The Dallas Cowboys past meets their present this week when the Buffalo Bills come to town on Turkey Day… better known as Thanksgiving. Cole Beasley, a onetime fan favorite around Cowboys Nation will return to his old stomping grounds this Thursday to square off against his replacement, Randall Cobb. This storyline is a small subplot to a much bigger picture for the Cowboys, but still intriguing nonetheless.
After the completion of the 2018 season there was quite a bit of speculation as to whether or not the Dallas Cowboys wanted to keep Cole Beasley around for this foreseeable future. The Cowboys did end up offering Beasley an extension, but he took it as an insult and decided to take his talents to Buffalo instead. As a result, Dallas turned their attention to Randall Cobb and signed him to take over the slot receiver role vacated by Beasley.
Replacing a fan favorite (Beasley) with Randall Cobb didn't go over well with a lot of fans, especially considering Cobb's recent injury history. But, the Cowboys brass thought otherwise and made the move regardless of the displeasure of some fans. Was it the right decision? Who has had the better 2019 season, Beasley or Cobb?
Well, let's find out…
2019 Production
| G | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole Beasley | 11 | 7 | 49 | 525 | 10.7 | 51 | 4 |
| Randall Cobb | 10 | 4 | 39 | 581 | 14.9 | 59 | 3 |
If you go by production alone, both Cole Beasley and Randall Cobb have had pretty similar seasons. Beasley has a slight advantage on receptions and one more touchdown than Cobb, but the latter has more receiving yards and is averaging nearly 5 more yards per catch. I don't know about you, but I would say that's a tossup.
I guess the best way to see if the Dallas Cowboys got the best part of the slot WR small is to follow the money. After all, money speaks in the NFL.
Contract Outlook
Cole Beasley
The Buffalo Bills signed Beasley to a four-year, $29 million contract in the offseason. He received $14.4 million in injury guarantees and $10.7 million of that was fully guaranteed. He also received a $6 million signing bonus and has a guaranteed roster bonus ($2.5 million) and base salary ($2.2 million) in 2019. His cap number this year is $6.9 million.
Randall Cobb
The Dallas Cowboys assigned Cobb to a one-year, $5 million contract with $4 million fully guaranteed. He has a base salary this year of just $2 million and his cap number is $4,562,500 in 2019.
✭✭✭✭✭
If you were to combine the production and what the Dallas Cowboys are currently paying Randall Cobb compared to what the Buffalo Bills are paying Cole Beasley, the Cowboys definitely made a savvy business move.
Let's take a look at the checklist…
Replaced Cole Beasley's production…Check.
Avoided committing a long-term investment in an aging WR…Check.
Saved some much needed moolah…Check, Check, Check!
You can try to analyze the Dallas Cowboys decision to replace Cole Beasley with Randall Cobb till the cows come home, but I think we can all agree they've probably made the right decision. That's not something we been able to say much of here lately, but it's a little refreshing to know this organization isn't completely incompetent.
