NFL free agency kicks off in just over a week. The Dallas Cowboys have several decisions to make on who they are retaining and who they will let test the open market. In total, Dallas has 20 free agents as of this writing.
With that many impending free agents, the Cowboys will be looking to keep some of their own. Jerry and Stephen Jones have a tendency to try and retain players they have drafted if they have performed well and this group has plenty of them.
With minimal cap room, the decision on who to try and negotiate with gives both a lot to think about.
Dalton Schultz is at the top of the list for obvious reasons, but most signs point to him not being in Dallas next season. Jerry has also indicated this offseason that the team is starting over at kicker so fans should not expect Brett Maher to be retained. Older veterans brought in after the start of training camp like Jason Peters and T.Y. Hilton may also not come back and could be looking towards retirement.
Tony Pollard received the franchise tag so he will not be going anywhere as both sides try to work out a long-term deal.
When free agency hits in mid-March, Jerry Jones tends to stay silent and come in during the second wave for bargain basement shopping. However, that does not mean he is not capable of convincing his own to come back for another round.
With that, here is a look at three players Dallas must look to re-sign quickly before free agency revs up.
1. Leighton Vander Esch
The Cowboys proved to Leighton Vander Esch they wanted to keep him around by re-signing him to a one-year deal last year. Now they need to find a way to do it again. Vander Esch immediately proved his worth during his rookie season in 2018. He was named second-team all-pro and to his first Pro Bowl.
However, the former Boise State Bronco quickly started becoming Sean Lee 2.0 with injuries in 2019. He missed seven games during that season with nerve injury in his neck and underwent surgery that offseason. The following year he was limited to 10 games after breaking his collarbone on opening night against the Los Angeles Rams. During the 2021 offseason, Dallas declined his fifth-year option.
In his “prove it” year, Vander Esch had his best season since he was a rookie. He only missed one game and recorded 77 tackles, the second-most of his career since his rookie season. After the season, Dallas re-signed him for one year.
This past season saw the injury bug bite Vander Esch again, but he was able to play in 14 games. He sat out most of the back half of the season in order to heal before the playoffs and it paid off. Vander Esch provided a much-need spark in the team’s run defense that sputtered down the stretch.
The injury history is the biggest argument against Vander Esch, but losing him would hurt Dan Quinn’s defense.
With fellow linebackers Anthony Barr and Luke Gifford also on the list of impending free agents, the Cowboys need to look to retain somebody for that corp. Vander Esch is worth a multi-year deal at this point.
2. Anthony Brown
Anthony Brown may not be the best corner on this team, but he has been reliable opposite of Trevon Diggs the past two seasons. Brown has overachieved since arriving in Dallas as a sixth-round pick out of Purdue in 2016. He was thrust into action early in the season due to injuries in the secondary and took advantage. Brown had one interception and 55 tackles, the second most of his career.
Like both players mentioned earlier, Brown has some injury history. He tore his triceps in 2019 during week 11 and missed the rest of the season. Despite that, Dallas resigned him to a three-year contract which was not a popular decision among fans.
2022 started off well for Brown until he tore his ACL against the Indianapolis Colts. With fellow corner Jourdan Lewis also out, Diggs did not have much experience opposite of him. Undrafted rookie DaRon Bland stepped up, but the Cowboys need experience back there at corner.
Bringing back Brown would be an easy achievement for Dallas. His injury diminishes his value and it would be hard to imagine a lot of teams being interested in him. A one-year deal would not break the bank to bring back a defensive back who has remained a steady fixture since the Dak Prescott era began.
3. Cooper Rush
Yes this may raise some eyebrows. However, having a solid backup quarterback in today’s NFL is important to keep a season on the tracks. The Cowboys went through this in a big way last year when Prescott broke his thumb on opening night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He missed the next five games before returning in week seven against the Detroit Lions.
In that span Rush went 4-1, keeping Dallas in position to push for the playoffs when Dak returned. He passed for 1,051 yards, five touchdowns and threw just three interceptions. While the offense was not nearly as dynamic when Dak was under center, Rush did enough to win.
Yes, he had a lot of help from Micah Parsons and the defense, but you cannot ask for much more from a backup quarterback when you feel you are a playoff team.
If Rush were to hit the market, it would be hard to imagine a lot of teams begging for his services. However, teams around the league cannot discount what he did for Dallas last year. If he were to sign somewhere else it would most likely be in a backup role. If Jerry Jones is smart, he will at least offer Rush something to come back.
Prescott is no doubt the man in Dallas, but after a serious ankle injury in 2020, missing a game in 2021 and missing five last year, the Cowboys have to consider having a capable backup in 2023. Despite the departure of Kellen Moore, Rush has been with this offense for several seasons. It would be more beneficial to keep him as opposed to drafting a quarterback late maybe on day three of the draft.
While it is a long shot Jerry all of a sudden picks up the phone today, calls all three of these players and re-signs them, it would be in his team’s best interest. All three of these guys are not big-name players so the opportunity is there for Jerry to easily bring them back. There needs to be sense of urgency though because all three will be getting calls from other teams.
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