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2024 Dallas Cowboys Offseason Tracker


MaddHatter

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15 minutes ago, MaddHatter said:

So Dak at $60m (likely down to $30-40m Y1 on new deal) is now 18% of our cap.

Not even a quarter of it. 

It's been shown by quite a few people they can extend the guys they want to free up space to be aggressive in FA. 

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7 hours ago, D82 said:

Not even a quarter of it. 

It's been shown by quite a few people they can extend the guys they want to free up space to be aggressive in FA. 

Which honestly isn't a bad idea, considering how close the team has been to taking that next step. It's always something stupid that seems to hold them back - and it isn't talent. We could point fingers at specific plays, or players. But the fact is it takes a minimum of 24 players to lose a game, and that's just the starting lineups.

Keeping the talent together makes sense with this sort of cap increase. My only issue is that you also handcuff yourself and hinder the ability to grow when you do that. Are you likely to select potentially the next Mahomes, or Montana, or Marino etc when you have a QB making that kind of money? No. Are you likely to trade up for the next Jerry Rice, or Larry Fitzgerald, when you are laying Lamb what he will command? Probably not, either.

The thing here is, these guys have shown they are worth paying and retaining. And now the money is there for it. But I still think they should be careful in doing so, because the last thing you want is to pass up tremendous opportinities, even if it's with an unknown commodity, because you overpaid to retain the known commodity. 

The decisions aren't mine to make. But if they were, no one would get a new contract this season. There are still too many factors to think about, and if we are giving this staff and roster another chance to improve on 12 wins and an early playoff exit, then let it play out with the idea that if an opportunity arises in the draft, you take it, knowing well that you haven't fully committed to anyone yet. No matter how good they are.

Then once you see how this season plays out, you can make your decisions from there. If you, for instance, trade up for Marvin Harrison Jr to give Lamb a running mate, you then have some leverage to talk him down from the 26 or 27 mil a year he will probably seek. Ideally you keep them together at any price. But the leverage is there. If for instance somehow Daniels and all of his playmaking ability slides, you make that hard choice and select him. Knowing that your commitment to Dak is nearing an end, and if he brings the glory, you can still easily commit to him and move Daniels; and if not, you've both leverage and preparation (with Lance and Daniels waiting to compete) to move on from Dak if his on field merits don't justify his numbers.

The Cowboys are in a great position right now to simply continue building the best roster they can with nothing holding them back from making big moves on draft day or free agency. If they begin recommitting to guys like Dak,Biadasz and Pollard, and start extending guys like Lamb and Parsons and Bland early, you lose that positioning. And may inadvertently be committing to a a constant "good, but not good enough" scenario.

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Here's a random prediction: if available, the Cowboys will either draft Sweat (DT) Texas or Colson (LB) UM so that they can pair up with a former teammate (Overshown LB Texas and Smith DT Michigan) as Zimmer views the DT / LB dynamic as extremely closely related and may think that pairing former teammates back together will helps secure that run D hole faster.

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9 hours ago, WizardHawk said:

Gross, but I’ve expected it.

If it’s only 3 years, then that should speak volumes to all of us. It could mean that it can easily be canceled to move on from him, or the deal will be designed to be extended/reworked every year to reduce the cap charge, or both.

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4 hours ago, MaddHatter said:

Here's a random prediction: if available, the Cowboys will either draft Sweat (DT) Texas or Colson (LB) UM so that they can pair up with a former teammate (Overshown LB Texas and Smith DT Michigan) as Zimmer views the DT / LB dynamic as extremely closely related and may think that pairing former teammates back together will helps secure that run D hole faster.

As much as we need (and I always want) o-line, drafting Sweat AND Colson would be pretty sweet. Both of them are viewed as 2nd/3rd round guys (depending on which site you look at), so we could conceivably pursue both of them and address o-line in the 1st round. IMO, both Sweat and Colson are plug and play guys who will anchor their spots for 7-10 years.

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