Every team has plenty of questions and issues to figure out as they prepare for the 2023 NFL season, and the Dallas Cowboys have a few of their own.
Some have been highlighted, while others haven’t. Either way, this front office has some major decisions coming up that they need to figure out. Owner Jerry Jones and VP of Player Personnel Stephen Jones are both of the mindset that this team isn’t far off from competing in a Super Bowl but what they do heading into the 2023 season could have massive consequences on this team’s future.
If Dallas truly believes they can get back to the Super Bowl they are going to need to figure out that massive unknowns before they can have any type of preconceived thoughts about hoisting the Lombardi Trophy again. Let’s take a look at some of these unknown situations the Cowboys faces this offseason.
5 huge unknowns for the Cowboys this offseason
1. Wide Receiver Depth
If you’ve been following the Cowboys, you know that wide receiver has been a hot topic for this team. One they thought they had figured out was when they traded for Amari Cooper, but that quickly came to an end, and now Dallas is back to square one when it comes to adding receiver talent around Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.
Michael Gallup was another player the Cowboys have faith in, but after another (surprise) surgery on the opposite knee and ankle Dallas has to wonder if Gallup is starting to decline, or simply won’t improve relative to expectations.
Cowboys WR Michael Gallup underwent an arthroscopic procedure today to his right knee and right ankle, two people with knowledge of situation said. Scopes give Gallup his best chance of a healthy 2023, as he’s further removed from ACL tear to left knee.https://t.co/3TfN9a85Qs
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) February 1, 2023
The team drafted Jalen Tolbert, but his inability to make the active roster leaves questions surrounding him as well. In trying to fix the mess, the Cowboys courted and tried to trade for receivers (Odell Beckham Jr. chief among them), but all of those plans fell through, and Dallas eventually signed TY Hilton. Hilton is now free agent and the Cowboys could go in another direction with him as well.
One thing is for sure the Cowboys have a big problem at receiver. Other than Lamb, the rest of their receivers’ inability to consistently create separation is something they are going to need to figure out if they want to have any chance of building on 2022, and keep up with an Eagles team that just made it to a Super Bowl and stay ahead of a Giants team that is starting to turn things around.
2. Ezekiel Elliott’s Contract
Another situation worth monitoring when it comes to the Cowboys’ offensive playmakers has to be the contract status of Ezekiel Elliott, who was overshadowed by Tony Pollard the last two seasons.
Now with Pollard set to become a free agent, the Cowboys are stuck in a position where Elliott’s large contract could hinder them from making the necessary moves to keep Pollard and possibly bring in more players to help build this roster.
Both Jerry and Stephen Jones have stated that they want to keep Elliott around, but they know that the contract they have with him currently isn’t worth what he’s giving them on the football field.
Ezekiel Elliott wants to stay with the Cowboys in 2023, and he is willing to accept a pay cut in order to achieve that, a person familiar with his thinking said today. https://t.co/IeMv3mpnQU
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) January 24, 2023
It seems like Elliott knows that his contract is going to be a major focus for the Cowboys, and he appears willing to work on fixing that in order to stay on the team and play with best friend Dak Prescott. Time will tell if both sides are able to work out a new deal — much like the team did with defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence last season.
If they can, great. If not, things could get very interesting as the team looks to revamp that running backs group.
3. Free Agency Players
The Cowboys fan base has been begging their front office to be more active in the free agency market, and yet each season they are disappointed by the Jones family. This front office has prided itself on being able to find quality talent in the draft and late in free agency in order to save money. That strategy has allowed them to be contenders in the regular season. Once the playoff comes around, though, it’s clear that they need more talent on the roster in order to make deeper runs in an effort to get back to the Super Bowl.
Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones said the Cowboys will resume talks with Odell Beckham Jr in free agency
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) February 1, 2023
Jerry and Stephen Jones have said that they are going to be looking at players in free agency in 2023, but we’ve heard this from them in the past, only to see quality players given a reasonable contract by other teams while the Cowboys sit back and wait in order to go bargain bin shopping late in free agency. T
hey have said that they are looking to talk with Odell Beckham Jr. again in free agency, but until the prove it by making a significant investment in order to build a better team this will continue to be a massive unknown for this fanbase.
4. Starting Offensive Line
When Dallas drafted Tyler Smith in the first round last year many were left scratching their heads about the selection. After seeing how well he performed during the 2022 season at left tackle with Tyron Smith out of the lineup, they were applauded for the selection.
Here, though, lies the issue: what do the Cowboys do at left tackle?
Tyler Smith played very well in that spot and are the Cowboys willing to risk stunting his development at left tackle in order to slide Tyron Smith back in as the starter?
Smith’s contract has reached it’s limit, so what will he and the Cowboys do about it this offseason? | From @ReidDHanson https://t.co/3PCaOlKY2H
— TheCowboysWire (@TheCowboysWire) February 14, 2023
Another wrinkle in this situation is Tyron Smith’s contract. Based on how often he’s been injured as of late, the Cowboys aren’t going to want to restructure his contract. They also can’t keep paying him that amount of money if they plan to move on from him soon, and allow Tyler Smith to be their new left tackle. They could keep Smith as their swing tackle, but again they would need to do something about that contract that comes along with keeping Tyron Smith on the roster.
5. Who’s the Cowboys next kicker?
Since the release of Dan Bailey back in 2018, Dallas has had six different kickers on their active roster with the last being Brett Maher’s second stint with the team. Maher started off strong , but struggled mightily at the end of the season, and Dallas is now faced with once again trying to find a reliable kicker to add to this roster in order to find some semblance of consistency.
Jerry Jones said *last Saturday* that he wanted consistency on extra points from the Dallas Cowboys kickers.
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) August 9, 2022
The Cowboys moved on from Greg Zuerlein this offseason and now feel Brett Maher is a possible answer.
Maher was a less accurate extra point kicker in 2021 than Zuerlein.
We know they aren’t going to bring back Maher but they can’t go into the season without knowing who their next kicker is going to be. Much like many other teams, the Cowboys will have options on how they decide to fill this position, whether it be through the draft like they did in 2022 before turning to Maher or going out and signing two free-agent kickers to come in and battle it out for the roster spot.
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