How do we avoid another giant whiff in free agency?

[Howboutdemcowboys31]

You work with the budget you are given.

Waaaa that's no fun

 

[ICP]

Plain and simple, quit shopping in the free agent bargain bin. Cowboys are going to need to spend a little and quit being so cheap when it comes to free agent signings

 

[JW82]

participate in it.

 

[jrumann59]

And traded for Dareus who had an immediate impact in their run D.

The reality is that FA can and should be used to supplement a team with a few holes. It doesn't mean one should just throw away cash like candy on guys but this franchise has taken the exact opposite approach and signed trash hoping that they might strike gold and one or two actually turn into something.

It hasn't worked. They have a bit more flexibility this offseason and they clearly have holes. If there is ever a year to spend a little and try to bring in some good, solid, mid-tiered free agents, this is the year.

Except teams like JAX can throw money around like candy. teams like Jax have inflated the FA market that mediocre talent gets paid because of the salary floor. Using teams like Jax that can pay ultimate premium prices because their ownership has been soo cheap in the past that a new salary floor rule was implemented.

 

[coult44]

McClay is an asset. As @BrAinPaiNt stated there has got to be a sweet spot when it comes to FA.

I liken WM, but Indont know why. Help me with the facts. What has he done that makes him an asset.

 

[Verdict]

You sign your own top FAs and don't let them get away.

You try and get one or two good FA signings that help the team that might actually cost money.

Chances are they will do the first but only pinpoint a couple of players for the second category like they did with JJP last year but lost out on.

IF we get lucky...they target a guy like Earl Thomas but only if the price is right. We know he wants to be here, but it will depend on how much he wants in whether he really wants to be here
as they will probably not pay him as much as others will pay him.

Not saying it is right or wrong...it is just the way the Cowboys do it now.

We used to be big spenders and made big splashes in FA and for the most part it would not pay off, just like for the most part it does not pay off for some other teams like the Commanders...or that 200 million dollar D line that the Giants got that only worked about one season.

Problem was they went from one extreme and got burnt to another extreme and for the most part seem to timid to pull the trigger and get back into it like they used to do. There has to be a happy and productive medium in there somewhere but it seems like have yet to find it IMO.

That sounds great. The hard part is that opportunities must present themselves and the cost has to be low enough considering the risk involved. The higher the price paid in cap dollars the better the For must be and the player must produce because a BIG miss is crippling.

 

[Verdict]

You're going to miss more FAs than hit because you're picking (mostly) from he bottom of the barrell.

True. Free agency hasn't more than one aspect as well. You have to decide who you want to keep (and be right) and decide which guys you want to let walk (and be right) considering potential contract parameters.

 

[Verdict]

So dontari poe on a 1 year deal wouldn't have helped more than paea?
And to me that is no excuse to not make your roster better.....ANYTIME you get the chance you shoukd take it ....

We should have spent money on a one year deal on Poe. That was a missed opportunity.

 

[coult44]

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong! To W-H-I-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F....you have to swing for the fences. The Cowboys wisely avoided doing that. They barely played free agency--which was the right call. They've stacked up the draft on compensatory picks by letting some guys walk.... and now have a talented young secondary for years.

The season didn't turn out because of suspensions, injuries and a bit of decline with Dak. Personnel decisions--with just a couple of exceptions--were nothing short of brilliant. Yes...brilliant.

This endless whining, moaning is mindless and foolish. It's also such a BORE.

And some folks aren't competitive and just don't mind losing. That's ok because It takes all kinds of people to form a complete fandom. Our favorite team hasn't won anything in almost 25 years. 1/3 of the entire fan base has never seen The Boys compete for even an NFC championship. That's CRAZY!! Can you imagine being the fans of a franchise like the Browns, Bills, or Bengals? Wait, WE ARE THAT FAN.

Endless whining and moaning is expected because after a quarter of a century of watching the "brilliant" moves of guys like Jerry, SJ, Will, Garret, etc.. we are still cheering for a loser each and every year....

 

[waving monkey]

You sign your own top FAs and don't let them get away.

You try and get one or two good FA signings that help the team that might actually cost money.

Chances are they will do the first but only pinpoint a couple of players for the second category like they did with JJP last year but lost out on.

IF we get lucky...they target a guy like Earl Thomas but only if the price is right. We know he wants to be here, but it will depend on how much he wants in whether he really wants to be here
as they will probably not pay him as much as others will pay him.

Not saying it is right or wrong...it is just the way the Cowboys do it now.

We used to be big spenders and made big splashes in FA and for the most part it would not pay off, just like for the most part it does not pay off for some other teams like the Commanders...or that 200 million dollar D line that the Giants got that only worked about one season.

Problem was they went from one extreme and got burnt to another extreme and for the most part seem to timid to pull the trigger and get back into it like they used to do. There has to be a happy and productive medium in there somewhere but it seems like have yet to find it IMO.

I suspect they go after a good FA OT this off season if available

 

[waving monkey]

Our defensive back field draft did fine so the FA signings were insurance in the bank.

 

[coult44]

Our defensive back field draft did fine so the FA signings were insurance in the bank.

How'd they do in the games we had to have? They have great potential and I love all three of them: just don't forget how bad they looked at times.

 

[waving monkey]

How'd they do in the games we had to have? They have great potential and I love all three of them: just don't forget how bad they looked at times.

ya yes i tip my hat to the rookies

 

[canters]

We soon will have some cash to spend if we don’t already. But we as fans should be realistic about FA. The really good prime time players are usually locked up by their teams and will never hit FA. There are exceptions of course.

Players worth pursuing hit FA now and then and they will get signed to bloated contracts that rarely run their course to maturation. And this I the path to cap hell absent smart management.

The Jones have said frequently they want to build through the draft. Young players work with team friendly deals thanks to collective bargaining for the front side of their careers. After 4 or 5 years, you know what you have in a player. Keep the healthy good ones, let the rest go to the highest bidder.

I think we can expect some activity in FA, but if we think we will get one or two starters, think again. We can afford much better depth now, but I will be stunned to see a starter on this team signed in FA.

 

[Typhus]

I could agree with "middle" of the barrel... or, at least, what was perceived at the time as the middle.

Perceiving Carroll to have even been "middle" barrel, before we signed him, even while he was actively playing for the Eagles, was presumptuous at best.
If you didn't know what your were getting with that signing, than you don't pay attention to the entire league, not many do, it takes a lot of time.

 

[Sydla]

We soon will have some cash to spend if we don’t already. But we as fans should be realistic about FA. The really good prime time players are usually locked up by their teams and will never hit FA. There are exceptions of course.

Players worth pursuing hit FA now and then and they will get signed to bloated contracts that rarely run their course to maturation. And this I the path to cap hell absent smart management.

The Jones have said frequently they want to build through the draft. Young players work with team friendly deals thanks to collective bargaining for the front side of their careers. After 4 or 5 years, you know what you have in a player. Keep the healthy good ones, let the rest go to the highest bidder.

I think we can expect some activity in FA, but if we think we will get one or two starters, think again. We can afford much better depth now, but I will be stunned to see a starter on this team signed in FA.

No offense, but this is bogus. People keep pushing this notion that FA results in bad contracts and bad situations but it's just excuse making for the Cowboys new strategy of picking turds out of the toilet and hoping they can polish them into a gold plate.

There are guys every single year out there who can be had for decent, team friendly deals that help a team. You mean to tell me that Bennie Logan at $8MM for one year isn't a good, fair and very team friendly contract for starter in this league? He'd have (and would be) a great fit as our 1 Tech. Philly signed Alshon Jeffrey to a one year deal in FA last year that gave them the flexibility to move on if they wanted to after a season. The Skins signed Z. Brown for one year on a very friendly deal and he would have been our starting MLB this year. He was very good for Washington.

You can build through the draft while also using FA wisely and smartly by bringing in guys like a Logan or a Brown that fill a clear need and don't hamstring the team down the road. Additionally, bringing in guys like that take pressure off the draft.

 

[canters]

No offense, but this is bogus. People keep pushing this notion that FA results in bad contracts and bad situations but it's just excuse making for the Cowboys new strategy of picking turds out of the toilet and hoping they can polish them into a gold plate.

There are guys every single year out there who can be had for decent, team friendly deals that help a team. You mean to tell me that Bennie Logan at $8MM for one year isn't a good, fair and very team friendly contract for starter in this league? He'd have (and would be) a great fit as our 1 Tech. Philly signed Alshon Jeffrey to a one year deal in FA last year that gave them the flexibility to move on if they wanted to after a season. The Skins signed Z. Brown for one year on a very friendly deal and he would have been our starting MLB this year. He was very good for Washington.

You can build through the draft while also using FA wisely and smartly by bringing in guys like a Logan or a Brown that fill a clear need and don't hamstring the team down the road. Additionally, bringing in guys like that take pressure off the draft.

My point was that JJ will not do it.

 

[xwalker]

Except teams like JAX can throw money around like candy. teams like Jax have inflated the FA market that mediocre talent gets paid because of the salary floor. Using teams like Jax that can pay ultimate premium prices because their ownership has been soo cheap in the past that a new salary floor rule was implemented.

Luckily Jax has used up a lot of that cap space.

The Cowboys have 21.5M and 72M of cap space for 2018/2019 (93.5M total).

Jax has 17M in 2018 and 47M in 2019 (64M total).

 

[Sydla]

My point was that JJ will not do it.

But you rambled on about how FA results in bloated, bad contracts. That's simply not true if done wisely and it's a convenient excuse made to defend the crap plan we have executed the last couple of years.

 

[dallasdave]

He isn’t.

I still think we should hold off on huge signings for one more season until we see how Dak does.

I agree that's give Dak a chance.