The more this offseason settles in, the more underwhelmed I am by what the Cowboys have actually done.
I wanted to wait until free agency slowed down before reacting, because every March there’s always the “let it play out” crowd. Well, it’s playing out, and I’m not seeing a team that got meaningfully better. I’m seeing a team that made a few moves, talked itself into a few gambles, and is once again asking fans to believe in a plan that feels incomplete.
First off, I’m not sold on the Christian Parker hire. I understand why people want to talk themselves into it. He comes from the Eagles’ staff, he worked under Vic Fangio, and he’s viewed as a fast-rising coach. But that’s also kind of the issue. He’s only been coaching in the NFL since 2019, and Dallas handed the defense to a 34-year-old first-time coordinator after looking at a bunch of candidates. That might work out, but right now it feels like the Cowboys looked at the board and still picked the wrong guy. There’s a difference between hiring an ascending coach and hiring the right coach, and I’m not convinced those are the same thing here.
Then there’s the personnel side of this. I really thought Dallas had a shot to come away with a true difference-maker at edge. Maxx Crosby felt like the kind of move this team needed — not another “nice player,” but a real tone-setter. Instead, that whole situation blew up after Baltimore’s deal for Crosby collapsed over medical concerns, and he’s back with the Raiders. So once again, Cowboys fans are left watching the idea of a big swing instead of actually getting one.
And that brings me to Rashan Gary. I know some people are excited because he’s talented and Dallas only gave up a 2027 fourth-rounder to get him. Fine. I get the logic. But I’m just not buying him as the answer. I’m a Michigan fan, and I’ve watched Rashan Gary going all the way back to high school. He has always looked like the kind of player who should dominate every week, and somehow it never quite happens consistently enough. He flashes. He teases. He gives you stretches where you think it’s about to fully click. Then you realize you’re still waiting for him to become the guy his traits suggest he should be. Dallas not only traded for him, but then reworked his contract after the move. That is a lot of faith in a player who still feels more “toolsy upside bet” than true franchise-changing pass rusher.
The Jalen Thompson move? I’m open-minded, but not excited. Maybe he fits what Parker wants to do schematically, and maybe that matters. But from the outside, this feels more like Dallas convincing itself the fit is the story than actually landing a player who scares anybody. Thompson just signed a three-year deal, and yes, he’s experienced and productive enough as a tackler, but if you watched Arizona, the Cardinals’ secondary wasn’t exactly some gold standard. And in my experience, when I thought about that defense, Thompson wasn’t the safety I worried about. He might be solid. He might even be useful. But “solid” is not what this roster needed in multiple spots.
I do like some of what they’ve done. Keeping Javonte Williams was smart after the year he just had. Bringing back a productive runner on a three-year deal made sense. And George Pickens is a good piece. Whatever else you think about him, he gives this offense talent and juice on the outside, and tagging him at least keeps that piece in place for 2026 while they figure out a longer-term deal.
But this is also where the frustration kicks back in: none of that changes the basic truth about this team. The offensive line still feels shaky, and reworking Terence Steele’s contract doesn’t magically make me feel better about Terence Steele. It creates cap room, sure, but it doesn’t solve the actual concern. Dallas also added Matt Hennessy for depth, which is fine, but “fine” and “depth” are not the same as fixing the line. If this front office goes into next season without seriously upgrading the offensive line, then we already know how the movie ends: the offense will stall in big moments, the run game will get inconsistent when it matters most, and everybody will spend December pretending the flaws just need one more week to get ironed out.
And now they’ve even shipped out Osa Odighizuwa for a third-round pick, which makes the defensive front feel even more uncertain. So while Dallas has been busy making moves, I’m not sure they’ve actually improved the part that matters most: can this team win at the line of scrimmage against real contenders? Right now, I don’t think the answer is yes.
My honest expectation for next season? Unless they absolutely nail the draft — especially on the offensive line and probably at multiple front-seven spots now — this feels like another team headed for that depressing middle ground. Too talented to bottom out, too incomplete to seriously trust. Something in the 8-9 to 10-7 range feels very plausible, with a lot of Sunday conversations about “if a couple things break right.” And Cowboys fans know exactly what that usually means: a season full of hype, frustration, and another reminder that patchwork roster building is not the same thing as building a contender.
That’s the part that’s wearing me out. It’s not just that I dislike a few moves. It’s that this front office keeps operating like it’s one or two tweaks away, when the roster still has obvious holes and too many of the “answers” feel like bets rather than solutions.
TL;DR: I waited to judge the Cowboys’ offseason until free agency settled down, and now that it has, I’m disappointed. I’m not sold on the Christian Parker hire, I think Dallas missed on getting a true difference-maker at edge after the Maxx Crosby dream died, and Rashan Gary feels more like a gamble than a solution. Jalen Thompson doesn’t move the needle much for me, either. I like keeping Williams and think Pickens is a solid piece, but the offensive line is still a problem and keeping Steele doesn’t fix it. Right now, this looks like another incomplete roster headed toward a mediocre, frustrating season unless the draft saves it.
