3 defensive free agents the Cowboys should target in 2021
By Connor Green
The Dallas Cowboys offseason has been dominated by one question thus far, what will they do with their starting quarterback Dak Prescott? However, with Prescott now signed to a four-year, $160 contract the team can now turn its attention to other prerogatives this offseason including preparing for the 2021 NFL Draft and potentially targeting other free agents.
The Cowboys 2020 season was plagued with injuries and inconsistent play which resulted in the team missing out on the playoffs for the second year in a row. The team will head into the offseason with a plethora of needs that skew heavily towards the defensive side of the ball.
America’s Team will head into this offseason in a considerably better cap situation than most probably expected in the aftermath of the organizations’ blockbuster deal with Prescott. The deal is structured in a way that will only cost Dallas $22.2 million against the cap for the 2021 season.
With the NFL cap officially set at $182.5 million for next year and Dallas restructuring several contracts to free up approximately $17 million in cap space that means that the team will actually have a chance to make moves during the free agency period.
The team could also make a handful of other moves, including possibly cutting its veteran punter Chris Jones, which could give them even more financial flexibility heading into the free agency period.
The practical impact of this means that not only did Dallas manage to avoid a nightmare cap situation this offseason, but that the team can now actually try and address some of their needs in free agency instead of banking on the draft. Keeping that in mind here are three free agents’ America’s Team should pursue this offseason.