It’s that time of year again.
Time for grilling on game days, hanging out with friends and cheering for the Dallas Cowboys. With the NFL season right around the corner, it is once again that time of year. It is time to believe that even with minimal changes to a somewhat decent team, the Dallas Cowboys will make it to the Super Bowl.
On a serious note, let’s not act like the Cowboys will be any different than they were last year, or the year before that. Despite owner Jerry Jones saying prior to the offseason that this year he was going “all in,” he in fact did not go “all in.” Instead, the Cowboys essentially did nothing.
Following an absolutely abysmal playoff performance against the Green Bay Packers, the team didn’t do anything to show any growth or change — they did the exact opposite. Defensive coordinator — and a huge part of the Cowboys success over recent years — Dan Quinn left the team to take the head coaching job for the Washington Commanders. The team did hire Mike Zimmer as his replacement, but I doubt he will have the same effect as Quinn. I predict that the Cowboys defense, which was first in turnovers and one of the best in the league, will regress back to one of the more moderate defenses in the league. Even though that shouldn’t be the case with all the star power on that side of the ball, only time will tell.
After what is one of the worst coaching changes I’ve ever seen, instead of re-signing star defensive end Micah Parsons to a massive contract for multiple years, the team then decided to pick up his fifth year team option. For those who do not understand, this means that even though Parsons could still sign an extension with the team, the cost for it just went up. Even worse, the likelihood of him leaving also went up. No one likes to be disrespected, which is exactly how I imagine Parsons feels. Instead of making one of the best players in the NFL a priority and re-signing him, Jones decided to put it off in hopes of doing it later. My confidence in the Cowboys’ front office seems to be collapsing faster than some of these contracts. I hoped they could at least restore it with some potential big free agency moves, because why else would you put off re-signing one of the best players in the NFL.
Incorrect. Leading up to the draft, the Cowboys made no moves to sign big free agent names; instead they let star players on both ends of the ball leave. They let All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith, starting running back Tony Pollard, multiple starting defensive tackles and another starting guard leave in free agency. They also released wide receiver Michael Gallup, who I have always liked for his ability to catch the deep ball. All of that just to make one signing — linebacker Eric Kendricks. Kendricks isn’t bad by any means necessary, but he’s old and not the same player he used to be. Plus the fact that half the offensive and defensive lines are now on other teams means there will be problems up front for the Cowboys. Plus, the clear void in the running back room will make things even more difficult on offense.
Going into the draft, I expected the Cowboys to finally address some of their biggest issues, like their lack of good offensive tackles and hopefully their running back situation. Instead they traded back with their first pick and took tackle Tyler Guyton out of the University of Oklahoma. Don’t get me wrong, selecting a tackle was the right move in that situation, but certainly not Guyton. The Cowboys are a win-now team and taking a player like Guyton, who had clear gaps in his game and needs to develop for at least a year, wasn’t the smartest of choices. Much to my dismay, the Cowboys didn’t do much else on draft night; they did not even select a single running back.
Following the draft, Jones said the team was fine with their running back room and that’s why they didn’t sign a top running back or draft one — which is complete and utter stupidity. The running back room consisted of Rico Dowdle at that time, who got some decent attempts at the position last season, but he never did much with them. To make matters worse, Jones then went out and signed Ezekiel Elliot back to the team, a player who the team had cut just a year prior.
Then came the CeeDee Lamb saga. Lamb, who is the best player on the team, decided to not show up to training camp nor the preseason affairs in order to hold out for a new contract. Now one could assume the team would just re-sign Lamb in a timely manner, that way he would rejoin the team and prepare for the upcoming season. Instead, Jones said to the media that he was in no rush to re-sign Lamb.
In what may have been the worst handling of a contract negotiation and contract hold out ever, the Cowboys were eventually able to agree with Lamb on a record-breaking contract. Lamb signed a four-year $136 million deal just before the end of the preseason. The deal is the second-largest non quarterback deal in NFL history and includes a record-breaking $38 million signing bonus, being the largest among wide receivers. It is well deserved money for someone who came close to winning Offensive Player of the Year last season. Now that one of the team’s three best players has signed a long-term deal, it somewhat puts the minds of Cowboys fans at ease.
With all the offseason drama behind them, the team prepares for their week one matchup against the Cleveland Browns on Sep. 8. As a fan, I can only hope that we are indeed “all in” on winning a championship, but I’m concerned we’re not.
