Dallas Cowboys 2017 Free Agency: Tight End Targets
By Carl Daley
The Dallas Cowboys will need to keep building depth at the tight end position. Here are some possible offseason free agency targets.
The Dallas Cowboys have a lot of questions facing them this offseason. One of the more under the radar issues is the depth at the tight end position behind veteran starter, Jason Witten. This particular free agency period is pretty full of capable tight ends who can make plays for their offense.
There are several names the Cowboys can turn to as they will see backup tight end Gavin Escobar become a free agent. With tight ends Geoff Swaim and Rico Gathers mostly developmental projects at this point the team will need an active pass catcher to help the Cowboys passing game develop. There will be several options the team can go after in free agency and some of fairly familiar names.
The Houston Texans will see tight end Ryan Griffin hit free agency and he was a pretty reliable option for one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL. With quarterback Dak Prescott at the helm of an explosive Cowboys offense, Griffin could have one of his best seasons yet. He could also come at a cheap price as he is not really the most sought after tight end hitting the market.
Other players that the Cowboys could be interested in are Seattle’s Luke Wilson, Miami’s Jordan Cameron, Arizona’s Jermaine Gresham and Atlanta’s Jacob Tamme as they will all be free agents unless they are re-signed.
Cameron has been a bit of a question mark in terms of his on the field production however with a productive quarterback he could be a steal for Dallas depending on his price tag.
Gresham failed to impress in Arizona but so did his quarterback Carson Palmer so realistically he is in the same situation as Cameron. Wilson is stuck in a run first offense (when everyone is healthy) and could see a solid role with the Cowboys.
Tamme is more of a veteran option that could come in and make an immediate impact on the passing game. There is also Green Bay Packers tight end Jared Cook, who could get re-signed by the club. But if he hits free agency he immediately jumps to the front of the list.
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There are several quality tight ends in the 2017 NFL Draft but this may not be the draft to use valuable early round picks on acquiring Jason Witten’s successor. There should be plenty of affordable options the team could sign in free agency that should have a positive impact on this offense.