After the “all-in” debacle last offseason, Stephen Jones has cooked up a new catchphrase for the Dallas Cowboys ahead of free agency.
DALLAS — Last offseason, declared as “all-in” by team owner Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys were by far the cheapest team in the NFL when it came to free agency spending.
What followed was a 7-10 disaster of a season where the team got ravaged by injuries and since they lacked depth that could’ve been gained by using the free agency system they skipped out on, the Cowboys weren’t able to withstand the hardships.
Cowboys fans would prefer to not have to watch that same story unfold again, and thankfully, the team looks to be heading in a different direction this offseason. Speaking at the NFL Combine last week, executive vice president, CEO and director of player personnel Stephen Jones gave an outlook of the organization taking a more proactive approach to free agency, adding a new catchphrase to the team’s vernacular.
“Selectively aggressive” is all the rage after the elder Jones’ infamous “all-in” blunder from a year ago. The hope is that the new phrase carries more weight this time around.
However, much like his father’s proclamation, what Stephen Jones said is open for interpretation almost by definition. It has been 13 years since the front office has spent real money on outside free agents, and it’s difficult to see that happening this year. The Cowboys normally have a tight budget due to extending their best players, leaving little wiggle room to add any quality pieces from the open market.
That process has already begun this offseason, Dallas has re-signed defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa to a massive contract, and that’s not even the biggest deal that the team is looking to dole out. Edge rusher Micah Parsons will likely get the largest extension in the league this offseason, adding to the millions that the team will give out to their own players before any additions are made.
The team is also reportedly working on bringing back cornerback Jourdan Lewis and fellow defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, neither of which will come cheap. In addition, the Cowboys re-signed three of their restricted free agents – Brock Hoffman, Juanyeh Thomas and Tyus Wheat – while keeping special teams ace C.J. Goodwin in the fold for another year.
Keeping their own might have been what Stephen Jones meant when he said “selectively aggressive,” which also might jive more with what the owner said after Zack Martin’s retirement press conference. Jerry Jones advised that he doesn’t see free agency as a way to fill the Cowboys’ roster voids.
That sentiment extends another offseason tradition for the Cowboys, conflicting statements coming from the front office. Stephen Jones says one thing, while Jerry Jones hints at the opposite, leaving everyone confused and the team with holes.
Like everything, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Action means more than words, but it’s a positive how the Cowboys appear to have seen the error of their ways last offseason and are going about fixing their mistakes.
Despite not having much cap space to spend on free agents heading into the offseason, the team has navigated around that excuse by restructuring the contracts of quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. The accounting opened up nearly $57 million of cap room, more than enough to keep their own players and add some pieces to improve from last year.
The conversion of Prescott’s and Lamb’s money also begs the question: If the Cowboys aren’t going to be active in free agency – as Jerry says – why would they need to create cap space? Re-signing Parsons would also add space under the cap, depending on how the deal is structured, so where will the money be used if not for free agents?
Retaining Lewis, Lawrence and any other free agent of their own won’t take up all of their cap room, so the money must be earmarked for something. Perhaps the Cowboys will get ahead of a few other contracts of players that will soon be up for extensions, CB DaRon Bland and left guard Tyler Smith fit that description.
If that were the case, it wouldn’t exactly be aggressive in terms of free agency, but it would be proactive in terms of signing young players before their deals ran out. That has consistently been an issue with the Cowboys and locking down young talent before the price goes up would be an excellent use of their cap dollars.
Right now, the Cowboys are operating like a team that will use free agency more than they did last year, which shouldn’t be hard. However, while the organization does appear to be ready to be more aggressive, that doesn’t mean fans should expect the team to pursue the best, most expensive names available.
“Selectively aggressive” likely means a return to the norm for Dallas, they’ll sign outside players, but at near-bargain basement prices, something they didn’t even manage to do last offseason. That seems to be more in line with what Stephen Jones had in mind. That should help with the issues with depth throughout the roster, but it might not do enough to add impact.
Like most things with the Cowboys and the Joneses, we’ll all just have to wait and see what happens. What they say and what they do often aren’t the same. The team might be more aggressive than they were last offseason, but that still might not make them big players in free agency.
Cowboys fans are ready to be surprised, but very few are willing to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune once again.
Do you think the Cowboys will actually be aggressive in free agency? Make your predictions to Ben on X (formerly Twitter) @BenGrimaldi.