like a bit of a reach, and there’s no decent option to trade down, could Newton or Murply be the best use of that pick?
Some will balk at it given the Mazi Smith pick last year, but it’s not like Smith is getting discarded in this move. The hope would be that new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer fixes whatever went wrong with Smith as a rookie and that he’s able to fill the 1-tech role on the line. If you take one of Newton or Murphy, they’d be the 3-tech in a starting duo with Smith for several seasons to come.
Again, we’re not saying that this is the best outcome for Thursday night. It’s especially not what you want if you’re mostly focused on the Cowboys’ upcoming season. But depending on how the first round unfolds, and if Dallas is taking a longer view with this draft as they have with other aspects of the offseason thus far, a DT pick could make more sense than it might seem on the surface.
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