3 gambles the Dallas Cowboys hope pay off in 2021

Not re-signing Joe Looney

The Cowboys had all offseason to re-sign free-agent backup center Joe Looney. After all, the veteran started 12 games for Dallas at center last season. And Looney started all 16 games in 2018 when All-Pro center Travis Frederick missed the entire season due to an autoimmune disease.

The 30-year old Looney, who joined the Cowboys back in 2016, has started a total of 29 games for America’s Team over the past three seasons. Securing him as a backup to second-year center Tyler Biadasz, who only started four games as a rookie in 2020, seemed like a no-brainer. Especially considering Looney’s ability to kick out to guard and the numerous injuries the offensive line suffered last year.

The Cowboys took the gamble of not re-signing Looney this offseason and instead have been experimenting with the idea of making starting left guard Connor Williams the primary backup center. This is partly due to the play of third-year offensive guard Connor McGovern who started eight games for Dallas last season.

But by making Williams the backup center, Dallas would save salary cap space that would have otherwise been used to sign someone like Looney. And now, the latter is no longer an option.

The Cowboys NFC East rivals, the New York Giants, signed Looney at the end of last month. And three practices in, the veteran up and retired. While that may seem like good news for those hoping to add Looney back to the Cowboys’ roster at some point, by retiring and not being released, the Giants still own his rights.

So if the Cowboys discover their gamble of opting not to re-sign a key reserve has disastrous results at some point this season, they won’t have Looney as a backup option and would have to look elsewhere.