For die-hard NFL fans, the free agency period is as fun as any other week in the regular season. It’s always a fun experience knowing what team is interested in which player and who’s visiting who. Heck, there are websites with “free agents trackers” for people who don’t want to miss a single thing.
Seeing the huge contracts some players get and discussing whether it’s well-deserved money or an overpaid salary provides football fans all around the league with fun football conversations in the middle of March.
This is a period in which, despite not being on the field, every NFL team is doing the same thing. Trying to get better. Which is exactly why most Dallas Cowboys fans are frustrated with how things have gone for their favorite team in this 2018 NFL offseason.
Right now, less than a week after the free agency period officially began, they’re the only team left in the NFL that hasn’t signed a single free agent.
Surprising? Not at all.
Whether we like it or not, we know how this team likes to operate. A quiet free agency isn’t out of the ordinary for the Cowboys. For many years, the NFL Draft has been the priority for them, and they’ve done a good job at it.
At the end of the day, waiting for the first wave of free agents to pass is smart unless you’re looking for a QB or have a huge amount of cap space. When you look at what players are getting, you realize most of them are overpaid. Sammy Watkins got a $48M three-year deal, when he hasn’t really proved to be worth it.
I don’t think Cowboys Nation would’ve liked to see the Jones family bring Watkins for that kind of money. Personally, I don’t mind the Cowboys’ front office letting those first expensive signings occur without them participating in them.
I mean, they’ve already made a splash, when you think about it. DeMarcus Lawrence was the biggest non-QB free agent of the year and they managed to keep him for at least next season. It’s not exactly a free agent signing, but they are paying one of the NFL’s best pass rushers more than $17M to wear the Star one more year.
Yes, the Cowboys’ team-building philosophy is comprehensible. But when do fans like you and me stop understanding their offseason approach and get bothered by it? To me, that frustration came in the form of Tyrann Mathieu signing with the other NFL team in Texas.
If the Honey Badger had signed a super expensive contract, I’d be fine with the Cowboys passing on him. But Houston was able to get him for just seven million dollars on a one-year prove-it deal.
Mathieu is one of the best defensive talents in the league and will be just 26 years old when next season begins. Why didn’t the Cowboys tried to land him, if safety is a position of need? I mean, we’ve been talking about a potential trade for Earl Thomas all year!
Were they hesitant just because the Honey Badger isn’t your traditional safety? Are they so conservative that their reason to not go after him was he wasn’t a scheme fit? When you’re talking about a talent like his, I think you make things work to see him thrive along young and promising cornerbacks like Jourdan Lewis and Chidobe Awuzie.
The Cowboys can still look at Tier-2 free agents such as TE Eric Ebron or S Kenny Vaccaro over the following days. It could end up working for them, or it could end up just like Nolan Carroll’s horrendous game versus the Broncos in week 2 of the 2017 NFL season and his $2M in dead money for this year.
When it comes to the Cowboys’ approach to free agency, there’s a very thin line between comprehension and frustration. Maybe, just maybe, they make us understand next season when we see results on the field.
For now though, it’s tough to stay in the “comprehending” side of things.
