While many conversations of late have been about the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys cannot look ahead just yet with the in house issues that remain at the top of the docket.
When Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News asked about some of these issues to Senior Vice President of Player Personnel, Will McClay, he said “It’s going to be a tough deal” when it comes to paying everyone of the 30 pending free agents the club has.
“It’s the NFL. You’ve got your quarterback you’ve got to pay. You have a receiver. You have good players. When you have good players, you have to figure out how to pay them or how to survive. So, that’s what we do in the front office is try to figure how to work those contracts and get the best possible team with those guys. We’ve got to go through that whole process.” McClay continued.
Free agency, in recent years, has never been a time for the Cowboys to make big splashes. This is due to the fact that the Cowboys have drafted extremely well and have built their core from within. They’ve built their entire starting offensive line in the draft. They have drafted their starting quarterback (Dak Prescott), running back (Ezekiel Elliott), and No. 2 wide receiver (Michael Gallup) just over the last 4 years alone. The Cowboys have also worked in some valuable trades in acquiring starting wide receiver Amari Cooper, and starting defensive end Robert Quinn.
Stephen Jones labeled Prescott and Cooper deals as No.s 1 and 2 on the priority list.
Cowboys VP Stephen Jones on QB Dak Prescott extension: “It’s been urgent for us. We certainly want to get that done. That’s our No. 1 priority as we go into the offseason is to …hopefully find some resolution to it and get that done.” What priority is Amari Cooper? “No. 2.”
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) January 21, 2020
Coming in at a possible No. 3 on this list would be cornerback Byron Jones, who also is in need of a new deal.
Jon Machota of The Athletic also spoke to Will McClay about a possible new deal for Jones. “He’s a starting caliber NFL corner. He’s a really good player. We have to figure out his financial value and if it fits for us.” McClay said.
While Prescott, Cooper, and Jones seem to be at the top priorities, unfortunately this list is quite long for the 2020 Cowboys.
According to Over The Cap, the Cowboys have just over $81 million in cap space.
This seems like such a high number right? Well, not so much when you have three possible players who can potentially take up most of it. This is why the Cowboys have to be very careful when deciding just how much to pay these top three. Can they? Yes. The numbers don’t lie. There is indeed money available. Will they? That remains to be the question mark.
Robert Quinn, Randall Cobb, Jason Witten, Sean Lee, Michael Bennett, Jeff Heath, Tavon Austin, Antwaun Woods are just eight noteworthy players of the 30 pending unrestricted and restricted free agents.
“Every year is a challenge,” Will McClay said. “That’s the way the NFL is made with the salary cap… We go through and find out what’s valuable for us, who will fit within our parameters. We want to try to fill the holes in free agency and draft free.”
Within the next few months, a lot of these questions should be answered.
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