There are only three mechanisms to improve an NFL roster: via trade, via the draft or through free agency. For the vast majority of the interminable Jason Garrett era, the Dallas Cowboys were content to sit two of the three out. Once in a blue moon the team would dip their toes into free agency, but nearly never dabbled in the mercenary business.
The one-year rental can be a boon to an NFL team. Adding veteran talent far below their pay grade offers up the kind of low-risk avenue every contender should be fighting for. Worst case scenario, the player under-performs and the team loses a minimal amount of cap space for one season before moving on. Best case scenario, the player out-performs their single season prove-it deal, cashes in the following offseason and the team gets a compensatory pick, or even better, signs back and becomes an integral part of the team for years to come.
Every year, mercenaries are available deep into the summer due to age, contract demands, or a willingness to wait for the right suitor.
And every year, the Dallas brain trust was content to sit it out, with Garrett often saying, “We like the guys we have here.” The players the Cowboys would sign for a single season in years past were more likely to be cut or retire than suit up for the team. Here’s a list of one-year signings who played meaningful snaps over the last decade:
| Year | Player |
| 2020 | Everson Griffen |
| Andy Dalton | |
| Aldon Smith | |
| HaHa Clinton-Dix | |
| 2019 | Randall Cobb |
| Kerry Hyder | |
| Christian Covington | |
| 2018 | Cameron Fleming |
| 2017 | Byron Bell |
| Kellen Moore | |
| Jonathan Cooper | |
| 2016 | Justin Durant |
| Mark Sanchez | |
| 2015 | Greg Hardy |
| 2014 | Jack Crawford |
| 2013 | Jon Kitna |
| 2012 | None |
| 2011 | Abram Elam |
| 2010 | None |
Prior to this year, among one-year free agent signings, there’s two hits on the list (forget about the players who did absolutely nothing for the team) in guard Jonathan Cooper and wide receiver Randall Cobb, though pass rusher Greg Hardy did provide the team something else entirely. And, to be fair and give credit where it’s due, the front office did make two trades last year that paid huge dividends for defensive ends Robert Quinn and Michael Bennett.
Still, the upside of the 2020 mercenary group is higher than the entirety of the previous decade, and it doesn’t even include defensive tackles Gerald McCoy or Dontari Poe who have little or no guaranteed money on their contracts past this season.
If nothing else, the hiring of Mike McCarthy has shown a willingness to change and a philosophy shift to join the current era of player acquisition. Wednesday’s signing of defensive end Everson Griffen is the kind of move fans and pundits alike have been clamoring for since before Dak Prescott could vote. It’s also the kind of move that can push a team over the edge.
The 2020 hired gun may end up being an anomaly. With McCarthy in his first year and the team having an unprecedented amount of free agents this past offseason, maybe the club will revert to their old ways. He may have just been looking for gap fillers as he became familiar with his roster; the front office hesitant to commit long-term dollars. The uncertainty of future caps thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic that hit at the beginning of the league year could also have influenced the team’s thinking.
Either way, for now the Cowboys have committed to invested in not just stop-gaps, but certifiable talent which should help in their quest to earn a sixth Lombardi.
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