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Have the Dallas Cowboys improved during free agency?

By Anthony Penna Jr.

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 06: Amari Cooper #19 of the Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys stand on the field in the first quarter against the Green Bay Packers at AT&T Stadium on October 06, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 06: Amari Cooper #19 of the Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys stand on the field in the first quarter against the Green Bay Packers at AT&T Stadium on October 06, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /
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The Dallas Cowboys haven’t made big moves in free agency in quite some time and I think that trend will only continue as the franchise moves forward.

The main emphasis for the Dallas Cowboys is to sign their own players. During free agency, average players get paid good and good players get paid great. This is what Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones likes to avoid and would rather take bargains on tier two free agents.

Now I’m not saying this is the right or wrong thing to do because Dallas did lose a lot of free agents to other teams, but they also acquired a few pieces that can help them immediately. So has the Cowboys roster become better or worse within this short stint of free agency? Let’s take a look.

Players lost due to free agency:

  1. Byron Jones, CB
  2. Randall Cobb, WR
  3. Robert Quinn, DE
  4. Jason Witten, TE
  5. Maliek Collins, DT
  6. Jeff Heath, S
  7. Cameron Fleming, OT
  8. Kerry Hyder, DE
  9. Daniel Ross, DT
  10. Travis Frederick, C (retirement)

The two players the Cowboys lost to other teams because of free agency that sticks out the most are cornerback Byron Jones, who signed with the Miami Dolphins and defensive end Robert Quinn, who signed with the Chicago Bears.

A very underrated loss is wide receiver, Randall Cobb. Granted he had a lot of drops last year but he still put up a quiet 55 receptions for 828 yards last season. He will be missed in the slot, but with a deep wide receiver class in the draft, the Cowboys can find his replacement.

Outside of the top three listed, the other players lost will hurt for depth purposes and special teams but I don’t think it will impact the starting eleven on both sides of the ball.

Players acquired due to free agency:

  1. Gerald McCoy, DT
  2. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S
  3. Dontari Poe, DT
  4. Greg Zuerlein, K
  5. Maurice Canady, CB
  6. Blake Bell, TE

If you take a look at both the gains and losses. Ask yourself if you would trade in the players you lost for the ones that you gained and you just might have your answer if the Cowboys roster got better or worse during free agency.

The addition of safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix is fantastic for the defense but you also lost a corner in Jones. Acquiring defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe could pay huge dividends, but you also lost multiple sacks in defensive end Robert Quinn.

Players that were re-signed:

  1. Dak Prescott, QB
  2. Amari Cooper, WR
  3. Sean Lee, LB
  4. Anthony Brown, CB
  5. Cooper Rush, QB
  6. Blake Jarwin, TE
  7. Joe Looney, C
  8. Darian Thompson, S
  9. Kai Forbath, K
  10. L.P. Ladouceur
  11. Justin March, LB
  12. C.J. Goodwin, CB
  13. Joe Thomas, LB

The top two players listed are the obvious choices for the biggest impact on the roster and they tie up big money on the Cowboys roster as well.

However, the most underrated re-signing comes on the offensive line. Which would be center Joe Looney, due to the sudden retirement of center Travis Frederick. It seems as if the Boys had a feeling this could happen and they locked up Looney early on in the free agency.

As we take in the above gains, losses and re-signed players you notice here the Cowboys improved in one position, they devalued in another. You simply can’t keep everyone and it is tough to say if the Cowboys truly got better or worse but as of now, I think they lost more than they gained.

But we still have a few more weeks of free agency, although signing big-time players like defensive end Jadeveon Clowney is unlikely the Cowboys can still get better. However, that will come in the form of draft day most likely.

Maybe the Cowboys find a premiere cornerback in round one of the draft and find a defensive end in round two. That’ll solve the losses of Jones and Quinn and we would all think of this roster just a bit differently.

Next. The five best free agents ever signed by the Cowboys. dark

We can debate as of right now if the Dallas Cowboys roster is currently better or worse from last year, but let’s make that final say after draft day. Let me know your thoughts on the Cowboys moves so far and if you think the Boys depth chart is looking better or worse from 2019.

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