Category: News and Notes

It’s that time of the offseason when everyone wants to play matchmaker. Which free agents would be good fits for which new teams? Which former player would benefit from a reunion with his old club? Who deserves another chance with their team after a one-year trial and who should move on to try again somewhere else? On the day the franchise tag window opened, there were plenty of present and former Cowboys being talked about in league circles.

In this edition of News and Notes, we look at where several high-profile Cowboys might end up, while one of them is speaking publicly about the pluses of staying put. A former quarterback gets a new lease on football life in an old league’s redux effort, and a linebacking fan favorite is suddenly without a home. We explore how another linebacker’s contract is still costing the team even though he’s long gone, and we preview Dak Prescott’s imminent rise within the ranks of Cowboys legends. All that, plus a small-school stud is spotlighted by a Hall of Famer, and the franchise recognizes two of its all-time icons on a one-of-a-kind day on the calendar.

The Cowboys front office had an inkling they might find themselves right here. It turns out they structured Amari Cooper’s contract for the exact scenario they’re in right now, with a top-paid wide receiver who simply isn’t performing in kind. Whether they climb through their carefully designed escape hatch in the next month remains to be seen.

Also in the News and Notes, the NFL scraps its plan for a COVID bubble in Indianapolis, Dallas loses a special teams assistant to an opportunity with another club, and exploring the best- and worst-case scenarios for the Super-Bowl-or-bust Cowboys under Mike McCarthy. We’re looking at what to do at the tight end position, what’s on the shopping list come draft day, and five trades that might be worth making. All that, plus the top 101 players in the league (and which Cowboys make the cut), how the rookies graded out, and a Day 3 linebacker who may have saved his best performance for his final game of college.

The NFL’s scouting combine has turned into a massive event over the years, satisfying many fans’ thirst for offseason football action. But as the league looks to exercise more control over the proceedings, their demands may end up squeezing the life out of this year’s slate of drills and workouts. New rules put in place for the upcoming combine are meeting with stiff resistance; a large contingent of players and agents are now threatening to boycott the event entirely and focus instead on college pro days. Expect the fight to get louder and uglier as the combine dates approach.

Also in the news, we’re scouring the college ranks to learn more about a small-school wideout with big skills and an ACC star who could nevertheless fall in the first round. We’re scanning the free agent lists for potential replacements for a Dallas pass-catcher widely thought to be moving on, we’re spotlighting the Cowboys free agents who are the most underrated options on the market at their positions, and we’re looking into why the talk of releasing two bona fide superstars calls into question a much bigger issue for the team. All that, plus another former Cowboys assistant is getting his OC wings, Dallas projects to be tops in the league in a key analytics category, and we’re ranking the best cornerback tandems in team history. News and Notes, coming right up.

It’s a true sampler platter of news items to close out a momentous week in Dallas. While the NFL officially announced that it would not be pursuing the Rich Dalrymple scandal further, there will no doubt be some degree of lingering fallout for the organization in the weeks and months to come, even if only from fans who are angry about the details of the alleged incidents, the way the victims were hushed, and how the team seemingly swept its internal investigation under the rug.

Elsewhere, we’re looking at how Jabril Cox’s recovery from a rookie-year injury is coming along, exploring the Cowboys’ depth and how it affects free-agent decisions, reveling in the still-untapped potential of Micah Parsons, making a case for the re-signing of Jayron Kearse, and troubleshooting the Dallas run game (hint: it’s the interior of the offensive line). Super Bowl LVII predictions are already in, Mike McCarthy’s in a no-win situation, and Chicago’s new head coach may have aced his job interview with what he learned as a Cowboys assistant. All that, plus a look at how The Star in Frisco changed NFL facilities… and even Texas state law. It’s all up in the News and Notes.

It’s getting to be that time again when every player on the Cowboys roster gets puts under a microscope as decisions are made about cuts, trades, draft picks, contracts, and cap considerations. Some individuals are in a better spot than a year ago, like Jayron Kearse after his “most improved” season. Some look a little shaky, like kicker Greg Zuerlein. We’ve also got updates on Michael Gallup’s recovery from surgery and the key component of Dak Prescott’s support system that he’ll be getting back.

Elsewhere, the league weighs in on the Rich Dalrymple scandal in Dallas, Rich Eisen finds a cinematic comparison for what Jerry Jones is doing to his coaching staff, and one of Dan Quinn’s former pupils is looking for a new football home. Micah Parsons got a gaudy bit of hardware to add to his man cave, Jason Witten hands out his collegiate award to a deserving young player, and we’ve got mock draft goodness that hits both offensive and defensive lines. That’s all up in News and Notes.

With all the wild speculation regarding the Cowboys and their head coach, the one person no one had heard much from was the head coach himself. Mike McCarthy finally sat down and shared his perspective on Jerry Jones, the rumors about newly-retired Saints coach Sean Payton, the dynamic he shares with coaching candidate (and possible coach-in-waiting) Dan Quinn, and just what McCarthy himself has to say about the latest round of Dallas drama.

Also, we’re crunching the numbers to come up with a way to keep the biggest Cowboys superstars for 2022. We’ve got scouting reports for three talented college prospects, we’re looking at possible franchise tag targets, we’re evaluating a versatile offensive lineman after his all-important third year, and we’re looking at the earliest power rankings to find good news. All that, plus where the Cowboys of the past rank in a list of all Super Bowl MVPs, and some sobering stats about what the Rams have accomplished since Dallas last hoisted the Lombardi. That’s ahead in News and Notes.