So the Cowboys have a staggering 21 unrestricted free agents coming up this offseason and a ton of them are starters (we're talking like 10 or 11 players). This could go horribly bad, or it could be a good thing.
First and foremost there's a 100% guarantee that Jason Garrett is gone. I don't know what will happen with the coordinators but my best guess is Kellen Moore will be retained and they'll replace the defensive coordinator(s) and special teams coordinator(s). Some people on here will lobby for Kris Richard to stay, but he can kick rocks.
One thing not everyone knows is the CBA is expiring and Dallas can not only use the franchise tag on one of their players but they can also use the transition tag on another - so they could sign one of their top 3 guys and tag the other two.. So that puts them in a powerful negotiating position for players at the top of this list.
Here's some names that you might recognize:
1.) Dak... He never gets hurt, has played well against some pretty bad teams this year and has racked up enough yards to be #2 in the league and the Cowboys have racked up enough yards per game to have the 5th highest yards per game average in NFL history. Yea you read that correctly, but something is missing and I'm not paying this guy more than 30m a year.
2.) Amari Cooper... Gave up a 1st round draft pick to acquire him last year and I think he's been hurt all year and has played extremely well overall. He's a true #1 receiver and I think it's necessary to retain his services.
3.) Byron Jones... Our #1 corner and he was rated as the #1 corner overall in the NFL last season. He can't catch a cold if he was butt naked in Antarctica, but he's a good corner. I think the Cowboys should really start building the best possible defense - so if we can retain Byron, that would be good.
4.) Robert Quinn... Leads the team in sacks but I think he sucks against the run and he's so 'sack happy' that he gets destroyed by the screen game. I hope we can get Randy Gregory back. Quinn can kick rocks if we get Randy back.
5.) Maliek Collins... The DT position is one of the weakest positions on the Cowboys roster and I think Maliek has been a disappointment - if he's gone, I don't really care.
6.) Randall Cobb... I'd love to keep this WR core together, but we might have trouble keeping him. I could see him going back to the Packers, but I hope we retain him.
7.) Michael Bennett... Whatever
8.) Joe Thomas... A serviceable LB that can play all 3 spots. Idk if he's a difference maker or not, I'm looking for some difference makers on D
9.) Sean Lee... I believe he wants to retire as a Cowboy so we'll find a way to make a deal with him
10.) Jeff Heath... He's played hurt for 1/2 the season. I used to hate this guy with a passion and thought he was horrible, but he's gotten better. I think safety is our biggest need - so I wouldn't might an upgrade over Jeff.
11.) Kavon Frasier... Again, if we can get an upgrade at the safety position I don't care if we let him walk
12.) Joe Looney... Filled in nicely for the Beard last year but didn't really play this year. If he'll take a cheap contract I'd keep him but I doubt he stays
13.) Jason Witten... If he wants to stay, I think he's played well enough to give him another year but I don't see him playing another year.
14.) Tavon Austin... Whatever
15.) Anthony Brown... I think we missed him after he went out this year. I think he was our 2nd best CB, but I'm sure not everyone agrees. Don't care either way.
16.) Darien Thompson... KICK ROCKS!
17.) Kerry Hyder... Played well in spurts, I don't care either way if he stays or goes
18.) Blake Jarwin... He's a restricted free agent but he's on my list because I think we really need to resign him and use him a lot more. I think this guy is super athletic and has speed out of the TE position. He has a similar physique to Kittle and we should be using him more and more and more.
