Until the defense is improved dramatically, only a perfect, MVP QB performance even gives us a chance to win, and even then it will be 30-40 point shootouts every week, and the team will lose its fair share of those based on who has the ball last.
When the OTs are back next year, this offense is set up to be successful with most above average QBs. However, the defense will not be significantly improved by money, which has been proven by free agency over the years. So letting your franchise QB walk just because the offense will still be pretty good with a decent vet is stupid thinking. You always want the best QB you can put out there, one who will be in the system and performing at a high level for several years.
What fans need to realize is that our defense isn’t poor because of a lack of money. We are so far below the CAP, even with a franchised QB, that we could have signed Byron Jones or any other defender we let walk. Dallas let them walk, not because of the salary cap, but because they didn’t feel they were worth the money. (Jones didn’t create turnovers, and Quinn was a liability vs the run).
Dallas will try to keep the offense together, adding in our own OTs and TE next year, all already under contract. They will focus primarily on defense in FA and the draft, hopefully with a very clear picture of what is needed to make Nolan’s defense work. They will sign Dak because they are not in any real CAP situation. Signing Dak will not cost us anyone the Cowboys want to keep and pay on offense or defense. If a WR or a defender is allowed to walk in the future, or if there is a free agent Defender fans are in love with, they will not go unsigned because of our QBs contract. It will be because Dallas believes they are not worth what others may offer. This is why teams we think are in cap trouble still do whatever they want in free agency. The Jones boys have just drawn a line in the sand, rightly or wrongly, when it comes to contracts.
Once you accept this truth, You will still love or detest Dak’s QB play, but you will drop the false narrative that if we pay him, other stars will be let go. It just isn’t true.