With Thursday's official start to NFL free agency closing in, social media is abuzz with various thoughts and rumors. The Dallas Cowboys have 19 unrestricted free agents in 2017, several of them starters and key players from last year's team.
Here is a roundup of the most recent and interesting mentions of Cowboys players in the final days before free agency begins:
Barry Church
A full-time starting safety since 2012, Church isn't a play-maker but puts up high tackling totals every season. Even at 29-years-old, his steady play is expected to draw interest from other teams.
Arizona among list of suitors interested in #Cowboys S Barry Church. Started off as a bargain at 4M, as interest grows could now expect 6-7M
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) March 7, 2017
The Cardinals aren't the only team to be linked to Church.
Panthers are expected to make a run at Cowboys Free Agent safety Barry Church. (via @BlackBlueReview)
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 6, 2017
You can be sure that there are some other teams interested in Barry who haven't let it be made public. As Jane Slater noted, Church's next contract is going to keep getting larger as the process unfolds. As many have already projected, it should put him outside of Dallas' price range.
Terrance Williams
If you were hoping that Dallas might re-sign Williams this offseason, this projection isn't going to make you happy:
https://twitter.com/CharlesRobinson/status/838590841941803009
If true, that contract would certainly make Terrance too expensive for the Cowboys. However, I don't think it's a slam dunk that he's going to get a big contract. As I wrote about last week, Williams is a minor name in a loaded free agent WR group. We will have to wait and see what effect that has on his future.
Jack Crawford
For the last few years, the British-born Crawford has been a steady reserve defensive lineman who can play both end or tackle. Other teams must have noticed:
#Cowboys DE Jack Crawford has interest from roughly 5 teams as of now. Chance he could return to Dallas. #Colts, #Bills & #Jaguars in play
— Jason Cole (@JasonCole62) March 6, 2017
Dallas probably wouldn't bring Crawford back for much more than the $1.1 million he played for last season. If there are several other teams interested, we could see his market value quickly move beyond what the Cowboys are willing to pay.
Anthony Brown & Morris Claiborne
While this tweet was from two weeks ago, it's still worth sharing now.
https://twitter.com/Andy_Benoit/status/834470582372687873
If you don't know Benoit, he's one of the national analysts for Sports Illustrated and a lot of his work is based on film review. This ringing endorsement of Anthony Brown should make any Cowboys fan happy, especially with Brown likely mToving into a starting role this year.
