NFL roster building is a balancing act. With a limited amount of cash and draft resources available, teams like the Cowboys have to pick and choose where, and to what degree, they should invest. Some teams invest heavily on the defense. Others like to push resources to the offense. Some teams primarily invest in their lines while others like to pay skill players. As the saying goes, “different strokes, for different folks.”
With big contracts coming due for multiple ascending players on the Dallas roster, the Cowboys need to decide what kind of investors they plan to be.
Currently, the club has a significant percentage of their cap dedicated to the passing attack.Moving forward, will they continue to focus in on this specific area of the team or will they spread the wealth throughout the roster?
Paul Dehner Jr. at The Athletic was discussing this very topic being debated in Cincinnati. Joe Burrow is about to cash in on an enormous second contract and his top two downfield weapons, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, won’t be far behind him. All three rank at the top of their profession and at least two of the three are expected to reset the market (Burrow and Chase).
Dedicating that much money to the passing game comes at a cost. The salary cap isn’t quite as “zero-sum” as Stephen Jones makes it out to be, but money is finite and sacrifices will need to be made if these three players assume +30% of the Bengals cap.
The Cowboys are in a similar situation themselves. Is it wise?