It’s going to be an important offseason for the Dallas Cowboys.
What a season it was for the Cowboys. Pat Kirwin of CBSSports.com said that this would win just six games. That was the expectation for the Cowboys. Going into the season, Dallas had a defense that many thought would be the worst in the history of the NFL and there was good reasoning for that. Not only did they release DeMarcus Ware and not re-sign Jason Hatcher over the offseason, but they also lost Sean Lee in OTAs for the season with a torn ACL.
You also have to remember that Tony Romo was coming back from his second major back surgery, DeMarco Murray was still unreliable, and Dez Bryant’s contract issue was a lingering concern. Despite all that, the Cowboys finished the season 12-4 and to say they exceeded expectations is a ridiculous understatement. After their 26-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Cowboys’ offseason has officially started and it is up to Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones to devise a plan for success in 2015.
In this article, I will give a step-by-step plan for the Cowboys to have the best offseason before the 2015 season. For starters, the first thing I need to discuss is their cap situation. Although the Cowboys have $9.8 million in cap space, they have $8 million in dead money. Dallas is entering the offseason under the salary cap for the first time in a few years, however, they will need to re-sign many players in the offseason and the main ones being Bryant and Murray.
The first and most important thing the Cowboys need to do this offseason, given the timetable of the coaching carousel, is re-sign Jason Garrett. After four seasons as the full-time head coach, not counting his interim stint in 2010, Garrett’s foundation is starting to hit its stride. At the beginning of his coaching career, Garrett said that it’s a process and the patience Jerry Jones showed in Garrett is finally paying off. The Atlanta Falcons have been rumored to be interested in Garrett and the Cowboys need to make sure they lock him up long-term.
Considering coaching salary doesn’t count against the cap, the Cowboys will be able to spend freely on Garrett. The next thing the Cowboys must do is to negotiate a deal with Bryant. People debate whether the Cowboys should sign Bryant or Murray first, but the reality is that Bryant is a freak and you can put a ton of running backs behind this offensive line and have similar success.
The Cowboys are a bit wary of signing Bryant long-term and even though Bryant loves being a Cowboy, he has stated before they the Cowboys should not test his loyalty. Sure Bryant has had some problems in the past, but he has matured since then and Bryant has ultimately become a leader on this team. Bryant is perhaps the best receiver in all of football and it’s hard to imagine this team having the success they had this season without Bryant. It will cost money, but the Cowboys need to re-sign Bryant long-term.
Signing Bryant would take a big chunk out of their salary space, but they also need to restructure some deals. The biggest decision this offseason will be whether to re-sign Murray. Although Murray is one of the best running backs in the league, the Cowboys need to smart and re-signing Murray long-term or even franchising him would cost a ton of money. That being said, the Cowboys should use the duo of Joseph Randle and Lance Dunbar, rather than shelling out a ton of cash for Murray.
Outside of Bryant and Murray, the Cowboys have a ton of free agents and there are some players they need to look into. Although Doug Free played better in 2014, he’s going to cost a lot of money and the Cowboys would benefit better by starting Jermey Parnell at right tackle and developing a young right tackle in this year’s draft. Decisions will be made on Bruce Carter and Justin Durant, but I believe the former will return, while Durant won’t come back. I don’t see Anthony Spencer or George Selvie coming back as the Cowboys need to get more talented at the defensive end position.
Rolando McClain is another guy the Cowboys need to bring back in 2015. He played unbelievably in 2014 and he is definitely worthy of a second contract. Dwayne Harris is likely to return as he brings great value to special teams and depth at the receiver position. Sterling Moore is another guy who will return as he has turned his career around in Dallas. Two more guys who are most likely to return are Cole Beasley and C.J. Spillman as both are x-factors for this football team.
Dallas may have enough money for a few pass-rushers and the best guys I can see coming to Dallas at the right price are Alex Carrington and Jarvis Jenkins. Without a ton of money in free agency, the Cowboys will need to fill their holes through the draft. Dallas’ biggest needs are on the defensive line and in the secondary. I expect the Cowboys to look into prospects like Alvin Dupree and Owamagbe Odighizuwa.
Obviously, the Cowboys found success last offseason and they will be more than capable of doing so this offseason. It looks like Jerry is starting to pass the torch to Stephen and that is not bad news for Cowboys fans. Losing to the Packers is an extremely tough pill to swallow, but if the Cowboys have a good offseason, they will find themselves in the playoffs for the second consecutive. After their 2014 season, the Cowboys are officially back and they are a good offseason away from a run at a sixth Super Bowl.
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