By the time this article comes across your feed Thursday morning, free agency will be in full swing after two days of legal tampering.
What do the Dallas Cowboys have to show for it? Re-signing their LS Trent Sieg to a one-year deal at the veteran minimum salary and coaxing a 32-year-old LB Eric Kendricks away from San Francisco.
Literally, nothing else, and Cowboys Nation is losing their minds on social media while GM Jerry Jones sits on a yacht in the Bahamas and Stephen Jones does on-stage interviews at the SXSW music festival.
While being away from The Star during the first few days of free agency is par for the course for them, the angst in Cowboys Nation is at an all-time high.
Many view their absence from Cowboys' headquarters as a sign that they don't plan to participate fully in the free agency frenzy, and the silence up until the signing of Kendricks late Wednesday afternoon didn't help matters.
The playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers is still the most recent image when we think of the team so fuses are short and patience is thin, magnifying every aspect of the situation.
I don't want to speculate, but the relative inactivity of the front office over the first few days begs the question: Could the Cowboys' early offseason strategy point towards a rebuild?
Lack of Extensions
We are all anxiously waiting to hear the news that one or all of the players eligible for contract extensions have signed so we can move forward knowing they are Cowboys for years to come.
The most important extensions Cowboys fans care about are for Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Osa Odighizuwa, and even though it's a year premature, Micah Parsons.
Prescott, Lamb, and Parsons are surely looking to reset the market, but let's examine the most prudent contracts of Dak and CeeDee.
Dak Prescott
As it stands right now, Prescott is set to count a whopping $59 million against the salary cap for the 2024 season.
Prescott is in the final year of his 4yr/$160 million contract, and the cap hit is so large because the Cowboys have already restructured his contract to create space in past seasons.
The restructures now have two void years sitting at the end of his contract that only go away if he signs an extension.
Jerry and Stephen Jones are taking heat from the fanbase, but what many fail to understand is that negotiations are a two-way street.
Todd France, Prescott's agent, is known to be a firm negotiator who fights hard for his clients.
I'd love to be a fly on the wall to see which party is holding up the negotiations, but the most recent report from NFL Insider Jane Slater is that talks have stalled.
Could the Cowboys be content to let Prescott play the final year of his deal as a prove-it season and re-evaluate in 2025?
Or is it Prescott who wants to play out his contract? Woo boy, that's a topic for another article.
CeeDee Lamb
After his performance in 2023, everyone expects the Cowboys to reset the market with CeeDee Lamb's new contract.
Lamb exploded to the top ranks in the NFL in many statistical categories, finishing the season with 135 receptions for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdown receptions.
His salary cap hit in the final year of his deal is just short of $18 million; money that could go a long way to signing free agents for 2024.
Fellow 2020 draft selection Justin Jefferson is also in contract talks, and signing Lamb before Jefferson gets his deal is in the Cowboys' best interest.
Lack of Restructures
Unlike contract extensions, restructures do not need two parties to execute.
The player doesn't lose money during a restructure. The money is just moved to a future year, sometimes two.
For example, after Prescott's contract restructure a couple of years ago, there are now two years of cap hits AFTER his contract expires.
Should he play out his contract without an extension and sign with another team in free agency, the Cowboys will be on the hook for $36 million in 2025 and another $11 million in 2026
You might have a mini heart attack when I tell you that Zack Martin also has void years added to the end of his deal that runs through 2028.
The Cowboys could be in trouble after so many previous restructures, and that may be the reason they are reluctant to restructure more contracts.
Lack of Movement in Free Agency
I know it's only the fourth day of free agency and just the second day of official signings, but Jerry's comments about being “all-in” have Cowboys Nation expecting more.
So many players that fans wanted in Dallas are already signed with other teams, and the contract details are the catalyst for anger.
RB Zack Moss was in talks with the Cowboys but eventually signed with the Cincinnati Bengals.
We later learned that he didn't land in Dallas because his $4 million per season was too rich for the Cowboys.
If they refuse to pay $4 million to a player in a position of need where the top player on the depth chart is 5'5″ and 175 lbs, we might need to prepare ourselves for a down season.
I'm not outright saying the Cowboys are in a state of rebuild, but the signs sure do point in that direction.
This time next week this article may be moot after Prescott and Lamb both sign extensions to provide salary cap relief to add pieces for a Super Bowl run.
If (not when) that happens, we can breathe a sigh of relief but at this point, Cowboys Nation needs to be prepared for a season in which many rookies and backups will be on the field.
Dallas may be saving their best effort at offseason activities for the 2025 season.
