The Dallas Cowboys reached the divisional playoff round in 2018 but failed to end their 23 year streak of not advancing to the NFC Championship game. Looking to avoid repeating past failures, the Dallas Cowboys front office is poised to be aggressive and try to get over that hump but they should proceed with caution. Here are 5 Dallas Cowboys offseason moves that the team would be better off NOT making if they wish to reach the next level..
1. DO NOT SIGN EARL THOMAS
I will be the first to admit that come March 14, if the Dallas Cowboys announce that they have signed Earl Thomas as a free agent I would be over the moon excited. Earl Thomas is a future Hall of Famer, the best safety in the NFL and a legitimate play maker that would be a huge upgrade at a position of need for the Dallas Cowboys. If I set my emotions aside though, I believe that it would not be the best thing for the Cowboys in 2019 or beyond if Earl Thomas signed with Dallas. Earl Thomas won’t come cheap and although he is a childhood fan of the Dallas Cowboys, I highly doubt he will give Jerry Jones a home town discount. Thomas has expressed his desire to be paid accordingly and with other suitors like the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers likely willing to pony up for his services, it would be difficult for the Cowboys to compete. Even if the Cowboys are able to land Thomas, how much can they really afford to pay him with contracts for Demarcus Lawrence, Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper and Ezekiel Elliott yet to be negotiated? Investing significant salary cap money into Earl Thomas would limit the Cowboys ability to lock up their young core players. And, as great of a player as Earl Thomas is, he is no spring chicken, he has a well documented injury history, has contemplated retirement more than once in the past, and may not be the greatest fit for the Cowboys right now. I am not speaking schematically, although the Cowboys emerging young safety Xavier Woods plays a similar role, but in terms of personality. Thomas came from the “Legion of Boom” in Seattle where there appeared to be some animosity between their franchise quarterback Russell Wilson and some of their outspoken, brash defensive players. The Seattle Seahawks were able to win despite this dysfunctional dynamic but the Dallas Cowboys operate quite differently. The Jason Garrett led Cowboys tend to function better in a cohesive environment where their young leaders like Jaylon Smith and Dak Prescott promote more positive energy. Subsequently, they have not responded well handling players that ‘rock the boat” such as was the case with Dez Bryant. I am certain the Earl Thomas and Dez Bryant are both great teammates but I do feel that they may not be the personalities that this particular team needs to help them succeed at this time. I am concerned that Earl Thomas could be a negative influence in the Dallas Cowboys locker room, may not play out his contract or may suffer another serious injury. With the way the safety market played out last year, the Dallas Cowboys could get far better value with a lessor commodity such as Tre Boston or Kenny Vaccaro and still upgrade the position.
2. DO NOT SPEND $$$ ON O-LINE
The Dallas Cowboys offensive line had a down year last season. A lot of that had to due with injuries such as Tyron Smith being banged up all year and Travis Frederick missing the entire season after being diagnosed with a rare nerve disease. Despite their struggles, the unit improved in the second half of the season after Marc Columbo was promoted to offensive line coach. Since the Dallas Cowboys offensive line has been the teams bread and butter in recent years, there is a strong contingent of fans that believe that the Dallas Cowboys should invest in offensive line depth, specifically in a swing tackle but I disagree with that assessment. The Cowboys do need to draft another swing tackle in preparation of another injury to Smith and the eventual departure of La’el Collins. But, with regards to free agency, the Cowboys should try to either retain Cameron Flemming at a bargain or replace him with a similarly cheap option. The Dallas Cowboys simply can’t afford to invest anymore money into their offensive line that already features 4 players in Smith, Collins, Frederick and Zack Martin that are being heavily compensated. The Cowboys are fortunate enough to have solid depth on the interior offensive line and a high draft pick in Connor Williams who is a solid starter and should improve in his second year. One thing that helps any offensive line improve is familiarity and the Dallas Cowboys would be wise to make as few changes as possible there.
3. DO NOT EXTEND DAK, ZEKE
The Cowboys have to start thinking long term when it comes to their two young stars Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott whose contracts expire in 2020. There are some fans who are proponents of locking these guys up early in order to save money in the long run. It makes sense if the Dallas Cowboys truly want to build around these two players but that does limit what the Cowboys can do this year. Since the Dallas Cowboys did not extend Jason Garrett’s contract in order to let him prove himself it makes sense to hold off on signing those players to long term deals until their contracts expire. If the Cowboys crash and burn in 2019, it would be wise to allow Garrett’s replacement to decide how he would like build his team going forward. The next coach, or even Garrett for that matter, may not want to extend the Cowboys star running back when they can franchise him, or run him into the ground and then draft a replacement who can be almost as productive but come far cheaper. In addition to preparing for the long term, in the short term the Dallas Cowboys have a rare opportunity now to make a championship run in 2019 while Zeke is still affordable and Dak is dirt cheap. Once the Cowboys sign Dak to his second contract, their ability to bring in talent around him will be significantly crippled by what will be a massive contract based on demand and market value for a QB. With a few savvy moves this offseason, the Cowboys can go all in for 2019.
4. DO NOT SIGN COLE BEASLEY
Cole Beasley is an excellent slot receiver and Dak Prescott trusts him on crucial third and fourth down plays so letting him walk in free agency would hurt the Cowboys. In a world without a salary cap, by all means ti would make sense for the Cowboys to keep Beasley around. The salary cap, however, exists and it is a real problem so letting Cole Beasley walk in free agency is exactly what the Dallas Cowboys need to do. Cole Beasley wants to get paid as an elite slot receiver and he is going to be 30 in April. It does not make sense for the Cowboys to pay an aging slot receiver when they can draft a suitable replacement to play on a rookie contract for the next 4 years. With major contract negotiations for DeMarcus Lawrence, Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper and others taking priority, Cole Beasley becomes expendable.
5. DO NOT FRANCHISE TAG DEMARCUS LAWRENCE
Last season the Dallas Cowboys slapped DeMarcus Lawrence with the franchise tag following his breakout campaign in 2017. It was the right thing to do at the time given D-Law’s injury history and overall body of work up to that point. Now that he has proved himself to be an elite Defensive End who excels as a pass rusher and is equally stout against the run, the Dallas Cowboys need to pay DeMarcus “Tank” Lawrence and lock him up through his prime years. Five years to the tune of around $100 million dollars should be a fair price to pay and the Dallas Cowboys should not hesitate to get this deal done. If they play hard ball and slap him with the franchise tag two years in a row, it could backfire and create some off the field drama that this team has shown in the past can disrupt their season. DeMarcus Lawrence has emerged as an elite player at a highly valued position and has established himself as a true leader in the locker room. The team needs to make him happy, keep him on the field and allow him to be around his teammates during training camp without having to deal with the distraction of his long term financial security. Signing DeMarcus Lawrence to a long term contract is priority #1 for the Dallas Cowboys offseason agenda.
*Photo by Kieth Allison https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode
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Let Lawrence go! We have a ton of depth at DE, and we can lock up either Zeke or Dak for less than we would have to pay if we wait until next year. Personally, I would go in on Dak b/c Zeke is more replaceable than the QB position. Other than that I agree with the article.
I’m glad you are NOT in charge of the Cowboy personnel. All your suggestions are about as opposite as they could possibly get. We have plenty of money this year, so we need to make sure that the players that have been doing it for us remain. Get rid of Lawrence? Are you mad? He is always close to the top, if not the top of sacks. Easily replace Zeke? I don’t think so. At this point in time, all these players should be retained, without a doubt. Re-signing both Dak and Zeke during the same year is probably not a good idea though. Save one of them for next year. Re-sign Lawerence and Cooper for sure this year.