NFL
By: Greg Rector
Yet again Jerry Jones has come out and said that the Dallas Cowboys will be “All In” as far as free agency and the 2024 NFL Draft of course. How does this happen on an annual basis? Until the old guy passes away and then all hell breaks loose when Stephen Jones becomes the next one (Good Grief I Fear That Day) Anyhow here is an article on what I do to fix the Dallas Cowboys outside of Jerry and Stephen Jones both passing away. This is going to take two articles. This first article will be dedicated to how the Dallas Cowboys fix their offense. As well this article focuses on what moves the Cowboys must make to free up salary cap space.
Dallas Cowboys Offense
First of all, Rayne Dakota Prescott has the Dallas Cowboys over the proverbial barrel. This is thanks to Stephen Jones and his idiocy in the way he dealt with Prescott’s extension. So unless the Cowboys decide to pay out nearly 60 million dollars or get Prescott to agree to waive his no-trade clause the Dallas Cowboys would save around 21.5 million against the salary cap if they move his salary cap hit further out. This is the myth of the salary cap in action.
This also allows Todd France (Prescott’s Agent) to have an even larger paycheck than the last time he took the Dallas Cowboys out to the woodshed. if he hears from his client that he wants out of Dallas then the Cowboys are looking at the 60 million dollars spread out over two seasons as dead money against the salary cap. Jerry Jones freaked out Cowboys Nation when he suggested the Cowboys weren’t going to extend Dak Prescott. Please ignore the rantings and ravings out of old Jerry okay folks?
While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were successful with having an 80 million dollar dead cap money this past season it simply isn’t the way the Jones family operates.
My other moves in salary cap land for the Dallas Cowboys are simple enough. Extend Zach Martin and possibly Terence Steele as well. The Cowboys then saved a further 9.5 million against the cap after they cut Michael Gallup after June 1st. This pays for the next draft class all on its own. Signing Gallup for five years after he had ACL surgery was insane and the Cowboys did the same thing with Terence Steele. This is the “WE LOVE OUR GUYS” approach that so many of us despise about the way the Joneses operate the Dallas Cowboys.
Ceedee Lamb will get a contract extension and his salary will also get moved by void years added to his contract. Don’t screw this deal up okay Stephen Jones?
I then allow center Tyler Biadasz to leave via free agency while I re-sign Tyron Smith to another one-year deal. Despite his injury history, Smith plays so well even at age 34 that he needs to come back and play one more season. Tyler Smith needs to remain in the left guard position and this also means the Dallas Cowboys don’t need to force themselves into drafting an offensive tackle in round one of the NFL draft (Hint that’s the worst strategy to take for any draft no matter what position you draft from)
This old Dallas Cowboys fan wants to see an offensive the likes of which I grew up watching in the 70s or even better yet the type of offensive line the Dallas Cowboys had in the 1990s. I want the offensive line to open up massive holes the way tackles MarkTuenei Eric Williams center Mark Stepnoski and guards Kevin Cogan and Nate Newton when they were known as “The Great Wall Of Dallas.”
Sorry to all those too young to remember the real reason “The Triplets” (Aikman Smith and Irvin) succeeded was due to having a great offensive line. Once you have a great line in place then Dak Prescott will be under less pressure and yes I mean this Mike McCarthy when you lied to Cowboys Nation last season saying you wanted to run the football more than the Dallas Cowboys did in 2022 you no longer need to lie to the fans okay Coach McCarthy?
Now as far as the running backs go, Tony Pollard, time to say goodbye to Dallas. The Dallas Cowboys misspent 10 million dollars keeping you as their number one running back. Just as I wrote last off-season Pollard is nowhere near the typical first-string running back. The running back position has plenty of free agents who can be signed for a lot less than the 10 million dollars that Tony Pollard cost the Dallas Cowboys last season. Deuce Vaughn who was drafted in the sixth round of the draft last season was never utilized very much by Coach McCarthy. Not unusual for a late-round draft pick but I pray he gets used more in his second season. Again this means the Dallas Cowboys aren’t driven to draft a running back in the NFL draft early on.
By making these moves the Dallas Cowboys can be a much better offense and get back to the good old ways of winning playoff games. Needing Dak Prescott to pass his way to success hasn’t worked out so well thus far has it Cowboys Nation? The Dallas Cowboys need to run the damn football much more than they did this past season. I’m not talking about needing another Emmitt Smith because the game has changed so much. However, if you look at the Detroit Lions and their running backs you see how successful the duo of David Montgomery and Jahymyr Gibbs were you see how vital running backs truly are.
So if these things do happen the pathetic offensive production against the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers in the playoff game that was such a nightmare for those of us in Cowboys Nation won’t happen yet again I pray and hope.
My next article will address what needs to happen with the Dallas Cowboys defense and by then we will know whether Dan Quinn returns as the DC or who else is going to run the Dallas Cowboys defense.
Meanwhile please ignore Jerry Jones and his ramblings it really makes life a whole lot easier Cowboys Nation fans.
You can find me on X @GregCowboys
