ESPN Cowboy StoryProjected 2020 cap space: $74.0 million
1. Lock up Dak Prescott. Quincy Carter, Anthony Wright, Ryan Leaf, Clint Stoerner, Chad Hutchinson, Quincy Carter, Vinny Testaverde, Drew Henson and Drew Bledsoe. Those are the quarterbacks the Cowboys started between the end of Troy Aikman's run and the beginning of Tony Romo's, and they stumbled onto Romo as an undrafted free agent. When Dallas was ready to replace Romo, owner Jerry Jones had to be talked out of drafting
Johnny Manziel and only ended up with Prescott after the Broncos and Raiders beat him to
Paxton Lynch and
Connor Cook, respectively.
The overwhelming evidence suggests the Cowboys have had virtually no idea of what makes a good quarterback in the draft for two decades now. (If they were really confident Romo was going to turn into a starter, they would have used an actual draft pick on the Eastern Illinois product.) While there are other quarterbacks available in free agency, none of them are in Prescott's league. The 2016 fourth-round pick finished fourth in the NFL in
Total QBR.
It would cost the Cowboys $59.2 million to franchise Prescott twice and $105.6 million to get him a third time, which is right in line with the league's highest-paid quarterbacks. They might not want to pay that much, but after years of signing their homegrown talent to massive extensions, they can't suddenly expect Prescott to take a discount. No, Prescott isn't
Patrick Mahomes. If the Cowboys decide to play hardball or actually move on from Prescott thinking they can just find another quarterback, their chances of finding another Hutchinson or Cook are far greater.
2. Transition tag Amari Cooper on the way to an extension. Given how aggressively the Cowboys restructure deals, they can create plenty of cap room to retain Prescott and at least one of their other star free agents without much effort. Cooper should be the first one to target. Since the start of 2018, Prescott averages 8.2 yards per attempt and a passer rating of 102.3 with Cooper on the field. Those marks fall to 7.0 yards per attempt and 89.5, respectively, without the former Raiders first-rounder.
play
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How Dak and the Cowboys can strike a new deal
Keyshawn Johnson explains how Dak Prescott and the Cowboys could meet in the middle to get a new deal done.
Injuries appear to be part of the reality with Cooper. Even though he has only missed three games in his five-year career, the former Alabama star has spent months of his career battling injuries like plantar fasciitis and ankle sprains. There's no doubting his toughness, but the healthy Cooper we saw swing the division for the Cowboys in 2018 was likely the exception as opposed to the rule.
Even with that reality, the Cowboys can't justify moving on from Cooper after trading away a first-round pick to grab him from the Raiders in 2018. If they can get a deal done with Prescott, they should franchise Cooper; if not, they should start with the transition tag and work quickly toward an extension. There are going to be teams that take a shot at signing Cooper without any compensation attached.
3. Rebuild the defensive line around DeMarcus Lawrence. Beyond re-signing their stars on offense, the Cowboys have major work to do up front on defense.
Robert Quinn,
Michael Bennett,
Maliek Collins,
Christian Covington and
Kerry Hyder are all free agents, and it's probably time to move on from
Tyrone Crawford, who hasn't lived up to a $45 million extension. Those guys combined for more than 3,500 defensive snaps last season, and the only linemen left who played more than 500 snaps for the Cowboys in 2019 is Lawrence.
Randy Gregory is suspended indefinitely, while
Antwaun Woods is likely to return as an exclusive-rights free agent.
Dallas has also turned over its defensive coaching staff, replacing Rod Marinelli and Kris Richard with former 49ers coach Mike Nolan. The defense is likely to stick with four down linemen as its base defense package, which means it needs to do some work. Woods might figure in as a run-plugging defensive tackle, but the Cowboys likely need to give him help and find a penetrator to play alongside hum. They would surely love to bring back Quinn, but if we assume that he gets a bigger deal elsewhere, Nolan will need a starter across from Lawrence and a replacement for Bennett behind them. If the Cowboys can convince Crawford to come back on a reduced salary, he would figure in as part of the tackle rotation, but there are four or five players the team realistically needs to add this offseason.
Nolan just came over from the Saints, where he was linebackers coach; there's not a flood of defensive linemen leaving New Orleans, but I wonder if the Cowboys might look at
David Onyemata, who was a solid starter for the Saints and is likely to leave in free agency. Former Packers standout
Mike Daniels might also look to reunite with new Dallas coach Mike McCarthy after a frustrating season in Detroit. In the much bigger picture, you can't count out the Cowboys in the
Jadeveon Clowney pursuit, even if it means paying two defensive ends like franchise players.
4. Sign a star defensive back. The Cowboys don't appear to have much interest in retaining cornerback
Byron Jones, who is likely to get something close to top-of-the-market money in free agency. Safeties
Darian Thompson and
Jeff Heath are both free agents, and while the latter has seemingly been with the Cowboys since the Jimmy Johnson days, safety is due for a refresh.
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Watch on ESPN+The team seemed to signal that it wanted to make a significant investment at safety near the trade deadline when it was
reportedly attempting to add
Jamal Adams from the Jets, which would have likely cost a first-round pick. While I don't think the Adams negotiations are likely to open up again, I wonder if they're more likely to target safeties than cornerbacks this offseason.
Just based on their new coaching staff, the Cowboys could target
Vonn Bell of the Saints and former Packers standout
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Picking No. 17 over in April's draft, though, they could also target LSU's
Grant Delpit, who is one of the top safeties in this class. In
his most recent mock draft, Todd McShay has them preferring Alabama safety
Xavier McKinney. Either way, it wouldn't be shocking see the Cowboys looking toward safety in Round 1.
5. Find a solution at tight end. Jason Witten returned to the Cowboys after a year here at ESPN and basically re-created the season he had before retiring; he caught 63 passes on 87 targets for 560 yards and five touchdowns in 2017, then returned with 63 catches on 83 targets for 529 yards and four touchdowns last season. He is going to be a reliable set of hands who catches the ball 8 yards downfield and falls down (he ranks 135th out of 140 receivers in average yards after catch) for as long as he wants.
It's unclear whether he will play in 2020 or if he'll do so for the Cowboys, with rumors linking Witten to a season in New York with new Giants offensive coordinator (and former Dallas coach) Jason Garrett. The Cowboys will likely bring Witten, 37, back for another season if he wants to return, but they will need a short-term starter if he doesn't. This is also a position the team should look to address with a younger player for the long term, although given the work they have to do on defense, they might have to put it off until 2021.
