It’s down to the wire now. The Cowboys will need to start putting pieces into place, even though each one is subject to change at a moment’s notice based on all the others. The league has announced the official salary cap number for 2022, which determines actual dollar figures for franchise tagged players. Now Dallas knows how much it will cost to use the tag on Dalton Schultz, as is speculated. That makes Randy Gregory’s return dependent on a new deal. That becomes more important if DeMarcus Lawrence is cut. The Cowboys do suddenly have more money to work with, perhaps for players like Jayron Kearse, as they’ve reworked Dak Prescott’s deal. But additional funds still may not save Amari Cooper’s spot on the roster. And if Cooper leaves, retaining Michael Gallup becomes an even higher priority. It’s all connected.
All that, plus combine wrapups, a college broadcaster goes pro, one Cowboys quarterback is still following in the footsteps of another, and what the history of the green dot tells us about the future of NFL defenses. News and Notes, coming right up.