How the Dallas Cowboys score an A+ in free agency
By Tyrone Starr
Armed with tons of cap space and the ability to create more, it is imperative that the Dallas Cowboys do well in free agency. Here’s how they earn an A+.
The eyes of the NFL world are centered squarely on the Scouting Combine this week, however, that should not take away from free agency. This period, especially this year for the Dallas Cowboys, is equally if not more important than ever before.
Six players who were on the roster in 2019 have been selected to at least one Pro Bowl in their career and are set to hit the free-agent market. One of those is a future first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee. That alone makes the stakes quite high.
There is also the fact that decisions are to be made regarding a former first-round selection on the defensive side of the ball, a star receiver that the team spent a first-round draft pick to acquire and the future of the quarterback position. Those stakes just got even higher.
As you can imagine, free-agent success is paramount to the fortunes of the 2020 Dallas Cowboys and beyond. Here is how the organization can earn an A+ in free agency, paving the way for a solid foundation of prosperity for many years to come.
Before we can start spending money, we first need to know what the Dallas Cowboys have to spend. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the new salary cap could be approximately $200 million in 2020. Per OverTheCap.com, Dallas has $77 million in which to spend.
In order to do what the team needs to do, more will likely be needed. The first move would be to acquire another $8 million by cutting defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford. They can pick up another $4.4 million by letting backup offensive tackle Cameron Fleming out of the final year of his deal.
While $90 million sounds great, the Dallas Cowboys can safely add even more to their budget. The way to go about this would be to restructure a couple of recent contracts signed by players who will almost certainly finish out their current deals.
Restructuring the current deals of DeMarcus Lawrence ($12M) and Zack Martin ($8M) would help the Cowboys add another $20 million to their free-agent coffers. Doing so gets Dallas to $110 million in which to spend this offseason.
Now, to the fun part. Spending that money.