Filling free agent holes

[gimmesix]

Based on the past few years, the Cowboys' free agent plan will be to make sure every position has a possible starter, so the team isn't wedged into having to draft a particular position.

If the Joneses continue to follow that strategy, based on our free agents, it would mean the following positions need to be signed:

Quarterback: This is most likely going to be Prescott. If a deal can't be reached, then look for someone like Dalton to return.

Outside linebacker: If Lee retires or isn't resigned, then Dallas could resign Joe Thomas to be the third linebacker.

Cornerback: Dallas will either need to re-sign Awuzie or Lewis if it doesn't want to sign a stopgap FA, but it doesn't seem likely to be Awuzie because he'll probably get a multi-year deal.

Safety: The team could be satisfied with Thompson being that warm body for the starter spot or try to re-sign Woods. But like Awuzie, Woods is probably going to be looking for a multi-year deal that would commit Dallas to him being the starter.

Nose tackle: This one might not be an urgency as far as finding a warm body since Woods is only an RFA. However, the Cowboys did go ahead and sign a warm body for the spot (Poe) last year even though Woods was an ERFA.

The rest of the positions at least have someone Dallas could put out there as a starter, so I would think these are the spots where we will either re-sign a player or bring in a low-cost free agent. I'd like to see us do more at the positions than bargain hunt, but the philosophy the Joneses have adopted says that's not likely to happen. I'd expect Prescott and four cheap FA starters to fill those starting needs.

 

[JayFord]

with having to sign prescott which i hope they do.....they have to be absolutely cerebral in the draft

free agency i want them to attack areas of need we need a safety we need a dt

but in the draft they absolutely can't take these "projects" the second round isn't for someone you develop the second round is for starters who can make an impact immediately

 

[stilltheguru]

with having to sign prescott which i hope they do.....they have to be absolutely cerebral in the draft

free agency i want them to attack areas of need we need a safety we need a dt

but in the draft they absolutely can't take these "projects" the second round isn't for someone you develop the second round is for starters who can make an impact immediately

Basically dt/safety Should get the mid level money like you said. Other defensive position should go through the draft.

 

[Carson]

I invest at LB, DT and FS in free agency.

Draft a corner high

 

[Uncle_Hank]

They need starting caliber players at all levels of defense. You're not going to have enough draft picks to find starters everywhere, so you better fill as many holes as possible in FA.

 

[Typhus]

I invest at LB, DT and FS in free agency.

Draft a corner high

CB is always high priority, if there is a stud DB available at 10 we must take that man, and if you pass you regret it in this game the way its played today.
I want several 1s,, I could address several issues on defense.
This team needs to draft on que this draft,, what Im saying is this draft is not on que, nobody knows whats up, hard to evaluate when even Mel Kiper cant..;lol
just a joke,, but what Im saying is that the teams most prepared to harvest in this draft that was totally disguised because of non play at the collegiate level is available.
All we have to do is be smarter than the rest of the league and score,, isnt that so simple?

 

[cowboyec]

maybe i'm way off but i think we'll re-sign both Awuzie and Lewis.
i wouldn't be shocked if X-man goes elsewhere.
but i've read stuff lately thinking Dallas brings back 2 of the 3....and they all have Woods being one of the 2 that gets re-signed.
it might be possible to bring all 3 back.
i just can't imagine a long line forming to sign any of them.
Awuzie probably will get the most attention.
but my gutt feeling is Woods leaves and we keep both Awuzie and Lewis for depth.

 

[Cebrin]

I'm all for filling defense, but they need to address depth at OT as well.

 

[slick325]

This is the likely plan of the FO...rinse wash repeat every offseason. Smh...I wonder if this time the same approach will lead to a different final result???

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

Quarterback: This is most likely going to be Prescott. If a deal can't be reached, then look for someone like Dalton to return.
.

lol.

 

[Mr_437]

This is the likely plan of the FO...rinse wash repeat every offseason. Smh...I wonder if this time the same approach will lead to a different final result???

Exactly. Cowboys lose in March and April. The approach hasn't worked if your gauge of success is NFC contenders, yet Stephen does the same thing every year. At this point, 99.9% of the Cowboys failure is on the Joneses flawed approach towards team building and Culture/Atmosphere.

 

[Flamma]

maybe i'm way off but i think we'll re-sign both Awuzie and Lewis.
i wouldn't be shocked if X-man goes elsewhere.
but i've read stuff lately thinking Dallas brings back 2 of the 3....and they all have Woods being one of the 2 that gets re-signed.
it might be possible to bring all 3 back.
i just can't imagine a long line forming to sign any of them.
Awuzie probably will get the most attention.
but my gutt feeling is Woods leaves and we keep both Awuzie and Lewis for depth.

You could be right. But the fact Jerry didn't sign them last year would indicate he's letting them walk. Or at least that was his original intention. I guess things could change. Signing them after their rookie deal expires is a mistake that shows up on the cap.

 

[Flamma]

I invest at LB, DT and FS in free agency.

Draft a corner high

If Dallas trades back to around 18 they can probably get the 3rd highest corner along with an additional 2nd round pick. I'd do that before taking one of the top two at 10.

 

[gimmesix]

lol.

Not saying it's what we should want. Most likely we would tag Dak, but Prescott doesn't have to sign the tag. At some point, we would need to make a move if Dak refuses to sign the tag and the sides can't reach a deal. Probably by then, though, Dalton would be off the market.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Based on the past few years, the Cowboys' free agent plan will be to make sure every position has a possible starter, so the team isn't wedged into having to draft a particular position.

If the Joneses continue to follow that strategy, based on our free agents, it would mean the following positions need to be signed:

Quarterback: This is most likely going to be Prescott. If a deal can't be reached, then look for someone like Dalton to return.

Outside linebacker: If Lee retires or isn't resigned, then Dallas could resign Joe Thomas to be the third linebacker.

Cornerback: Dallas will either need to re-sign Awuzie or Lewis if it doesn't want to sign a stopgap FA, but it doesn't seem likely to be Awuzie because he'll probably get a multi-year deal.

Safety: The team could be satisfied with Thompson being that warm body for the starter spot or try to re-sign Woods. But like Awuzie, Woods is probably going to be looking for a multi-year deal that would commit Dallas to him being the starter.

Nose tackle: This one might not be an urgency as far as finding a warm body since Woods is only an RFA. However, the Cowboys did go ahead and sign a warm body for the spot (Poe) last year even though Woods was an ERFA.

The rest of the positions at least have someone Dallas could put out there as a starter, so I would think these are the spots where we will either re-sign a player or bring in a low-cost free agent. I'd like to see us do more at the positions than bargain hunt, but the philosophy the Joneses have adopted says that's not likely to happen. I'd expect Prescott and four cheap FA starters to fill those starting needs.

Nothing else matters if they dont resign Dak.

Only way this team moves forward without Dak is if they trade him for a windfall of top picks. Even then they would have to spend half of them looking for a new QB and roll the dice.

 

[gimmesix]

Nothing else matters if they dont resign Dak.

Only way this team moves forward without Dak is if they trade him for a windfall of top picks. Even then they would have to spend half of them looking for a new QB and roll the dice.

I don't disagree, which is why I think a deal would be done.

If they don't think a deal will be done, then the only option would be to tag and trade him. However, the problem with that is they would be trying to trade a player coming off injury, so the value would be lower ... and Dallas would need for one of the teams with the top few picks to be its trading partner so it would be able to draft a replacement.

Most likely if they tagged him again, he would sign the tag, but that's risky because if he doesn't sign it before the draft then the other option goes out the window (giving Dak all the leverage in negotiations). Sure, they could still trade him after the draft to a team that was willing to work out a deal, but in return, they'd have no quarterback for next year.

I think ultimately it's not going to be an issue and either Dak will sign a long-term deal or play on the tag again. And I don't think either Prescott or the Cowboys want him playing on the tag again, which adds incentive to getting a long-term deal done.

We did sign Dalton last year as a backup AND as insurance in case Dak held out, so that's why I included that option for this year. But that also would mean Dalton would have to be willing to return while knowing that the team was still attempting to sign Dak long-term. I think he's looking for a starting gig if he can find one. If not, he might be open to that.

 

[JoeKing]

After last season's FA disaster. I doubt the Cowboys FO is even capable of filling any FA holes.

 

[CowboyoWales]

Based on the past few years, the Cowboys' free agent plan will be to make sure every position has a possible starter, so the team isn't wedged into having to draft a particular position.

If the Joneses continue to follow that strategy, based on our free agents, it would mean the following positions need to be signed:

Quarterback: This is most likely going to be Prescott. If a deal can't be reached, then look for someone like Dalton to return.

Outside linebacker: If Lee retires or isn't resigned, then Dallas could resign Joe Thomas to be the third linebacker.

Cornerback: Dallas will either need to re-sign Awuzie or Lewis if it doesn't want to sign a stopgap FA, but it doesn't seem likely to be Awuzie because he'll probably get a multi-year deal.

Safety: The team could be satisfied with Thompson being that warm body for the starter spot or try to re-sign Woods. But like Awuzie, Woods is probably going to be looking for a multi-year deal that would commit Dallas to him being the starter.

Nose tackle: This one might not be an urgency as far as finding a warm body since Woods is only an RFA. However, the Cowboys did go ahead and sign a warm body for the spot (Poe) last year even though Woods was an ERFA.

The rest of the positions at least have someone Dallas could put out there as a starter, so I would think these are the spots where we will either re-sign a player or bring in a low-cost free agent. I'd like to see us do more at the positions than bargain hunt, but the philosophy the Joneses have adopted says that's not likely to happen. I'd expect Prescott and four cheap FA starters to fill those starting needs.

Rather than looking to Band Aid every position, why not address the actual issues.

Primary issue is that we were ranked 31st in rush defense.

We have this obsession with the Eagles when the actual issue is a Washington Team that are a QB away from being a perennial divisional winner AND who can walk through us at will (ave - 195 yards rushing in 2020).

Focus on the D-Line. stop easy yards on the ground and at least force teams to throw on us.

It's not happening as Jerry likes his shiny toys and has not interest in stopping runs as it's not flashy.

 

[CowboyoWales]

Nothing else matters if they dont resign Dak.

Only way this team moves forward without Dak is if they trade him for a windfall of top picks. Even then they would have to spend half of them looking for a new QB and roll the dice.

Wrong emphasis. Nothing else matters if we don't improve the fundamental of Defensive Line (and O-Line back-ups).

 

[CowboyRoy]

I don't disagree, which is why I think a deal would be done.

If they don't think a deal will be done, then the only option would be to tag and trade him. However, the problem with that is they would be trying to trade a player coming off injury, so the value would be lower ... and Dallas would need for one of the teams with the top few picks to be its trading partner so it would be able to draft a replacement.

Most likely if they tagged him again, he would sign the tag, but that's risky because if he doesn't sign it before the draft then the other option goes out the window (giving Dak all the leverage in negotiations). Sure, they could still trade him after the draft to a team that was willing to work out a deal, but in return, they'd have no quarterback for next year.

I think ultimately it's not going to be an issue and either Dak will sign a long-term deal or play on the tag again. And I don't think either Prescott or the Cowboys want him playing on the tag again, which adds incentive to getting a long-term deal done.

We did sign Dalton last year as a backup AND as insurance in case Dak held out, so that's why I included that option for this year. But that also would mean Dalton would have to be willing to return while knowing that the team was still attempting to sign Dak long-term. I think he's looking for a starting gig if he can find one. If not, he might be open to that.

If they cant come to an agreement and Dak has to play on the tag, then just trade him. Its getting ridiculous that these two sides cant get a deal done. At some point you have to move on and get what you can.