How the Cowboys slow, steady approach has paid off

As divisional foes continue to purge recent free agent blunders, the Dallas Cowboys appear to be sticking to a fiscally responsible plan of action.

Taking a look around the landscape of the NFC East, it’s hard to have yourself a chuckle if you are a Dallas Cowboys fan.

The official start of the 2016 NFL season does not occur until Wednesday and every other team in the division is paying for the sins of previous free agency blunders.

Up in New York, the Giants committed almost $40 million to three guys who rarely take the field.  Former Cowboys wide receiver / return specialist Dwayne Harris had a career year however guaranteeing $7 million to a guy who produced less than 400 yards receiving and six total touchdowns seems a bit foolish.

Harris, however, is oddly the most productive of the three signings.  Linebacker J.T. Thomas has the fourth-highest cap hit on the team despite playing less than 35% of the defensive snaps last season while running back Shane Vereen received more guaranteed money ($4.75 million) than he provided touchdowns (4) in 2015.

As a result, two key defensive players are likely to leave via free agency which is pretty scary for a team that gave up the third most points in the league  and sported the worst pass defense in football last year.

Meanwhile, 90 minutes south down I-95, the Philadelphia Eagles signed two guys last year for more than $100 million combined.  Cornerback Byron Maxwell (6 years/$63 million) and running back DeMarco Murray (5 years/$40 million) were brought in to get the Eagles over the hump and into the playoffs.

Instead, Maxwell will be taking his talents to South Beach and donning a Miami Dolphins uniform in 2016 while Murray will be calling Tennessee home as the Eagles are trying to purge all of their offseason mistakes from last year to start anew.

Not to be outdone, even the division winning Washington Redskins are feeling the effects of salary cap mismanagement.

Over the past two seasons, Washington has tried to beef up their interior defensive line, signing former Cowboys defensive tackle Jason Hatcher and former Broncos tackle Terrance Knighton to $15 million worth of guaranteed money.

Neither will be playing in the Nation’s capital next season.

All the while, you have the Dallas Cowboys, the former poster boys of salary cap woe, doing their best impression of the race-winning tortoise.

Yes, the Cowboys took their shot last year by signing defensive end Greg Hardy, but even that contract was a “play-to-pay” scheme which protected Dallas from any reckless long-term investment.  That kick of the tires did no damage to the future standing of the cap.

Just because the Cowboys will have the healthiest cap situation they have had in quite some time does not mean that they will putting themselves in a position to join the free agent rat race.

It seems that Dallas has resigned themselves to sit out the first wave of free agency when big names get astronomical dollars and mediocre players get paid like All-Pro’s.  That doesn’t mean that the Cowboys won’t improve the roster through this medium.  It just will not likely be high-profile, big-ticket items.

Maybe the Cowboys resign linebacker Rolando McClain.  Maybe they bring in a veteran backup quarterback, edge rusher or cornerback.  None of that will cost them more than they feel is necessary to do so.  Gone are the days of this team getting into bidding wars.  They have their price in mind for anyone they think about adding and they aren’t budging.

It might not be exciting.

You can even argue that this may be the year to break away from the plan, given that there are some a few guys who could certainly come in and make this team better in an instant.

What you can’t argue however is that watching the other divisional foes go through the purging of previous blunders not only makes the team look smarter, it also helps put them in a position to make moves when the time is right.

As we all know, slow and steady worked just fine for the tortoise.  Just ask the hare.

Next: Cowboys 2016 Free Agency: 5 Realistic Running Backs

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