We won't be players in FA again in my opinion

[Kaiser]

Yes and no on the OP. Dallas has been following the right strategy of building through the draft but a lot of that was they didn't have a ton of cap room. Now they do, but they still don't need to go nuts on FAs.

I think it all depends on the player and salary. For sure they go after a Swing Tackle when a veteran gets cut. That could easily happen at the LG position and SS position as well. Depends on who is available and how much.

The only position beyond swing tackle that desperately needs upgrading is WR2 but we could easily fill that spot with a draft pick in the first three rounds. We don't need to add OBJ, we just need an Alvin Harper that is enough a deep threat to keep defenses from keying on the short game like they did this year.

 

[cowboyblue22]

i think they will change some this year from their stance on free agency the fan base is pretty worked up so I think jerry will make a med splash to get the fans back to being excited and hopeful for the future again if jerry wants to spend some money Stephen will not fight him

 

[gjkoeppen]

Yes and no on the OP. Dallas has been following the right strategy of building through the draft but a lot of that was they didn't have a ton of cap room. Now they do, but they still don't need to go nuts on FAs.

I think it all depends on the player and salary. For sure they go after a Swing Tackle when a veteran gets cut. That could easily happen at the LG position and SS position as well. Depends on who is available and how much.

The only position beyond swing tackle that desperately needs upgrading is WR2 but we could easily fill that spot with a draft pick in the first three rounds. We don't need to add OBJ, we just need an Alvin Harper that is enough a deep threat to keep defenses from keying on the short game like they did this year.

Yes the Cowboys have more cap room than they have ever had this time of year but to say they have enough to go play in free agency is absurd. They have 4 players that they either want to extent or resign and right now there isn't even enough cap space to do that let alone go after any other teams free agents which is almost always 100% of the time over paying for talent. They have like 18 mil and divided by 4 is 4.5 mil per player and you're not going to sign starters in the NFL for 4.5 mil for 2018. They would have a little more, 8 mil if the release Bryant which I wish they would because he's not worth 16.5 mil for 2018.
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[john van brocklin]

Just saw our draft picks this year 3-4th's and 3-5th's. No way we do anything in FA IMO. Expect more bottom feeding.

I agree, I have heard nothing from our front office to the contrary.
We don't seem to learn from the recent success of other teams.

 

[LittleD]

When 4 of your top 5 free agent signings from the last two years don't even make it til Game 3, they aren't "2nd tier players"

We have missed badly and in doing so, missed an opportunity to advance in the playoffs. Especially this year where the NFC was wide open.

How many my bad's does this Front Office get?

Come now...They get unlimited Bad's cause Jerry owns this team lock, stock, & barrel.
Stephen and McClay are running pro acquisition and I don't see that changing.

 

[LittleD]

Yes the Cowboys have more cap room than they have ever had this time of year but to say they have enough to go play in free agency is absurd. They have 4 players that they either want to extent or resign and right now there isn't even enough cap space to do that let alone go after any other teams free agents which is almost always 100% of the time over paying for talent. They have like 18 mil and divided by 4 is 4.5 mil per player and you're not going to sign starters in the NFL for 4.5 mil for 2018. They would have a little more, 8 mil if the release Bryant which I wish they would because he's not worth 16.5 mil for 2018.
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Yes, you get it. We have at least a couple of players who are going to get big contracts. They are going to eat up a lot of our cap space.

 

[gjkoeppen]

i think they will change some this year from their stance on free agency the fan base is pretty worked up so I think jerry will make a med splash to get the fans back to being excited and hopeful for the future again if jerry wants to spend some money Stephen will not fight him

I've never heard of a team planning their offseason strategy around what the fans want. It's based off of their needs vs the cap and the cap will win every time. And yes I think Stephen would fight him just as he has in the past about restructuring contracts because Stephen knows all that does is adds dead money down the road which lessons the amount of cap to work with. Jerry will finally win if he really wants something, but not without a fight from Stephen and the Cowboys have restructured fewer and fewer contracts the past 2 - 3 years. And when they have done that it's been to either resign or extend one of their own players.
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[LACowboysFan1]

Free agents are fine - but you have to be selective. The player has to be one of the top at his position - the Charles Haley or Deion Sanders type player. No Nolan Carroll or Cedric Thornton type players.
And only 1 or maybe 2 free agents. Otherwise, stick with drafted players.

 

[Sydla]

Yes the Cowboys have more cap room than they have ever had this time of year but to say they have enough to go play in free agency is absurd. They have 4 players that they either want to extent or resign and right now there isn't even enough cap space to do that let alone go after any other teams free agents which is almost always 100% of the time over paying for talent. They have like 18 mil and divided by 4 is 4.5 mil per player and you're not going to sign starters in the NFL for 4.5 mil for 2018. They would have a little more, 8 mil if the release Bryant which I wish they would because he's not worth 16.5 mil for 2018.
.

If Martin is one of the four you are referencing, signing him could actually lower the cap hit this season. His option was picked up and he counts, right now, against the 2018 cap at almost $10MM. If you sign him long term, they likely would have a lower first year cap hit, thus actually saving you money against the cap in 2018.

 

[gjkoeppen]

Free agents are fine - but you have to be selective. The player has to be one of the top at his position - the Charles Haley or Deion Sanders type player. No Nolan Carroll or Cedric Thornton type players.
And only 1 or maybe 2 free agents. Otherwise, stick with drafted players.

The Cowboys don't have ANYWHERE close to the amount of cap space to even consider going after 1 or 2 of the top free agents. Did you forget about a little thing called the cap and the players the Cowboys want to extend or resign where there isn't even enough cap space to do that.
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[Idgit]

I expect we'll make a move or two in VFA this year. Though a lot will depend on how we handle our own free agents. If we can get Martin and Lawrence done, I'd expect us to be more aggressive than we normally are. Maybe an offer on a 1-tech, or we get in on a name free agent the way we tried to for Weddle a few years back, this time getting a deal done slightly outside our comfort area.

 

[Kaiser]

They have like 18 mil and divided by 4 is 4.5 mil per player and you're not going to sign starters in the NFL for 4.5 mil for 2018.
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That's false, they have 50 million if they want to do the obvious extensions like Tyron, Fred, etc. Even if you Franchise Tag DLaw and resign Irving, Hitchens and Martin you still have something like 25 - 30 Million available. The question is whether you want the guys available at their market price.

 

[Kaiser]

No Nolan Carroll or Cedric Thornton type players.

That's it in a nutshell. Its more about the right player than the money. Though Thornton played very well before signing here and seems like the classic case of the guy that got a big contract and then mailed it in.

 

[viman96]

That's why it's pointless to make threads about getting Landry, or any decent FA. We can discuss it but they're not going to do anything. The draft is in Dallas and we have all those pics. Jerry will go overboard and try to steal the draft pub etc.

Yep. I could see draft day trades though that generate huge headlines. Starting this year comp picks can be traded so Jerry has more ammo to make a splash.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

"
5MM a year is too much and unless the LB market falls apart, it's probably wishful thinking you could then also get him on a 1 or 2 year deal.

So, are you willing to pay Hitchens between $5-7MM a year for say 4 years?

I am not. Now if he wants to come back on like a 3 year deal that pays around $3MM a year? Now we are talking."

This is 2018. You don't get even average linebackers for $3 mil a year. $5-7 is what guys like Hitchens get in today's NFL. Now do you want to pay that? That's the decision Stephen has to make. Bringing in a raw rookie with even the 19th pick is no guarantee you'll get someone who will immediately be better than Hitchens, or even better after a year with the team.

Pick your poison. Glad I'm not in Stephen's shoes...

 

[Hawkeye0202]

I think Thomas is the one name that might get the Cowboys to change plans.

I expect simply doing their best to keep theirs rather than pursuing anyone else's, but if Thomas does shake loose, I can see an about-face to the plan to sign him.

Other than that, I expect to be shopping in the discount section. I just hope it's not the same disaster that last year was.

^^^^this

 

[LACowboysFan1]

That's it in a nutshell. Its more about the right player than the money. Though Thornton played very well before signing here and seems like the classic case of the guy that got a big contract and then mailed it in.

Actually he wasn't suited to the Cowboys' style of defense, maybe he didn't try that hard, but even if he did, he just didn't fit here, the Cowboys thought he could make the transition, but he didn't.

 

[gjkoeppen]

If Martin is one of the four you are referencing, signing him could actually lower the cap hit this season. His option was picked up and he counts, right now, against the 2018 cap at almost $10MM. If you sign him long term, they likely would have a lower first year cap hit, thus actually saving you money against the cap in 2018.

I'm so glad you're not the capologist or GM for the Cowboys. I don't know what planet you're thinking about but now on the planet earth you show me a starting offensive lineman who has been both a Pro Bowler and an All Pro EVERY year he's been in the league that will sign for less than 10 mil a season. There are FOUR guards that in 2017 made more than 10 mil and only 1 of them was once a All Pro and the other 3 haven't even been to the pro Bowl. Being a capologist or GM isn't in the cards for you.
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[Stash]

He's one failed test from a longer suspension and while we like him, he's shown inconsistency at times.

It looked to me that in 2017, he put his inconsistencies behind him and was consistently a force to reckon with. Although he was repeatedly susceptible to the trap game against the Eagles, I think that was more the result of playcalling and Marinelli's schemes.

I suspect, if someone gives him an offer, it won't be so high that we wouldn't try to match it.

I'm not risking losing him over a $1 million cost differential. But that's me.

 

[Kaiser]

I'm so glad you're not the capologist or GM for the Cowboys. I don't know what planet you're thinking about but now on the planet earth you show me a starting offensive lineman who has been both a Pro Bowler and an All Pro EVERY year he's been in the league that will sign for less than 10 mil a season.
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Its not about the cash, its about the cap hit. Tyron Smith signed a 97MM Extension with a 10MM bonus and his first year cap hit was only 5 Million because of the way the bonus was spread out.