Is the Cowboys’ Approach to Free Agency Limiting Success?

It’s no secret that the Dallas Cowboys are not very active in free agency, choosing instead to draft and develop players while signing veteran players on manageable contracts. Every now and then the team will make a splash in the trade market, like in 2019 when they sent their first-round pick to the then Oakland Raiders for Amari Cooper. Aside from that, the Cowboys have had a very conservative approach to signing talent.

In an off-season that we finally saw the Cowboys and Dak Prescott agree to a deal, a deal that had more than a $15 million difference in the cap hit, it wasn’t too hard to conceive the idea that they could use the extra cap room to acquire talent. However, it looks like more of the same in Dallas.

Senior ESPN reporter Josina Anderson tweeted out the Cowboys’ approach to free agency will stay the course.

https://twitter.com/JosinaAnderson/status/1371850942686105604

The Cowboys used to be known for Jerry Jones’s high spending and flashy moves. Sometimes they would hit, like the signings of Terrell Owens, Deion Sanders, and Leonard Davis. Sometimes they would miss like trading for Receiver Roy Williams or Adam “Pac-Man” Jones. In either instance, they showed they were willing to go any and all routes to compete.

In recent, more conservative years, the Cowboys have had some success by making the post-season, but have yet to even make it as far as to the NFC Championship game.

Looking at recent Super Bowl winners and even the teams that participated in the conference championships, they all drafted, made key trades, and signed outside free agents. For example, look at the effect the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made signing Tom Brady last offseason, going from 7-9 to win it all the next season, or how good the Browns have become over the past few seasons adding players like Jack Conklin, Austin Hooper, and Kareem Hunt, leading to their first playoff appearance since 2002.

Drafting and developing your own talent is important, and what should be the first focus since that’s where these relationships have started. However, when you limit your approach to team building, you’re limiting your team’s success.

Jerry Jones is a shrewd businessman, but even he should know you got to spend money to make money, and the Cowboys haven’t spent enough.