Why are they not opening more cap space?

[buybuydandavis]

We need players at so many positions. You can’t fill with 6 draft picks??? Wake up. Free like 25 million and sign best lb/dl/ol. Then focus best player round 1 and get rb/wr in rounds 2-3. Dumb and dumber are way too passive.

Maybe squeezing Dak out of his contract by having him face the prospect of playing in a contract year by a team depleted by his cap hit.
Not gonna mortgage the future of the team so Dak can have a better final season. Dak plays under his full contract hit.

 

[ShiningStar]

they may not be looking to spend, so why do that to their players?

if there are any players left on this team, they are about the money, let them get their money.

 

[DanTanna]

Because jersey sales are #1 !!!

 

[zrinkill]

Almost seems like they want to sabotage the team.

They been doing that for 30+ years ......... it started when Jerry alienated Jimmy for ego and continues with this play it back strategy they are doing this year.

They are a mentally handicapped kid with a chainsaw trying to clip their toenails.

 

[buybuydandavis]

Unfortunately this is what the Cowboys have become. They don't use free agency to upgrade, they use it to patch holes. They put all their faith in the draft and their ability to develop guys and keep their own.

That's been the strategy for years. Plug holes in free agency so you can draft your board. Sign your own top players with your cap.
The people who think the cap doesn't exist don't like it, but we don't have the money to sign all of our own guys I'd like to keep.
Our biggest problem isn't the failure to sign free agents, it's overpaying our own players. We like our guys. It's sensible to invest in the players you know, but we overpay them time and again. If we stopped doing that, we might have some real money to spend on free agents.

 

[buybuydandavis]

Because jersey sales are #1 !!!

I just realized the marketing angle on this.
Signing your own players keeps the investment in their brand going.

 

[big dog cowboy]

We need players at so many positions.

It wouldn't matter if we had $20M or whatever salary cap available. The Cowboys aren't signing FA's and overpaying on day 1.

It doesn't matter how many positions there are to fill. The Cowboys aren't signing FA's and overpaying on day 1.

 

[stiletto]

Bingo. So technically true. They “ don’t have any space”. Almost seems like they want to sabotage the team.

It's obvious they hate Free Agency now. Ever since Brandon Carr and Stephen took over. They'd rather build the team in the draft and coach'em up. Even though it hasn't really worked the last 10 years...

 

[CT Dal Fan]

That's been the strategy for years. Plug holes in free agency so you can draft your board. Sign your own top players with your cap.
The people who think the cap doesn't exist don't like it, but we don't have the money to sign all of our own guys I'd like to keep.
Our biggest problem isn't the failure to sign free agents, it's overpaying our own players. We like our guys. It's sensible to invest in the players you know, but we overpay them time and again. If we stopped doing that, we might have some real money to spend on free agents.

Exactly. And to add to your last point, they wait too long to sign their own guys. They waited too long to pay Dak and ended up paying more. They're doing the same thing with Lamb. They could have locked him up last year. Now he's coming off a 135 catch season and will cost even more.

They are never proactive. They never set the market. They wait and wait and wait and then end up overpaying.

 

[kiheikiwi]

Why do you "never dakers" always conveniently forget that this is a contract mess of the front offices own making ???
They dithered around and franchise tagged him 2 years in a row !
Then had to give him a contract extension, that by then - he had the upper hand.
I have no empathy for this front office and the descions they make - or don't make.
They either restructure now, turn his salary into a signing bonus, which frees up a ton of cap room etc. Or if they choose to play out the $59 million this year - that's on them !
I have come to the conclusion that Stephen is actually worse than Jerry at this.
Don't blame # 4, for the ineptitude of this front office.

 

[rnr_honeybadger]

We need players at so many positions. You can’t fill with 6 draft picks??? Wake up. Free like 25 million and sign best lb/dl/ol. Then focus best player round 1 and get rb/wr in rounds 2-3. Dumb and dumber are way too passive.

They can't. They have Ceedee and Micah to sign and then of course they are spending most of their cap on a very average QB that needs the whole team to be perfect around him.

 

[thunderpimp91]

You're right. But at the risk of sounding like a homer this team has still gone 12-5 three years in a row. In the regular season, over this time span only one team- the Chiefs- have more wins than Dallas' 36. They have 37.

Few teams that have gone crazy in free agency have seen it pay off. We can argue the Cowboys are going too far in the opposite direction, but they have built a successful team (sans playoffs) this way.

Partially agree, but that's the frustrating part to me. This isn't a horrible roster, this isn't a Carolina type of team. This is a team that won 36 games in 3 years. This team more often than not drafts really well, and retains their top end guys. I would love to see just once them take a risk on an outside free agent and actually that could make a true impact on getting this team over the hump. I actually give Jerry a ton of credit for building what he has, but it's incredibly frustrating how conservative he gets once the product is 90% there.

 

[Beast_from_East]

The Cowboys will do that. But since they never spend on Day One of free agency there is no need to do this just yet. It's just how they've done business for years and years now.

Don't worry, Dallas will sign players. Then each signing will be met with dozens of pages here of snarky comments since they aren't the big names everybody wants.

Yeah, signing 3-4 Jags instead of 1 stud is the way to go, just look at how many playoff games we have won over the years operating like this..........oh, wait

 

[CT Dal Fan]

Partially agree, but that's the frustrating part to me. This isn't a horrible roster, this isn't a Carolina type of team. This is a team that won 36 games in 3 years. This team more often than not drafts really well, and retains their top end guys. I would love to see just once them take a risk on an outside free agent and actually that could make a true impact on getting this team over the hump. I actually give Jerry a ton of credit for building what he has, but it's incredibly frustrating how conservative he gets once the product is 90% there.

I see your point. Instead of signing three or four average free agents, why not go for one big name that can make a huge difference? I know the Cowboys always want to go into a draft without a "need", but they still drafted for need last year and ended up whiffing (so far) on Mazi Smith and Schoonmaker.

They seem afraid to swing for the fences. And this is a reflection of Stephen Jones and his tight-fisted approach.

 

[unionjack8]

Because cheap players don't require it.

 

[Beast_from_East]

Unfortunately this is what the Cowboys have become. They don't use free agency to upgrade, they use it to patch holes. They put all their faith in the draft and their ability to develop guys and keep their own.

I know it sucks to see every team add players while Dallas just loses them, but it's been this way at least the past ten years now.

Well the 49ers and Eagles (the last two teams to win the NFC) seem to think free agency is kinda important, I dont see them just relying on the draft year after year after year.

 

[Blast From The Past]

The Cowboys will do that. But since they never spend on Day One of free agency there is no need to do this just yet. It's just how they've done business for years and years now.

Don't worry, Dallas will sign players. Then each signing will be met with dozens of pages here of snarky comments since they aren't the big names everybody wants.

A yearly event around here actually. Yea it's become a thing.

 

[CT Dal Fan]

Well the 49ers and Eagles (the last two teams to win the NFC) seem to think free agency is kinda important, I dont see them just relying on the draft year after year after year.

This is Stephen Jones having more power. Jerry was one extreme, cap boy is the other extreme. We can't have middle ground with this front office.

 

[kskboys]

We need players at so many positions. You can’t fill with 6 draft picks??? Wake up. Free like 25 million and sign best lb/dl/ol. Then focus best player round 1 and get rb/wr in rounds 2-3. Dumb and dumber are way too passive.

How?

 

[kskboys]

I see your point. Instead of signing three or four average free agents, why not go for one big name that can make a huge difference? I know the Cowboys always want to go into a draft without a "need", but they still drafted for need last year and ended up whiffing (so far) on Mazi Smith and Schoonmaker.

They seem afraid to swing for the fences. And this is a reflection of Stephen Jones and his tight-fisted approach.

What? 'Dude, you are loco. TE was absolutely not a need, not even close. I have no idea what that pick was, aside from being incredibly stupid, but it was not a need pick.