Two big names remain out in the wilds of the NFL’s free agent market right now. Running back Dalvin Cook and receiver DeAndre Hopkins are still looking for new homes.
The Dallas Cowboys’ fan base has been clamoring for Jerry Jones to sign one, or both, of them. In the pre-salary cap days odds are Jones would have done just that.
But with the cap in play, getting either or both is a challenge. Especially when Dallas wants to extend players currently on the roster.
How do you fit Cook or Hopkins into the mix without ending up losing another player? Or even worse, ending up in salary cap hell?
But it isn’t just money, short-or-long term, that should drive the decision. Looking at the Cowboys roster as is, do they need to even add another player at this point?
Roster Looks Solid As Is
Aside from the kicker, and those run pretty cheap salary-wise, Dallas appears to be in solid shape up and down the roster.
The only questions injury-wise right now are on offense. Michael Gallup is showing signs of being fully recovered from his 2021 injury.
By all accounts, Tony Pollard looks to be on track to be fully ready to play at 100% by August if not sooner. The only injury concern on defense is cornerback Jourdan Lewis.
Barring injury, and that is a daily concern, the Cowboys’ roster looks ready to go for 2023. So, do they hit the market or stand pat?
You Can Never Have Enough Weapons
The old adage: You’d rather have it and not need it as opposed to needing it and not having it has some merit.
Cook would bring an average of 82 yards rushing and 25 yards receiving per game from Minnesota. He’s only 28 and would fit in with the Cowboys’ running back by committee approach.
Hopkins is 30, and has not played a full season since 2020. He still averages 78 yards a game and a touchdown every other game. But his last double-digit touchdowns season was in 2018.
There are a few defensive free agents out there that could also help. Cornerback Marcus Peters, end Jadeveon Clowney or even tackle Ndamukong Suh.
Suh could really plug up the middle for the Cowboys’ rush defense, a glaring weakness from last season. But again, do the Cowboys really need any of them?
What Is The Mindset At The Star?
In the end it will come down to what the gameplan is in Frisco. Are the Cowboys in a “win it this year at all costs” mode?
Jerry Jones is in his 80s. His time on this Earth is closer to its end than its beginning. If he thinks this is the year he might go all in.
It would mean sacrificing the long term plans for a few years. But look at the Eagles’ recent success.
They won a Super Bowl. Then blew up the roster and the coaching staff and got back to the Super Bowl five years later.
Its been 26 years since the Cowboys last appeared in a Super Bowl. Maybe going all in to get one now isn’t such a bad idea. They could easily retool and be back again in a few years, just like the Eagles did.
But if the plan is to be competitive every year, then look for Dallas to stand pat, unless there’s a major injury.
In the end, if they do decide to roll the dice with the current roster, that roster and coaching staff had better get it done. Nothing less than the NFC title game this year will do.
Because there’s a lot of free agent players and coaches out there itching for a chance to prove they can get the Cowboys back to the Super Bowl if the current group can’t.