Dallas City News

A lot of Dallas Cowboys fans are nursing hangovers from overindulging in the “all-in” hopium. The past week has made it abundantly clear that the ownership’s plan for 2024 is to keep on doing things the way they have for many seasons. Call it the Cowboys way, or perhaps the Jones family way is more accurate. However you think about it, we know all about this. And it makes it fairly easy to figure out how things are likely to go moving forward.

However, very few things are done deals. Some are approaching near certainty, but until they actually eventuate, we won’t really know. Still, a couple have crystallized. One is that Dallas has elected to not use a franchise tag on anyone. It breaks a trend, which does show that not everything is automatic with the team. This is something that is more based on the particular situation. There was just no player on an expiring contract they really had to have. Well, at least the key decision makers, Jerry and Stephen Jones, didn’t see any as the deadline for tagging expired. Now they can only bring back their own free agents that they think they can afford. That probably won’t be many.

The other thing that is done is they have exercised the fifth-year option on star pass rusher Micah Parsons. It was pointed out that being designated as a pass rusher rather than a linebacker would cost him $2.7 million dollars. However, that was not really a decision by the team.

As that post goes on to say when you click to read it entirely, Parsons and his representation can file a grievance. The NFL management council is probably inclined to favor doing things to the advantage of the team. In any case, Parsons is locked down. It does not prevent the team from still negotiating a new deal with Parsons, but given the overall situation with the cap and some other important decisions that have to be made, it feels unlikely this year. And further clarification makes it likely that the DE designation will stick.

Free agency is a big factor in constructing the roster, of course, and that doesn’t officially start until March 13th, with the legal tampering period when the first wave of signings are negotiated opening on the 11th. It might be more accurate to say that during the tampering period, some things that have already been worked out under the table are revealed, but that is casting aspersions, and we will avoid that, not matter how accurate it may be. The start of free agency also marks the beginning of the new league year. That is when the team has to get under this year’s increased salary cap of $255.4 million. They currently are a bit over $10.6 million short in space, according to Over the Cap.

This means something is going to break in terms of restructures and/or extensions in the next week. That is a bit of a spoiler alert of what we will be talking about on next week’s episode of Ryled Up. It is easy to see two contracts that are very likely to be involved, those of quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. With Prescott, they have the option of either working out a massive new deal, or just restructuring him. Either would get them under the cap, but there are very different implications for each. The extension would be a commitment to Prescott for the future. Restructuring would leave them with the option of not bringing him back. It seems hard to imagine them doing so, but there are nagging questions about whether he can lead the team past the playoff frustrations they have experienced in his career. It is not inconceivable that they would choose to see how he performs this year before deciding on his future with the team. This is complicated by Mike McCarthy and his coaching staff all playing for their possible future with the team. There is great pressure on both the quarterback and the coaches. It is a valid question whether that is the best way to try and find success, but it is not incompatible with the way the Jones family runs their franchise.

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We discussed this overall idea on the latest episode of Ryled Up on the Blogging The Boys podcast network. Make sure to subscribe to our network so you do not miss any of our shows! Apple devices can subscribe here and Spotify users can subscribe here.

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Lamb does not offer any cap savings with a restructure, so an extension seems inevitable. It would also get the team under the cap, buying them some time to make the Prescott decision. It would appear to be a further argument to retain the quarterback rather than risk Lamb’s talent not being fully utilized with a new passer in 2025. Logical arguments don’t always get the proper consideration with this team, however.

There is one more path with Prescott, to just do nothing and take the full cap hit of the final year of his current deal. That is a rather staggering $59.455 million. But Jerry Jones has implied that is possible as RJ Ochoa noted a few days ago. However, as we learned to our dismay over the words “all-in,” you need to have some grains of salt handy whenever you are trying to figure out the meaning of the owner’s words.

The start of free agency will apparently be another period of waiting with some anxiousness for the team to just do something as Brandon Loree has informed us. The parsimonious approach the team has established as their brand is not at all likely to change. We will probably have to accept more bargain shopping. This will include whether they bring back any of their own free agents. The big name that has been discussed lately is left tackle Tyron Smith, who appears to be headed elsewhere for a contract the Cowboys are unwilling to match to keep him. This will have major implications for the draft, and it is further complicated by center Tyler Biadasz also being a likely departure for the same reasons. The offensive line suddenly has two huge holes apparently opening up. Filling them will not only affect the use of the limited draft capital the team has, but will lead to decisions about what options they have on the roster, like Brock Hoffman, Asim Richards and Matt Waletzko, and whether Stephen Jones will decide to part with the overly-coveted cap space required to reinforce the line.

We are also likely to see more of the annual restructuring of some other deals. Zack Martin could net them over $12.5 million, and Trevon Diggs can bring almost $8 million. Others can be restructured for a few million more. Remember that these are not negotiated moves since they don’t change the money received by the players. They just pay it out quicker, which is a benefit for the players. Expect to see several of those come down as Dallas has such a tight cap position.

There is a lot of work to be done, and a lot is going to happen in the next days and weeks. Some will probably be met with disapproval and skepticism, but there is always the chance of landing another Jayron Kearse or Malik Hooker in free agency, and we always hope for Will McClay to find some gold in the draft, which is not far off. This is a year where our optimism should always be measured, but while problems face the team, we might just see them find some opportunities as well.