Dallas Cowboys: Too Stubborn In Free Agency

The Dallas Cowboys were too stubborn in their approach to free agency and they could be feeling the repercussions soon.

Free agency is now in its final stages and the Dallas Cowboys haven’t been very active hunting the bigger fish in the pond. Of course, that shouldn’t be surprising since the Cowboys have taken a much softer stance on building a team through free agency in the past few years. Cowboys’ executive vice president Stephen Jones told fans the organization wasn’t going to be big players in the open market and the team stuck to their philosophy.

However, just like what happened in the regular season, the Cowboys were stubborn in their approach and it could come back to bite them. With the news that defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence is facing a suspension for the use of PED’s, if his pending appeal is denied, Dallas has a major need at pass rusher. Yet they had every opportunity to address their biggest need going into the offseason.

The Cowboys didn’t have to go after the biggest pass rushing name on the market and pay through the nose for defensive end Olivier Vernon, but they should have taken more interest in edge rushers like Bruce Irvin or Mario Williams. Neither would have broken the bank; sign a higher caliber defensive end and the team wouldn’t be in desperation mode at the position now.

Its fine to stick to your guns and believe in your values, but exceptions can be made. The Cowboys found out the hard way during the season when they lost quarterback Tony Romo for the majority of the year. Head coach Jason Garrett and passing game coordinator Scott Linehan never altered their approach with any of their backup options. Quarterbacks Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel and Kellen Moore were not capable of playing at Romo’s level, yet the team stuck with the same offensive philosophy despite not having their best player on the field.

The results were a disaster.

That stubbornness reared its ugly head again in their free agency approach at defensive end. If the Cowboys knew they were going to be down defensive end Randy Gregory, and possibly Tank Lawrence, why weren’t they more aggressive pursuing any good pass rushing options? Adding defensive end Benson Mayowa is a nice addition and re-signing the versatile Jack Crawford helps, but Dallas needed quality instead of quantity.

The lack of flexibility from the Cowboys is baffling. It’s great to establish a direction for your organization, but there needs to be a point where certain situations alter your decisions. There are exceptions to every rule and defensive end/edge rusher was the biggest area of need for Dallas. The opportunity was there to address the issue, the Cowboys were just too thick-headed to make an exemption.

Now the team must cross their fingers that DeMarcus Lawrence wins his appeal with the league. Otherwise, the Dallas Cowboys will be without their two best pass rushers for some portion of their 2016 season.

It’s a blow they could’ve absorbed if they had been more proactive with defensive ends in free agency. A stubborn stance to take with so much on the line.

You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi

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