Free Agency Opens: Cowboys Top 10 Decisions - Ranked, Dak Prescott On Down
FRISCO - As the old saying goes, "The Super Bowl can't be won in March - but it can be lost.''
Using that logic? The Dallas Cowboys' defining point in the offseason is here, as what transpires over the next couple of weeks in terms of roster-building could determine whether the 2024 season sees "America's Team'' in the playoffs for the fourth straight season. ...
Or, done right, maybe "in the playoffs'' can be topped by true postseason success and real Super Bowl contention.
That path begins now, with our Top 10 Dallas Decisions ... ranked in order of importance. Here goes ...
Micah Parsons & CeeDee Lamb & Dak Prescott
1) THE DAK DOMINO - With the contract situation of Dak Prescott looming as the biggest domino to fall (or not to fall), much of what the Cowboys can and can't do rests on the outcome of that contract battle.
Create a contract extension and the Cowboys are able to do some free agency business. Wait until August, per one rumor? We truly have no idea why the Joneses would do so, but that hamstrings the process.
Do nothing at all, leaving alone Dak's bloated $59.4 million cap hit for 2024 while risking losing him to free agency after 2024? It simply makes no sense.
One way or another, this is the biggie.
2) LAMB CHOPPED - A contract extension for CeeDee Lamb is inevitable, and the beauty of it, cap-wise, is that a deal that pays him near $30 million APY (which is our best guess) can actually create $7 million to $10 million of 2024 room.
It takes two to tango here. Proactivity would be helpful.
3) TYRON'S TIME - If the iconic Tyron Smith is allowed to leave via free agency, as it appears will be the case? Fine, assuming two things: One, that his new team blows him away with a salary that would've been unwise for Dallas to pay, and two, that there is a succession plan.
That plan doesn't have to reveal itself until the NFL Draft in April. But the Cowboys have seen Tyron's horizon for years. It would be inexcusable to be caught with their pants down now.
Oh, and center Tyler Biadasz is going free, too. Even with studs Zack Martin and Tyler Smith as incumbents, a true rebuild is needed.
4) WHERE'S THE BEEF? - The Cowboys are vowing to get "beefier'' in their run defense. Bringing back Johnathan Hankins would help maintain the 2023 level; signing somebody like Grover Stewart from the Colts would help increase that level.
5) 'BACKERS AGAINST THE WALL - Working on the assumption that Leighton Vander Esch will succumb to injury-forced retirement, Dallas needs big-time help here. There is no size and there is no depth. The debut of the rehabbing 2023 rookie DeMarvion Overshown might help. Finding out of aging All-Pro Eric Kendricks from Minnesota thinks coordinator Mike Zimmer is a "jerk'' would, too.
How about Patrick Queen, the Ravens star? That seems pricy at maybe $18 mil APY.
How about Jordyn Brooks, the Texas native? That seems pricy at maybe $15 million APY.
By the way, a goodbye to LVE in any form gives Dallas $2 million of cap room.
6) MOVING MONEY, EASILY - Dallas "flipped the switch'' on Zack Martin's contract in order to get under the cap for this week; but that's only about cap compliance. To actually make moves?
The Cowboys figure to soon "flip the switches'' on the contracts of Trevon Diggs and Terence Steele as well. Those two can create $13 million of room. And because they are young players, the "kicking the can'' effect is not problematic.
7) MOVING MONEY, NOT SO EASY - DeMarcus Lawrence's deal could be restructured in a way that gives Dallas $7 million. Why is this "not so easy''? Because now you really are "kicking the can'' with a player in his 30's.
But ... hey, if Dallas is "all in'' for 2024 in the traditional sense? Go for it!
8) RUNNING ON EMPTY? - CowboysSI.com broke the story this weekend of Dallas' premium plan, which includes the re-signing of Tony Pollard. That's not as sexy as all of the Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry stories. But it's the most accurate story.
The problem with the Pollard angle: How does it make Dallas better?
9) THE LESSER LIGHTS - Stephon Gilmore is aging and coming off surgery and joins fellow DBs Jayron Kearse and Jourdan Lewis as question marks here. Same with defensive ends Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler and with special-team ace C.J. Goodwin. The Cowboys are going to see some of that group get twice what they're willing to pay (Armstrong?) ... and there will be a bottom-of-the-roster churn.
How badly do the guys in that group want to stay at The Star? We're about to find out. ... Because we bet Dallas isn't winning any bidding wars here.
10) SPEAKING OF WAR - The Cowboys have superstar Micah Parsons under contract for two more years. They don't "need'' to do anything. But the lack of "all-in'' proactivity here is bothersome. And eventually, it's going to bother Parsons.
The Cowboys front office could send a message of commitment to the locker room and (admittedly far less important) to the fan base - while also saving money long-term - by cementing in a "Cowboy for Life'' deal for Parsons.
Remember that explosive "lack of commitment'' story that oozed out of The Star recently? If the Joneses do harbor any serious intention to be Super Bowl hopefuls, they might need to convince their own people of their "serious intentions.''
And it doesn't get more "serious'' than making Micah Parsons the highest-paid defensive player in the history of the sport.
