Category: News and Notes

If the Cowboys are going to add any veteran depth with a free agent signing or two, now is the time. The coaches have seen enough early work that they know where the roster’s real thin spots are, and there are experienced players who can come in for the right price and be a Band-Aid. We’ll look at several options in all the right positions.

Elsewhere, we’re ranking the league’s backup quarterbacks and offensive lines; where the Cowboys fall on each list may surprise. Speaking of surprises, T.J. Vasher may have unexpectedly made a name for himself in OTAs. We’ll look at where the Cowboys’ WR room, once a money pit for the team’s finances, sits now that Amari Cooper is gone. We’re talking the importance of Jayron Kearse, why the home of the Cowboys won’t help kick off the college football season this year, and what former Dallas defender Greg Ellis will be doing on Saturdays this fall. All that, plus the USFL will be back for more in 2023. Here’s the News and Notes.

Was the 2021 Cowboys defense great simply because it created a ton of takeaways? Or was it a great defense that also happened to rack up interceptions and fumbles in bunches? Those worried that the unit won’t be able to collect turnovers at the same rate this upcoming season may take solace in data that shows that fewer takeaways doesn’t necessarily mean fewer wins.

Elsewhere, Mike McCarthy may be looking to create some competition at the kicker position in Oxnard, CeeDee Lamb reveals his wide receiver role models, the Cowboys rank high when it comes to team-friendly contracts, and the team makes the wrong list when it comes to offseason moves. Also, celebrating Jesse Holley’s signature moment with 77 days to go before the season opener, a way-too-early mock draft has Dallas going back to the ‘backers, a new deal for Sunday Ticket may be coming into focus, and the story of a feared Cowboys defender who bravely became a trailblazer long after he left the game. All that, plus Micah Parsons shows off his new custom-made bling. News and Notes, coming right up.

The Cowboys and their starting tight end have hit an impasse in their contract negotiations, it seems. With three weeks until his franchise tag salary locks in, Dalton Schultz himself was in Nashville, putting himself through the paces with over 80 other tight ends at TEU, the position-specific camp put on by a few of the league’s biggest superstars. And with one of the game’s most recognized tight ends suddenly calling it a career, could that team be looking at Schultz as a trade target?

Elsewhere, Micah Parsons is hoping to build off last year’s sack numbers and put his name in the record books, Terence Steele looks to continue his improvement along the offensive line by fine-tuning the fundamentals, and once-embattled coach Jason Garrett has a unique perspective on what Mike McCarthy is feeling as he heads into what many are considering a make-or-break season. All that and more in this edition of News and Notes.

Notehing like some hypothetical mind games to pass the time between minicamp and training camp. The Cowboys staff writers engage in a little what-if wondering as they’re asked about moving cornerback Trevon Diggs back to wide receiver, where he started in college at Alabama. It’s an interesting idea, given his evident ball skills…

Also in the alternate reality genre, make sure to play our build-a-team game, assembling your own Cowboys all-star offense with a $15 budget.

Elsewhere in the news, we’re looking at whether finally beating Tom Brady just got easier, we’re ranking the NFL’s divisions by quarterback, and we’re champing at the bit to hear if the Cowboys will bust out the white throwback helmets this season. The team is making good on its promise to work on reducing penalties, a Cowboys legend believes that HBCUs have always been good enough to compete on the national stage, we’re picking a rookie to keep an eye on in 2022, and we’re watching Jerry Jones get even richer. All that, plus Oxnard dates and saying goodbye to Marion Barber III at a celebration of his life.

It’s the time of year for rankings to get football fans through the break until training camp. It’s more fun, though, when your team’s guys are near the tops of the lists. Trevon Diggs and Zack Martin claim best-of honors for their respective countdowns, but much-maligned Anthony Brown and supposed hot-seat occupier Mike McCarthy place surprisingly high, too.

Elsewhere, we take a look at the biggest storylines that have brought the Cowboys to this pre-training camp break, we preview a big year for center Tyler Biadasz, and we take look at that promise Jerry Jones made about Jimmy Johnson being enshrined in the team’s Ring of Honor. Also, dynasty legend Nate Newton attains football immortality in the Black College Football Hall of Fame, Jason Garrett welcomes a special guest, George Teague can’t get any respect… and Tom Landry had to go to court to defend Danny White??? We recognize the anniversary of a strange sidenote in Cowboys history. That’s all ahead in News and Notes.

Power ranking random NFL-related topics is a staple of the offseason. This week multiple rankings aired from PFF and CBS Sports that all showed the Cowboys serious love. Dan Quinn and Kellen were bothh named the league’s second-best coordinator for their respective sides of the ball, and Ezekiel Elliot showed enough while healthy in 2021 to remain a top-10 running back.

This week Mike McCarthy was fined $100K and the Cowboys were penalized one 2023 practice for OTA violations- more specifically, “excessive contact.” However, Dallas wasn’t the only NFC East team to be hit with that penalty, as the Washington Commanders were docked the same fine and two future practices. Elsewhere around the division, the Eagles front offices has another shake-up, and the latest on the Giants’ looming potential decisions in their wide receiver room.

Plus, the imminent Zack Martin-vs-Jordan Davis matchup has fans of all teams excited, Jerry Jones continues to vaguely commit to Mike McCarthy, and will Dak Prescott regain some of his mobility and willingness to run in 2023?

The Cowboys had better hope they come out of the gates swinging and then make a deep playoff run. If they don’t, there will be those who point to this week as the reason why. After just one mandatory practice session, head coach Mike McCarthy has made the (perhaps) stunning decision to scrap the two remaining sessions of minicamp and send everyone home until training camp in Oxnard. The players enjoyed some off-campus team-building with golf clubs and had Thursday nixed from the schedule entirely. Die-hards will say a team that got embarrassed in the postseason should be logging every practice rep they can get, but actually, teams around the league are getting back to the notion of the offseason being… well… a season off.

Elsewhere, Jerry Jones finally puts his foot down, squarely on that story from the spring about how the mayor of Dallas wants another NFL team to play inside the city limits. It’s not going to happen, says the most influential man in the league. We may now have some idea of what Sean Payton’s price tag will look like, thanks to a story out of Miami. The Cowboys rank among the best in the business when it comes to pass-rush tandems, and one member of that duo is literally in a class by himself, according to the metrics. All that, plus strange-looking new safety gear makes its debut in Dallas, and a longtime Cowboys scribe prepare to sign off… for now. That’s all up in News and Notes.

With just over month until the Cowboys take the field for training camp, there are a few positions with little to no questions to be answered, such as quarterback. However, there may be at least five starting spots that are potentially up for grabs to the most impressive player throughout the summer. An early 53-man roster prediction does it’s best to forecast the outcome of those upcoming position battles.

It was announced late this week that Cowboys’ Ring of Honor running back Don Perkins died at the age of 84, making him the second notable former Dallas ball carrier to pass away this month after the news of Marion Barber III. Find out more about Perkins eight years in Dallas, and Barber’s former teammate’s recent comments about his passing. Plus, rankings of NFL wide receiver rooms, NFC quarterbacks, and  coverage defenders from 2021 in this edition of news and notes.

It’s still just June and things are already getting heated for the Dallas Cowboys. We’ve got the latest from a steamy OTA session, including two players who had to be separated at practice, and news of one veteran who’s now lost for the season. Coach Mike McCarthy says he’s being “smart” regarding the workload with three months to go before the season opener, but one outlet reminds that he’s already fighting for his job.

Elsewhere, the coach weighs in on his missing starting tight end, and he offers guidance to a group of high school assistants on their way up the ladder. The team is nearing a reckoning- for better or worse- for the way they’ve handled their offseason business, and the stats show what fans have said all along: that the Cowboys are singularly faithful (or stubborn) when it comes to the players they pick. All that, plus the latest in the Jerry Jones paternity lawsuit, a look at how Deion Sanders is shaking up the college football landscape, and Jason Garrett is coming to Sunday nights. That’s all ahead in this edition of News and Notes.