Dallas Cowboys free agency lacks sense of urgency
By Tyrone Starr
Despite claims of urgency and a desire to win now, Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys continue to fail when it comes to augmenting talent via free agency.
Free agency does not officially begin until Wednesday. The officially part is, of course, laughable as it really got going on Monday. For the Dallas Cowboys, it usually starts much later, if at all.
The NFL refers to this time before the official start date as a legal tampering window. Jerry and Stephen Jones refer to this time as the snooze alarm.
Armed with the most available amount of money the Cowboys have had in quite some time, day one of the unofficial period of free agency in 2019 came and went with a hush.
This, of course, is nothing new. The Cowboys have long looked at free agency with moderate disdain and near absolute reluctance. Sure, they sign guys. The even signed some last week. Those guys are the types of guys that help you build depth in extremely dire situations.
Safety Darian Thompson and linebacker Justin March-Lillard are core special teams guys. They can play some downs in a pinch. If they are starting or seeing significant playing time, something drastic has happened.
Defensive tackle Daniel Ross played well last season and is a rotational guy with upside. He’s not an anchor to a run-stopping juggernaut and he’ll never post interior sack numbers like an Aaron Donald or Warren Sapp.
Two other guys they did sign will likely provide the most help in mentoring roles. Tight end Jason Witten returns from a one-year hiatus as an announcer and oft-injured linebacker Sean Lee is back for another roll of the dice as well.
I’m more excited by Witten’s return, solely because he’s actually likely to play in every game. Still, the excitement level is tampered down when they will be 37 and 33 respectively when training camp comes.