In the words of Dak Prescott, “Here we go!!!”
NFL free agency kicks off Monday at 11 a.m. Dallas time. That’s when teams can start negotiations with free-agent players.
So, we are about to find out what Jerry Jones means when he says he is “all-in” on making the Cowboys a better football team this year.
We already have a pretty good idea of what Jerry intends to do based on the breadcrumbs he sprinkled on the floor of the Cowboys bus when he held his annual scouting combine “State of the Cowboys” press briefing in Indianapolis 10 days ago.
“You could have a free agent,” Jones said, “And that free agent would cost you as much as three other players would cost you. Well, we’re going to be all-in with the three other players.”
To illustrate Jerry’s three-for-one all-in philosophy, take the case of eight-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Tyron Smith, who is getting a taste of free agency for the first time in his 14-year career.
Let’s say Tyron gets an offer of $9 million per year from another team. It sounds like Jerry would rather have three players who average $3 million per year.
Those three players could be a first round draft pick (24th overall) like Amarius Mims of Georgia, who would carry a salary cap hit of just under $3 million, plus a veteran free agent OT like Donovan Smith, who made $3 million last year in Kansas City, plus a veteran free agent center like Evan Brown, who made $2.25 million last year in Seattle.
There is some logic in Jerry’s definition of all-in — especially in the case of 33-year-old Tyron Smith, who has missed 55% (36 of 66) of the games the Cowboys have played the last four years.
So, that’s what we can expect from Jerry. However, it will be intriguing how much money he is willing to spend on a running back. There is much speculation linking Derrick Henry to Dallas. But that might make too much sense.
Another pressing issue this week is the status of WR Michael Gallup, who has been given permission to seek a trade. Unless he takes a pay cut, the Cowboys are likely to cut Gallup with a post-June 1 designation, which would save $9.5 million on the salary cap this year.
However, that cap money would not become available until June.
We will keep you posted on the comings and goings as they happen this week. In the meantime, “Here we go!”
Here are the Cowboys’ 16 unrestricted free agents:
- RB Tony Pollard
- RB Rico Dowdle
- OT Tyron Smith
- C Tyler Biadasz
- OT Chuma Edoga
- TE Sean McKeon
- CB Stephon Gilmore
- CB Jourdan Lewis
- CB C. J. Goodwin
- CB Noah Igbinoghine
- S Jayron Kearse
- DE Dorance Armstrong
- DE Dante Fowler
- DT Johnathan Hankins
- DT Neville Gallimore
- LS Trent Sieg
