CFZ Offense: What free agents should the Cowboys have signed?

[xwalker]

X are you telling me there was no decent swing tackle available for a reasonable amount,?
I mean Ball would not have been hard to improve on.
I mean they could have signed Josh Peters earlier so he at least would have been ready at season start.

They could have signed another Cam Fleming, Ty Nsekhe or Cam Erving.
- They still would have started Tyler over those guys.

Jason Peters, even if he is not active for the first 3 games is a better option than those journeyman types.
- His 2021 performance was was rated as the Bears best OT performance for a season since 2017.
- I think the Cowboys have had Peters on the back burners for a few months.
- He was only going to play again under certain circumstances.
- He lives in Texas and the Cowboys were his top choice.
- As a 40 year old veteran, he likely didn't want to go to training camp.

If Tyron could have just made it through about 3 games, they would have been set.
- I think they would have signed Peters even if Tyron did not get injured.

 

[Verdict]

They shouldn’t have traded their #1 WR and borderline offensive MVP in Cooper (Dak has always sucked without a true known #1).

They shouldn’t have released a quality starting OT in La’el Collins.

No disrespect but I think this is a knee-jerk reaction. I don’t think that keeping Amari around would have benefitted us.

Amari didn’t do anything in week one. I am sure that this will be analyzed many times over this season. But I’m leaning towards Amari proving over time that the Cowboys made the right call.

 

[Mr Cowboy]

There's a famous NFL saying, "you don't let talent walk out the door without having like talent to replace them." Believing CD, Gallup or Tolbert could replace Cooper was downright stupid. Steele is a swing tackle in the NFL. Even though Collins is not great, he is better than Steele. Keeping Wilson should have also been a priority, but Stephen needed to save that $20+ million in cap space in the bank!

 

[BAT]

I didn't realize how much the Dolphins gave up for Hill. Holy crap. What's with people trading mad picks for WRs?

It's a passing league.

 

[BAT]

Cowboys STILL have over 20M in cap space.

Cowboys very clearly and WILLINGLY decided to weaken their offense with loss of FOUR key starters:

• Amari Cooper
• Lael Collins
• Connor Williams
• Cedric Wilson

Cowboys #6 WR (Malik Turner) also allowed to walk. Cowboys decided to retain and pay the injured guy instead (Michael Gallup).

Playoff teams add MORE talent in offseason to better compete, not get rid of key personnel without replacing said players first.

 

[Adreme]

No disrespect but I think this is a knee-jerk reaction. I don’t think that keeping Amari around would have benefitted us.

Amari didn’t do anything in week one. I am sure that this will be analyzed many times over this season. But I’m leaning towards Amari proving over time that the Cowboys made the right call.

Of course Amari did nothing in week 1. He had a career backup throwing him the ball when he was viewed as the only passing threat. Receivers need QBs and QBs need receivers; neither functions well without the other.

 

[darthseinfeld]

• This is about Offense only. We can have another tread about defense.

• Keep in mind that this was a year when other teams paid:
  • Connors Williams 7M per season.
  • Cedrick Wilson 7.35M per season.
  • Traded a 1st & 2nd for WR Davante Adams & gave him a 140M contract.
  • Traded 5 picks (1, 2, 4, 4, 6) for Tyreek Hill & gave him a 120M contract.

• What should the Cowboys have done if they spent more money:
  • They couldn't give a big contract to a free agent LT to backup Tyron.
    • Signing another journeyman swing Tackle was not going to make things better.
  • They opted to give Tyron 1 more season to see if he could stay reasonably healthy.
    • They used a 1st round pick on a LT and kept Tyron for this final year.
    • It was a reasonable decision.

• Moving on from Amari Cooper was about more than money.
  • Remember the Raiders also got tired of him.
  • Yes, obviously the Raiders got a premium pick from him, but there was a reason they were ready to move on.

• Should they have signed another WR?
  • CeeDee had 79 catches for 1102 yards with a 65.8% catch rate in 2021.
    • Comp: Mike Evans had 74 catches for 1035 yards with a 54.9% catch rate (Yards/Catch +0.1 over CeeDee).
    • Evans had less catches/yards despite playing more snaps.
  • Gallup is a quality #2 WR and arguably #1 type NFL WR.
  • The Bucs signed Julio Jones for 1-year, 6M.
    • That looked good for game 1, however...
      • He played less snaps for 2020 & 2021 combined than CeeDee played in 2021.
      • i.e. Relatively high risk of injury at this point.
    • Also, Julio Jones only signed with the Bucs because of Brady.
      • Jones has made a ton of money already.
  • If just signing a free agent was the answer...
    • The Raiders could have saved themselves a 1st and 2nd round pick.
    • They gave up the picks and gave Davante Adams a big contract.
  • The Dolphins gave up 5 picks (1st, 2nd, 4th, 4th, 6th) for Tyreek Hill.
    • They also gave him a mega-contract.

Brandon Schreff or Teron Armstead would have been real nice.

Signing a WR was never about the #1 or even #2. We lacked depth and you play 3 WR's most of the time. Chark or JuJu would have made sense. Even Berrios if they wanted a pure slot. You also have to ask if resigning Gallup was a good idea. He has been injured 3 times in the last 3 seasons

 

[darthseinfeld]

I didn't realize how much the Dolphins gave up for Hill. Holy crap. What's with people trading mad picks for WRs?

As you're about to find out for the remainder of the Cowboys season, it's one of the most important positions on the field.

There is a reason they get paid on par with DE's

 

[darthseinfeld]

They shouldn’t have traded their #1 WR and borderline offensive MVP in Cooper (Dak has always sucked without a true known #1).

They shouldn’t have released a quality starting OT in La’el Collins.

IMO they have released Collins, but they should have had a better option than Steele.

 

[buybuydandavis]

• This is about Offense only. We can have another tread about defense.

• Keep in mind that this was a year when other teams paid:
  • Connors Williams 7M per season.
  • Cedrick Wilson 7.35M per season.
  • Traded a 1st & 2nd for WR Davante Adams & gave him a 140M contract.
  • Traded 5 picks (1, 2, 4, 4, 6) for Tyreek Hill & gave him a 120M contract.

• What should the Cowboys have done if they spent more money:
  • They couldn't give a big contract to a free agent LT to backup Tyron.
    • Signing another journeyman swing Tackle was not going to make things better.
  • They opted to give Tyron 1 more season to see if he could stay reasonably healthy.
    • They used a 1st round pick on a LT and kept Tyron for this final year.
    • It was a reasonable decision.

• Moving on from Amari Cooper was about more than money.
  • Remember the Raiders also got tired of him.
  • Yes, obviously the Raiders got a premium pick from him, but there was a reason they were ready to move on.

• Should they have signed another WR?
  • CeeDee had 79 catches for 1102 yards with a 65.8% catch rate in 2021.
    • Comp: Mike Evans had 74 catches for 1035 yards with a 54.9% catch rate (Yards/Catch +0.1 over CeeDee).
    • Evans had less catches/yards despite playing more snaps.
  • Gallup is a quality #2 WR and arguably #1 type NFL WR.
  • The Bucs signed Julio Jones for 1-year, 6M.
    • That looked good for game 1, however...
      • He played less snaps for 2020 & 2021 combined than CeeDee played in 2021.
      • i.e. Relatively high risk of injury at this point.
    • Also, Julio Jones only signed with the Bucs because of Brady.
      • Jones has made a ton of money already.
  • If just signing a free agent was the answer...
    • The Raiders could have saved themselves a 1st and 2nd round pick.
    • They gave up the picks and gave Davante Adams a big contract.
  • The Dolphins gave up 5 picks (1st, 2nd, 4th, 4th, 6th) for Tyreek Hill.
    • They also gave him a mega-contract.

Veteran WRs past their prime can often be had for a stick of gum. When Noah Brown is your top WR, knowing that Gallupe was going to miss games and would be in a recovery year, you didn't really do anything for depth.

And I think you're overestimating CD and certainly Gallup. Those are guys who made a living off of the attention Cooper commanded. Both of those guys are a bad fit for Dak. Low speed, average route running, little separation. The guys who looked good with Dak - Cooper and Beasley, quick, excellent route runners with good hands.

Interior oline is often cheap too, but we brought in *no* depth. Farniok was it. For 3 positions. That was just too thin.

 

[tm1119]

Ted Karras
Austin Corbett
David Quessenberry
Jarvis Landry
Julio Jones
DJ Chark

Keep Ced Wilson
Keep Connor Williams

 

[805BoysInBlue]

The only one I don’t agree with is Julio Jones. With such a small contract and all the cap room we had…. If he physically checks out, why not take a chance on a guy not far removed from being the best wide receiver in the NFL.

He literally went out of his way to say he didn't want to come here.

 

[Streifenkarl]

Time will tell that we should have went for Julio Jones, especially if Dennis Houston continues playing ahead of some of the others.

In any case, Julio Jones is a veteran who lets you work your younger guys in slowly.

I don't know. This way, you kind of get some time for them to get their feet wet to see if anyone stands out by the end of the year, so you know what you have. But right now, I would say Julio Jones, since it's about winning, to me. I don't think he's as done as people think.

LoL. When you're a seven times pro bowler and the GOAT calls you for a last hurraa there is no chance in hell you'd join that train wreck called Dallas Cowboys. You have to prove nothing anymore and Jerry had nothing to offer, not even money since his tight *** son seems to be running the FA show now.

Nah, thats like saying we shoulda went after Burrow or Herbert or the likes. A nice dream but nothing more.

 

[CowboyoWales]

They could have signed another Cam Fleming, Ty Nsekhe or Cam Erving.
- They still would have started Tyler over those guys.

Jason Peters, even if he is not active for the first 3 games is a better option than those journeyman types.
- His 2021 performance was was rated as the Bears best OT performance for a season since 2017.
- I think the Cowboys have had Peters on the back burners for a few months.
- He was only going to play again under certain circumstances.
- He lives in Texas and the Cowboys were his top choice.
- As a 40 year old veteran, he likely didn't want to go to training camp.

If Tyron could have just made it through about 3 games, they would have been set.
- I think they would have signed Peters even if Tyron did not get injured.

I respectfully totally disagree with that last sentence. We are 'crisis led', our whole philosophy is "just enough and hope". In this instance it was Tyron and 'hope' that Ball/Waletzko improve through the season and are able to spot start for a couple of games.

If we had Peter's on the backburner, get the dude kitted up and ready for Game 1 (even in a swing capacity) rather than wait. If he didnt want to go to training camp ,fine, then give him the contract and predicate it on his own personal conditioning when he joins the team.

 

[CowboyoWales]

He literally went out of his way to say he didn't want to come here.

He must be a Dak Hater.

 

[CowboyoWales]

Veteran WRs past their prime can often be had for a stick of gum. When Noah Brown is your top WR, knowing that Gallupe was going to miss games and would be in a recovery year, you didn't really do anything for depth.

And I think you're overestimating CD and certainly Gallup. Those are guys who made a living off of the attention Cooper commanded. Both of those guys are a bad fit for Dak. Low speed, average route running, little separation. The guys who looked good with Dak - Cooper and Beasley, quick, excellent route runners with good hands.

Interior oline is often cheap too, but we brought in *no* depth. Farniok was it. For 3 positions. That was just too thin.

Yep, it's as if the Jones' looked at the reception figures and spoke to Dak and came up with the 1+1=3 that Dak doesnt like throwing to WR1's (because whilst they have talent, they're usually got coverage in the vicinity), he prefers the sanctuary of the static TE or WR3/4 with their less coverage.......

.....Jones solution, if he doesnt throw to a WR1, then why pay $20m for one. Their football brain didnt tell them that the whole basis of the CORP, is that if your WR1 is running routes and commanding double coverage it opens up the rest of the receiving corp.

They just money saving (and individuals) -and not the teamwork.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

No disrespect but I think this is a knee-jerk reaction. I don’t think that keeping Amari around would have benefitted us.

Amari didn’t do anything in week one. I am sure that this will be analyzed many times over this season. But I’m leaning towards Amari proving over time that the Cowboys made the right call.

+1......Lots of issues why he's no longer a Cowboy

• His 2022 salary ($20M) was guaranteed on March 20, 2022. Meaning the Cowboys had four options, keep him and pay it, trade him, release him or restructure. Restructure would have locked him here another year or two. From what I have read/heard, Jerry, Stephen and coaches were frustrated with him missing practice every week over even minor injuries. He missed two games coz CV19 ( not vaxx ) and had 68 catches for the year. Bottom line from my understanding they didn't want Coop back under any terms. In other words, they were going to release him if the Browns hadn't offered a 5th rounder.

• Remember they had to make a decision by March 20, otherwise, they were on the hook for $20M. Three or four teams were interested in trading but only if he agreed to a pay-cut. The Browns were looking a replacement for Jarvis Landry, who wanted more money. They viewed Coop as an upgrade over Landry for similar money, so that's why they pulled the trigger.
• Another reason that is getting overlooked a bit is Lamb's ability/inability to be a No.1 WR. Hard to evaluate if you have to worry about getting Coop X number of targets coz he's making $20M, especially when you can sign a player like Gallup for less money.

At the end of the day, Coop had 68 catches last season, a pattern of not practicing and games where he disappeared.


https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cleveland-browns/amari-cooper-16728/

 

[DogFace]

Collins is awful.

*maybe not as left guard

 

[LittleD]

There's a famous NFL saying, "you don't let talent walk out the door without having like talent to replace them." Believing CD, Gallup or Tolbert could replace Cooper was downright stupid. Steele is a swing tackle in the NFL. Even though Collins is not great, he is better than Steele. Keeping Wilson should have also been a priority, but Stephen needed to save that $20+ million in cap space in the bank!

Yes, you do when you are silently retooling and rebuilding and under performing team which has not achieve expected results. Jerry and Stephen are slowly
removing their mistakes while keeping media and fan interest. Smart!

 

[plymkr]

The ball hit receivers in the hands multiple times and they didn't end up catching it.

I reviewed the game in extensive detail.

• Many of what appeared to be bad passes were actually the fault of the receiver running the route incorrectly.
  • CeeDee on a crossing route but it up field just as Dak was releasing the ball.
    • If CeeDee would have stayed on the original path, the ball would have been exactly on target.
  • A slant route by CeeDee where Dak had to fit the ball between a LB coming towards CeeDee and a CB trailing him.
    • CeeDee is expected to 'read' the LB and convert the slant to a curl (i.e. Sit down in the open area).
    • It was impossible for Dak to hit him in stride on the slant due to the LB being in the way.
    • If CeeDee properly reads the LB, the pass would have been perfectly on target.

Good information, thank you for posting.