Dec. 25, 2010; Glendale, AZ, USA; Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones (left) and owner Jerry Jones against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Apparently, last year’s  front office plan was to sit the sidelines until all the big free agents had been signed. The Cowboys then swooped in and picked over what was left by the more cap friendly teams. The only exception being the pursuit of  Nnamdi Asomugha which seemed more like a smoke screen used by agents to get the cornerback more money.

To free up cap space, Dallas restructured the contracts of  both DeMarcus Ware and Miles Austin. They also released veteran players Marion Barber, Roy Williams, Leonard Davis, Audre Gurode, Igor Olshansky and Marc Colombo.

In 2011, Dallas signed free agents Abram Elam and Kenyon Coleman. Both of whom were former Cleveland  Brown players that had played under Rob Ryan previously. They were both hired on as insurance due to the combination of a strike shorten off-season and the implementation of a new defense scheme.

The Cowboys also re-signed Doug Free, Kyle Kosier, Jason Hatcher, and Marcus Spears. All of whom had lack-luster seasons for the Boys, with the possible exception of Hatcher. Free’s season was so bad that he has now lost his left tackle position to a rookie. That rookie is Tyron Smith, the Cowboys first round pick last year.

Although Jerry Jones has promised to be more active in free agency this season, the numbers show otherwise. For a full breakdown of the Cowboy’s free agency budget, check out this excellent article by Brad Austin called Who Can the Cowboys Truly Afford? Check the Salary Cap Funds Ledger. The basic problem is there are just too many holes to fill.

Here is a list of positions the Cowboys will need to fill in free agency or in the upcoming draft:

We all know that the owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, is enamored with Romo and will most likely ride him until his arm falls off. So there is almost zero chance Jones will ever replace Romo, at least for a very long time (see Emmitt Smith). On top of that, Romo appears to be at the top of his game right now. And disregarding the mental breakdowns he had in the New York Jet and Detroit Lion games last season, Romo played remarkably well a majority of the year. And most fans agree it was Rob Ryan’s (lack of) defense, and not the quarterback play, that was the main reason for the Cowboys missing the playoffs in December. (more…)