The state of the Dallas Cowboys: The 5 biggest questions

With the Dallas Cowboys offseason already in full swing, here are the five biggest questions swirling around America’s Team to kick off 2018.

With the Super Bowl now merely a week away and the Senior Bowl in the books, the Dallas Cowboys are in full offseason mode. Next up, free agency. Dallas will decide which of their players to keep and which ones to let go. Then, it’s scouring the open market for free agents and then onto the NFL Draft.

Obviously, coming off a disappointing 2017 campaign, the Cowboys have a lot of work to do between now and when the new season kicks off. At the end of last year, we highlighted the biggest questions swirling around this franchise at the time. Nearly a month later, let’s see if those questions are still the same.

Here are our five biggest questions concerning the state of the Dallas Cowboys as of right now …

Will Dez Bryant take a pay cut to remain in Dallas?

After three years of being paid as a top-tier NFL wide receiver and three years of mediocre play, it appears the Cowboys are finally calling Dez Bryant on the carpet. Take a pay cut or play elsewhere. Now the looming question is does Dez possess enough humility to recognize his diminishing skills and accept less money to stay or will he fight it and force the Cowboys’ front office to make a tough decision about his future in Dallas.

Who will start at left guard?

Both Jonathan Cooper and Byron Bell are scheduled to hit free agency in March. Will the Cowboys re-sign one or both of them? And if Cooper decides to test the market then signs elsewhere, who is going to be the new starter at left guard for Dallas in 2018? That player is likely not on the roster right now.

Will the Cowboys find a way to re-sign Anthony Hitchens?

With injury concerns surrounding both linebackers Sean Lee and Jaylon Smith, the Cowboys will have a big void to fill if free agent Anthony Hitchens is not re-signed this offseason. Hitchens is expected to be in high demand when the market opens, and might quickly venture out of Dallas’ price range. Without Hitchens, the Cowboys will have to find themselves a potential starter either in free agency or high in the upcoming draft.

Will Calvin Ridley fall to Dallas at #19?

Regardless if the Cowboys are able to make Bryant take a pay cut or not, Dez is clearly not the receiver Dallas needs him to be right now. And that means finding the team a potential new number one receiver. And the best wide out in the draft is supposedly Alabama’s Calvin Ridley. But most mock drafts have him going in the Top Ten. It seems unlikely that Ridley would fall to Dallas, but if he did the internet might explode.

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Will the Cowboys sign DeMarcus Lawrence to a long-term deal?

I think it’s a given that DeMarcus Lawrence will be playing in Dallas in 2018. The only question is whether that will be on the franchise tag or a long-term deal. The Cowboys appear to be ready to committed to paying Lawrence a mighty sum in order to keep him in Dallas for the foreseeable future. We’ll have to wait and see if that happens or not.