What if we had resigned Gregory and reworked Cooper's contract?

[ChronicCowboy]

Both moves were shrewd. Neither player was worth the salary they were going to command. I’d have been fine with it if we were interested in improving other positions. But here we are…crickets.

 

[Adreme]

Neither player was worth the contract they got but if that being said they are certainly worth more than an empty spot which is somehow all the Cowboys have to show for it.

 

[kskboys]

Both moves were shrewd. Neither player was worth the salary they were going to command. I’d have been fine with it if we were interested in improving other positions. But here we are…crickets.

Only way this is the right path is if we're aiming for 23. Don't know as we're that smart.

 

[kskboys]

Re-working Coopers contract and also signing Gallup would have been stupid. You can't just focus on this year. As far as Randy goes, as each day passes I'm happier and happier that he is gone

X gadzillions.

Hey, we prolly won't make the right moves going forward, but so far, this is the right path.

 

[kskboys]

Neither player was worth the contract they got but if that being said they are certainly worth more than an empty spot which is somehow all the Cowboys have to show for it.

Not if we play in the super bowl in 23 or 24.

 

[ChronicCowboy]

Only way this is the right path is if we're aiming for 23. Don't know as we're that smart.

Yeah I agree. They’re playing the long game and trying to win now at the same time. I can’t see that approach being very successful.

 

[Adreme]

Not if we play in the super bowl in 23 or 24.

This is basically the weakest the NFC is going to be for quite awhile. Everything is loaded up in the AFC right now and you have to imagine teams in the NFC are going to be spending next offseason.

 

[kskboys]

Yeah I agree. They’re playing the long game and trying to win now at the same time. I can’t see that approach being very successful.

I can't see us playing the long game. We never have before. This one appears to be on accident.

 

[kskboys]

This is basically the weakest the NFC is going to be for quite awhile. Everything is loaded up in the AFC right now and you have to imagine teams in the NFC are going to be spending next offseason.

So, if we're loading up for 23, it's a good strategy.

 

[Adreme]

So, if we're loading up for 23, it's a good strategy.

Why is that a good strategy? This NFC is weak this year but will almost certainly be stronger again next year. Loading up when everyone else is just seems like a way to just be one of many rather than the team. Every reason I can argue that the NFC will be weaker next year, for almost every team involved means they will be stronger in 2 years, except for the Cowboys, which implies this is the year to load up and next year is the year to recover.

 

[plasticman]

What might happen?

The Cowboys might not have a whole lot of talent at the safety position.

They would be trying out new punters at the next minicamp.

Dorrance most likely would most likely be playing elsewhere.

No James Washington. Possib ly no Dante Fowler.

 

[kskboys]

Why is that a good strategy? This NFC is weak this year but will almost certainly be stronger again next year. Loading up when everyone else is just seems like a way to just be one of many rather than the team. Every reason I can argue that the NFC will be weaker next year, for almost every team involved means they will be stronger in 2 years, except for the Cowboys, which implies this is the year to load up and next year is the year to recover.

Because pathetically trying to always be good is what's kept us from being good.

 

[Adreme]

Because pathetically trying to always be good is what's kept us from being good.

Which is all that going for it in 23 will be. When everyone else is getting weaker you make your move, when everyone else is loading up, trying to load up with less resources, which they will have less resources, is just not going to work. If you want to stand out in the NFC either go for it when the conference is down, like next year, or bide your time while the conference is strong loading up on picks and talent, which it will be in 2 years.

 

[kskboys]

Which is all that going for it in 23 will be. When everyone else is getting weaker you make your move, when everyone else is loading up, trying to load up with less resources, which they will have less resources, is just not going to work. If you want to stand out in the NFC either go for it when the conference is down, like next year, or bide your time while the conference is strong loading up on picks and talent, which it will be in 2 years.

No, you build a team that can win the super bowl and quit wasting resources on trying to stay relevant

 

[CowboyoWales]

This is basically the weakest the NFC is going to be for quite awhile. Everything is loaded up in the AFC right now and you have to imagine teams in the NFC are going to be spending next offseason.

....Rams, Brady back and Rodgers..... heck we couldnt even beat the 6th seed at home.

 

[Brooksey]

Just wondering how different everybody’s opinion would be right now if we resigned Gregory and reworked Cooper’s deal to go along with what we have done in free agency? Seems like 2 huge holes could have been filled easily while still adding some young talent to this roster in the draft. I feel like the optimism would be 100% increased right about now.

We would be the same team as last year except a year older and over the cap

 

[charron]

I'd rather have Cooper than Gallup. But I'd rather have Armstrong, anger, Fowler, Washington than randy.

 

[Adreme]

....Rams, Brady back and Rodgers..... heck we couldnt even beat the 6th seed at home.

Rams got unquestionably worse, Buccs are worse, Packers certainly are worse. You basically are making my argument for me.

 

[fivetwos]

It still would have amounted to an offseason of “status quo” and “continuity!!”… Last year’s team was clearly not good enough to win anything other than the NFCE.

I don’t see how bringing back the same players would make any difference whatsoever.

Instead of “status quo”— we have now settled for “sub-status quo (with more cap space!!)”

There you go. I've been looking for similar words lately but couldn't get there.

We are worse on paper yeah, so probably worse on the field, but for some reason I feel better about not breaking the bank to bring back the same out of tune band.

They are trying to middle two situations is what's happening.

Trying to appear to be a SB contender while not willing to risk rebuilding seasons down the road.

In the end, if you think back to how tough those playoff games were last year......we are a very long way from being able to win 3-4 of those in a row whether we have Cooper and Collins or not.

 

[Creeper]

The issue for me is not that they traded Cooper or messed up the re-signing of Gregory. The issue is that they did not replace those guys with equally talented players. The issue is they only got a 5th round pick for Cooper. I am not an Cooper fan. I have been advocating for getting rid of him for a least a year. I don't think he is a winner and he disappears in games. But if the best offer I could get for him was a 5th round pick, which to me is virtually nothing, then I would have restructured him and kept him, especially if I had no plan to sign someone to replace him.

The same is true for Gregory. If they could not sign him then obtaining a player like Za'Darius Smith, for example, would at least be comparable to what they had last year, maybe even better.

I will also bring up La'el Collins. IMO, Steele is not as good as Collins and I think we are going to be disappointed when the season rolls around and Dak is being flushed out of the pocket from his right side. Collins is a starting RT and a good one. The fact that they let him go for nothing is demoralizing to the fans and the team. There was no reason to cut him in March either. They don't get a CAP save until June when all the best free agents will be signed with other teams. I believe had they held on to him and traded him after the draft and free agency they would have gotten a decent 2023 draft pick for him. Or they could have let him compete with Steele for the RT job and see who wins.

The result of these moves is the Cowboys are now weaker than they were in 2021. People say they will still win the NFC East are setting their sights too low - and I don't even know if they will win the NFC East in 2022.