The Dallas Cowboys are in a precarious position this offseason. They are currently over the salary cap and there are 21 members of their roster who are unrestricted free agents come March. The team obviously won’t be bringing back all all of them and rarely do they spend big money on outside guys, so it’s going to be one of the more interesting offseasons in recent memory.
To make things even more fascinating, there is chatter about the Cowboys not keeping some of their high-priced talent currently under contract on the roster. Wide receiver Amari Cooper and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence have been rumored to as potential casualties in cost-saving moves.
Despite cap concerns, the Cowboys don’t need to rid themselves of either Cooper or Lawrence, the team has the ability to sign any player they want and keep them both.
According to this chart, the #DallasCowboys can go from where they currently are — $24 million over the cap — to $49 million under the cap with simple restructures, and as much as $66 million under the cap with maximum restructures… https://t.co/OD2PcFbxO7
— Pat Doney (@PatDoneyNBC5) February 15, 2022
If the Cowboys did decide to move from on from the duo, it could set up the team to be woefully short at both positions. At receiver, the offense has a number of free agents (Michael Gallup, Cedrick Wilson, Noah Brown and Malik Turner) and even with Cooper in the fold the team has decisions to make. Without Cooper, Dallas would be left with just CeeDee Lamb as the sole receiver on the roster with a reception in 2021. Wide receiver Simi Fehoko will also be back for his second season, but he failed to contribute as a rookie.
Behind Lamb, the Cowboys would have just one receiver with any type of production in the NFL if Cooper didn’t return. Fourth-year wideout Robert Foster, who has 32 catches for 642 yards and three scores in his career, all with the Buffalo Bills and the Washington Football Team, would be the only other experienced receiver in Dallas.
The four other receivers who produced for the offense in 2021 are all free agents. Wilson, Gallup, Turner and Brown accounted for 102 catches, 1,380 yards and 11 touchdowns this past season as part of a strong supporting cast.
Wilson’s emergence was an unexpected storyline in 2021 as the fourth-year receiver shattered his career highs with 45 receptions, for 602 yards and six scores. He also played a major role in some of the creativity on offense, connecting on all three of his passes. The biggest thing Wilson did was fill-in for Gallup, who missed eight games on the year.
If the Cowboys did release Cooper and save the $16 million in cap space, many would expect them to try to re-sign Gallup, Wilson and possibly Turner if they can. It’s a solid strategy, but there will be 31 other teams competing to add all three receivers, so there’s no guarantee any of them return. It would be a gamble to let Cooper go without having the other options in place first.
The draft can also bring talent at receivers, but there’s an unknown element to that path as well.
The defensive end position would be similarly compromised if Lawrence doesn’t return.
Without Lawrence, the top players returning at defensive end would be veteran Tarell Basham, who had 3.5 sacks in 2021, and second-year man Chauncey Golston, who picked up one sack as a rookie.
The other contributors at DE last season are both going to be free agents. Randy Gregory and Dorance Armstrong are both set to hit the open market. Without Lawrence, Gregory and Armstrong, the defense would be without three of their top four in sacks in 2021, but all of their top three defensive ends.
Gregory finally lived up to some of his potential last season, tying his career high in sacks with six in just 12 games. The veteran also intercepted his first pass and had a game-changing strip sack in the win over the New England Patriots.
Armstrong had his best year as a pro with five sacks after having just 2.5 sacks in his first three years in the league. The edge rusher out of Kansas will be just 25-years for the upcoming season and could be an ascending player.
Just as the case is with Cooper, the Cowboys could release Lawrence and use the money on both Gregory and Armstrong in free agency. But then the team risks another team swooping in and signing either, or both, out from under the Cowboys’ noses.
Dallas may also turn to the All-Pro Micah Parsons as more of a defensive end next season, but that would leave the defense short at linebacker, where the other two starters, Leighton Vander Esch and Keanu Neal are both free agents. If the Cowboys did lose Lawrence and another defensive end, their hand may be forced with Parsons.
There are difficult decisions to be made, and the Cowboys’ depth at DE and WR should be a factor in determining what they do with Lawrence and Cooper. If they are released, that leaves the team shorthanded at multiple positions and the Cowboys will be trying to fill those voids in the draft or free agency.
[listicle id=694001][lawrence-newsletter]