2 Cowboys who undoubtedly deserve contract extensions after Wild Card win
By Jerry Trotta
1. Dalton Schultz, TE
A divorce between Schultz and the Cowboys has seemed inevitable since the moment he signed the franchise tag over the summer. Not much ground was made during negotiations on a contract extension, and Dallas had drafted Jake Ferguson in the fourth round and signed Peyton Hendershot as a UDFA months earlier.
While it might be financially sound to let Schultz walk in the offseason, he proved again Monday night that he’s indispensable by catching seven of eight targets for 95 yards and two of Dak Prescott’s four passing touchdowns.
Schultz coming up big on the biggest stage is no surprise, of course. In last year’s Wild Card loss against San Francisco, the tight end caught seven of eight targets for 89 yards. He led the team in both categories (Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb combined for 85 yards), and no other wideout had more than 65 yards.
On Monday, Schultz also had the assist on Lamb’s fourth-down touchdown. By breaking inside, Schultz attracted multiple defenders, allowing Lamb to roam free up the sideline without a defender in sight. That’s a credit to Kellen Moore, too, but the score underlined the attention Schultz commands from defenses.
What more evidence do the Cowboys need to extend Schultz? It might cost around $14 million annually, but there are loopholes to lower his yearly cap number.
Ferguson and Hendershot have shown a lot as rookies — more than most rookie tight ends, as a matter of fact — but losing Schultz would be catastrophic and he proved yet again Monday night that he deserves an extension.
He was a monster in a potentially franchise-altering game. Plain and simple.
