We need to manage our expectations

Creeper

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There is no sense reacting to every loss at this point. Things are not going to get better because no one is coming to save the day. Rush or Lance will finish the season and every week reaching the end zone will be a challenge. It is time to accept it. This team has major problems. Close losses will become moral victories. But scoring 6 points every week will mean most games won't be close. The have no running game, and now with Cooper Rush or Trey Lance they have no passing game either. We'll have more turnovers than TDs each week. The losses are coming. getting upset over them makes no sense anymore. Let Jerry make his ridiculous comments about how this all bothers him. He did this. That he is surprised at the result is just more evidence how bad he is as a GM.

2025 is not going to get any better. We should be drafting near the top over every round and we will get 3 or 4 comp picks in the 5th and 6th rounds which will make April more fun next year, but when the season starts, with or without Dak, manage your expectations. 2025 is going to be a lean year. Dak, CeeDee and Micah are set to account for 50% of the CAP as it stands now. The other 50% has to go to 50 other players. The problem is, restructuring contracts to reduce the impact of the top 3 will only prolong the problem.

I have not been a big fan of drafting a QB, but I have changed my mind. They could be drafting in the top 5 next April and if there is a franchise looking QB available, they need to take a shot. I understand the odds are slim that a 1st round QB will be all that but having a young guy on the bench in 2025 to learn and develop while Dak plays out what should be the last year with Dallas, is the quickest way to get back into contention. After 2025, they can cut Dak, or trade him if he agrees, and in 2027 his contract will be off the books. Beginning in 2027, we rebuild the team back into a winner. That seems like a long time but we need to be patient. It took years for Jerry to create this problem. It will take years to resolve it.
 
We currently are in the 11th draft position.

Should get 3 - 5th round comp picks, and a 6th round.
Jerry traded a 4th for Mingo, so they could use those to trade back into the 4th. Our 7th goes to Detroit, but we get a 7th from the Mingo trade.

We have 10 picks, so make trades to move up, end up with 7 that will make the team. As all 10 will not fro so. Even though they like keeping their draft picks. But that is mostly because they avoid signing FA's.

Jerry will resign at least half of the teams own FA's as posted in the OP. It is just what they do. Though this last off season it was a little less than normal.
 
We currently are in the 11th draft position.

Should get 3 - 5th round comp picks, and a 6th round.
Jerry traded a 4th for Mingo, so they could use those to trade back into the 4th. Our 7th goes to Detroit, but we get a 7th from the Mingo trade.

We have 10 picks, so make trades to move up, end up with 7 that will make the team. As all 10 will not fro so. Even though they like keeping their draft picks. But that is mostly because they avoid signing FA's.

Jerry will resign at least half of the teams own FA's as posted in the OP. It is just what they do. Though this last off season it was a little less than normal.
A number of teams currently drafting before us will be playing each other. Last year the Giants had 6 wins and picked at #6. If the Cowboys continue to play like they did last night, they could finish with as few as 4 wins. That will absolutely put them in the top 5.
 
Good post Creeper!
It's going to get much worse....... I honestly feel bad for the players. But I am sure they know you have to do your job every week/game coz 31 other teams are watching.
 
There is no sense reacting to every loss at this point. Things are not going to get better because no one is coming to save the day. Rush or Lance will finish the season and every week reaching the end zone will be a challenge. It is time to accept it. This team has major problems. Close losses will become moral victories. But scoring 6 points every week will mean most games won't be close. The have no running game, and now with Cooper Rush or Trey Lance they have no passing game either. We'll have more turnovers than TDs each week. The losses are coming. getting upset over them makes no sense anymore. Let Jerry make his ridiculous comments about how this all bothers him. He did this. That he is surprised at the result is just more evidence how bad he is as a GM.

2025 is not going to get any better. We should be drafting near the top over every round and we will get 3 or 4 comp picks in the 5th and 6th rounds which will make April more fun next year, but when the season starts, with or without Dak, manage your expectations. 2025 is going to be a lean year. Dak, CeeDee and Micah are set to account for 50% of the CAP as it stands now. The other 50% has to go to 50 other players. The problem is, restructuring contracts to reduce the impact of the top 3 will only prolong the problem.

I have not been a big fan of drafting a QB, but I have changed my mind. They could be drafting in the top 5 next April and if there is a franchise looking QB available, they need to take a shot. I understand the odds are slim that a 1st round QB will be all that but having a young guy on the bench in 2025 to learn and develop while Dak plays out what should be the last year with Dallas, is the quickest way to get back into contention. After 2025, they can cut Dak, or trade him if he agrees, and in 2027 his contract will be off the books. Beginning in 2027, we rebuild the team back into a winner. That seems like a long time but we need to be patient. It took years for Jerry to create this problem. It will take years to resolve it.
Draft QB Kurtis Rourke from Indiana.
 
It took years for Jerry to create this problem. It will take years to resolve it.
Not in todays NFL. With restructures there is enough to spend in FA if they want to. Plus this was a good draft and plenty of draft capital next season to get many good players. Plus get back all the injured players. The roster next September should be much different and much better than today.
 
A number of teams currently drafting before us will be playing each other. Last year the Giants had 6 wins and picked at #6. If the Cowboys continue to play like they did last night, they could finish with as few as 4 wins. That will absolutely put them in the top 5.

They could finish with 3 wins.
 
My expectation is that every Cowboys player that enters the field will give maximum effort on every play while doing everything they can to consistently improve.
 
There is no sense reacting to every loss at this point. Things are not going to get better because no one is coming to save the day. Rush or Lance will finish the season and every week reaching the end zone will be a challenge. It is time to accept it. This team has major problems. Close losses will become moral victories. But scoring 6 points every week will mean most games won't be close. The have no running game, and now with Cooper Rush or Trey Lance they have no passing game either. We'll have more turnovers than TDs each week. The losses are coming. getting upset over them makes no sense anymore. Let Jerry make his ridiculous comments about how this all bothers him. He did this. That he is surprised at the result is just more evidence how bad he is as a GM.

2025 is not going to get any better. We should be drafting near the top over every round and we will get 3 or 4 comp picks in the 5th and 6th rounds which will make April more fun next year, but when the season starts, with or without Dak, manage your expectations. 2025 is going to be a lean year. Dak, CeeDee and Micah are set to account for 50% of the CAP as it stands now. The other 50% has to go to 50 other players. The problem is, restructuring contracts to reduce the impact of the top 3 will only prolong the problem.

I have not been a big fan of drafting a QB, but I have changed my mind. They could be drafting in the top 5 next April and if there is a franchise looking QB available, they need to take a shot. I understand the odds are slim that a 1st round QB will be all that but having a young guy on the bench in 2025 to learn and develop while Dak plays out what should be the last year with Dallas, is the quickest way to get back into contention. After 2025, they can cut Dak, or trade him if he agrees, and in 2027 his contract will be off the books. Beginning in 2027, we rebuild the team back into a winner. That seems like a long time but we need to be patient. It took years for Jerry to create this problem. It will take years to resolve it.
Excellent points. If we base the future on what we've got and cannot change (Jerry and Dak's contract). The Cowboys need a definitive strategy rather than the existing attempt at being relevant every year.

I take your position. To compete in the next (say) three years we are going to need to:
Bed in a new HC and probably OC,
Extend Micah (which as you say means close to 50% CAP on three players)
Massively restructure the CAP (even then we wont get top FA's, as over that period half the league has twice our available CAP)
Overhaul pretty much every facet of the roster......Pass-Rush is potentially our only 'positive', along with kicking game.
A QB that was hardly mobile to start with, could well be a sitting duck in the pocket, or at best gives the defenses one less problem as I doubt he's ever going to run again.

That's a lot of moving parts, especially for a team that, at its 12-5 zenith (and relevant stability) repeatedly failed in the play-offs.

The only real difference, for me, would be trade down this year and gain draft capital for 2026.
 
It's much easier to manage expectations when you never had any to begin with.
 
It's much easier to manage expectations when you never had any to begin with.
Bingo.
Knew right away in the offseason the front office didn't care, again, to try to get this team over the 1 and done hump.
Just hope the record is eating away at those two nincompoops
 
Not in todays NFL. With restructures there is enough to spend in FA if they want to. Plus this was a good draft and plenty of draft capital next season to get many good players. Plus get back all the injured players. The roster next September should be much different and much better than today.
With this many holes and a QB that's probably going to be even less mobile and therefore even easier to gameplay against is getting 'much better' going to be enough (not that many of us are convinced Jerry can accomplish).
Just look at the three 12-5 seasons, we seriously restructured and kicked the CAP in those years WITH A MUCH STRONGER ROSTER (caps for effect) and still came up woefully short.
I take this is what @Creeper is suggesting ....take the hit in 2025. Indeed, if we take the ultimate sacrifice and trade Micah we can overcome the trope about 'wasting years on xyz'.
If you think there's a chance, through restructuring you're showing a similar mindset to Jerry's.
 
With this many holes and a QB that's probably going to be even less mobile and therefore even easier to gameplay against is getting 'much better' going to be enough (not that many of us are convinced Jerry can accomplish).
Just look at the three 12-5 seasons, we seriously restructured and kicked the CAP in those years WITH A MUCH STRONGER ROSTER (caps for effect) and still came up woefully short.
I take this is what @Creeper is suggesting ....take the hit in 2025. Indeed, if we take the ultimate sacrifice and trade Micah we can overcome the trope about 'wasting years on xyz'.
If you think there's a chance, through restructuring you're showing a similar mindset to Jerry's.
Yes, you restructure contracts when you are close to contending and want to add pieces to the roster while keeping what you have. The Cowboys are almost forced into a rebuild now. There is no sense restructuring anyone. The game now should be to free as much CAP space down the road as possible, if for no other reason than to retain whatever talent they wind up drafting. But, I am pretty certain 2025 will be another down year simply because the QB will have a CAP hit of $90 million! I strongly suggest they take that CAP hit in 2025 and move on from there. After 2025 The Cowboys can escape Dak's contract with a one time $61 million dead money CAP hit, but net $6 million CAP save. If they restructure Dak in 2025, then they may be stuck with him through 2027. I would avoid that if possible. I want to be free of Dak's, Martin's and DLaw's contracts in 2027. Hopefully they find a less expensive QB while beefing up the rest of the roster.

One thing to remember, Dak's contract has an insurance policy clause which allows the Cowboys to purchase a policy against injury. What this means is the Cowboys can file a claim and possibly be reimbursed for the salary Dak is collected while injured. There may be some deductibles and caps but at least some of the money will be reimbursed assuming the Cowboys actually did use this clause to purchase a policy on Dak. That reimbursement will be credited to the Cowboys CAP number next year. I am guessing that number will be between $15MM and $20MM. This would make Dak's 2025 CAP number look a little better.

I would also advise the Cowboys to stop restructuring contracts to push money into voidable years. If Zack Martin and DLaw retire or leave the Cowboys will eat over $30MM in dead money due to pro-rated bonuses pushed into voidable years on their contracts.
 
"Manage expectations"

Nods
That's what you say to the people... who love a terminal cancer patient.

Seems appropriate.
 
Yes, you restructure contracts when you are close to contending and want to add pieces to the roster while keeping what you have. The Cowboys are almost forced into a rebuild now. There is no sense restructuring anyone. The game now should be to free as much CAP space down the road as possible, if for no other reason than to retain whatever talent they wind up drafting. But, I am pretty certain 2025 will be another down year simply because the QB will have a CAP hit of $90 million! I strongly suggest they take that CAP hit in 2025 and move on from there. After 2025 The Cowboys can escape Dak's contract with a one time $61 million dead money CAP hit, but net $6 million CAP save. If they restructure Dak in 2025, then they may be stuck with him through 2027. I would avoid that if possible. I want to be free of Dak's, Martin's and DLaw's contracts in 2027. Hopefully they find a less expensive QB while beefing up the rest of the roster.

One thing to remember, Dak's contract has an insurance policy clause which allows the Cowboys to purchase a policy against injury. What this means is the Cowboys can file a claim and possibly be reimbursed for the salary Dak is collected while injured. There may be some deductibles and caps but at least some of the money will be reimbursed assuming the Cowboys actually did use this clause to purchase a policy on Dak. That reimbursement will be credited to the Cowboys CAP number next year. I am guessing that number will be between $15MM and $20MM. This would make Dak's 2025 CAP number look a little better.

I would also advise the Cowboys to stop restructuring contracts to push money into voidable years. If Zack Martin and DLaw retire or leave the Cowboys will eat over $30MM in dead money due to pro-rated bonuses pushed into voidable years on their contracts.
I didn't realise the insurance resulted in a CAP reimbursement.
 
Only pro sports team in history that essentially tells its players….’sorry, but since a few of you are making so much money, we can’t even think about trying to win.’
 

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