Dallas Cowboys must now go out and hire their mercenary

DE – Yannick Ngakoue

This one is a bit tricky but could work out if played correctly. Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue was seeking a long-term deal but played merry-go-round as well as football this past season. He remains a very good pass rusher but was somewhat distracted last season by all of the contract talks.

With limited teams having money to spend this free-agency period coupled with the teams concerned about multiple teams trading the pass rusher in such a short amount of time will limit his suitors. A long-term deal could also be scarce depending on how the market starts off.

If the Dallas Cowboys play the wait-and-see game with Ngakoue, they could come in as an unlikely suitor after a delayed start and offer a long-term deal which could be his only attractive offer from what could be a contending team. The Cowboys front office would have to come in with an offer that is not insulting but affordable to the team in the now and moving forward.

Ngakoue and his camp would be able to say they achieved their goal of finding a long-term home while the Cowboys would be acquiring the services of a 25-year-old Pro Bowl pass-rushing specialist who has yet to enter his prime.

Ngakoue has already amassed 45.5 sacks in five seasons of play. For comparison, Chicago Bears pass rusher Khalil Mack had 53 sacks at the same point in his career. This means there is a pass rusher just a notch below what would be considered elite on the market. Mack was traded for a bounty of picks so just merely paying for Ngakoue below Mack isn’t a bad proposition.

It all has to do with the strategy the Dallas Cowboys have come up with. I have no idea what they are going to prioritize this free agency period. The only thing we can do is wait and see what news comes on Monday, March 15th which is the start of the NFL’s legal tampering period.