Welcome to the dark days of the NFL calendar. After a couple of weeks of OTAs, the Dallas Cowboys wrapped up their spring workouts last week with mandatory minicamp. It’s a great time to assess the team in a variety of ways before training camp, from its approach to this offseason to mapping out what needs to change for a more successful future.
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You submitted tons of great questions so we’ll do a couple of posts. In this version, we’ll address a few things regarding owner and general manager Jerry Jones, explore a potential future without Dak Prescott, start peeking at training camp with potential surprise cuts and more.
Let’s dive in!
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As someone who follows the team for a living, how do you interpret Dallas’s puzzling offseason? — Gibbs H.
The funny thing about the Cowboys’ offseason is that it was every bit as puzzling as it was predictable. The puzzling perspective is fairly easy to decipher because it requires common logic and taking things, such as brash public comments, at face value.
When Jones begins the offseason by proclaiming the team will be “all-in,” there is a degree of action that should be expected. The Cowboys proceeded to not only remain almost completely inactive in free agency but they also let a bunch of their own talent walk. Given the contracts some of those players received elsewhere, it was understandable but that wasn’t the case for every player.
Additionally, they remained completely inactive on the contract negotiation front, which was something they had been touting as a priority since before this offseason began.
To say you’re all in but not do anything, or to say you can’t sign players because of expensive in-house business, only to be dry on both fronts, is certainly puzzling, from a logical standpoint. But now look at it from what you know about Jones and how he operates.
Making noise with words over actions? Taking a quiet approach in free agency? Dragging major contract negotiations while other deals around the league get inked? It’s not so puzzling when you look at it that way, because this has been the Cowboys’ way. The only puzzling thing is why there hasn’t been a change to this approach. But when none of the main characters involved have changed, how could anyone expect any substantial change to occur?
Is there any remedy for the toxic presence of Jerry Jones that infects Cowboy teams’ psyches when playoff pressure is on? — Carl W.
When it comes to on-field success, I have been plenty critical of the role Jones has played, whether it’s his duality as owner and GM or the unchanging approach, as briefly outlined above. When an owner chooses to also be the general manager and cast such a large shadow as Jones, the blame/credit begins with him.
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But let’s take a break from that for a moment. Prescott believes he’s a top-level quarterback in this league. Even those who don’t share that belief have to acknowledge he’s a capable franchise quarterback. Micah Parsons expects to reset the market on his next contract. CeeDee Lamb is holding out with a similar goal in mind.
Prescott threw for zero touchdowns and two interceptions, including one pick six, in the first 28 minutes against the Green Bay as the Packers built a 27-0 lead in Dallas’ wild-card loss in January. Lamb had two catches for 18 yards in that stretch, including a drop. Parsons had one solo tackle and one quarterback hit in that entire game.
I don’t mean to single out just three players but those three included: last year’s MVP runner-up, the league’s leader in receptions and the player with the third-most votes for Defensive Player of the Year. The Philadelphia Eagles assisted the Cowboys with a late-season collapse. The Cowboys had their pristine home record against the youngest team in the league at AT&T Stadium. The result? Arguably the worst playoff loss in franchise history.
I’m not absolving Jones of his role in the Cowboys’ run of almost three decades of postseason ineptitude but the players don’t get off blame-free here, either. Jones’ shadow on the Cowboys’ struggles may be the largest but the players have to be better on those big stages as well.
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What does the world of the Cowboys look like next offseason if Dak isn’t re-signed? — Sam C.
We’re going to get a better feel for that in the coming months, particularly in August. If Trey Lance fails to provide any encouragement about his game, the Cowboys could be in a dire situation next offseason. Prescott will be one of the hottest quarterbacks in free agency ahead of a draft that doesn’t appear to be very promising at the position.
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If Lance shows he has something, the Cowboys should be able to re-sign him at a modest rate. If Lance isn’t viewed as an option, the Cowboys will be staring at handing Prescott a blank check, trading for a veteran who is likely hoping for a resurgence or some dark times reminiscent of the post-Troy Aikman days.
The best way to guarantee stability at the most important position is to extend Prescott. In a world where that doesn’t happen, a lot rides on what Lance shows he can do, whether it’s just in the preseason or if he gets thrown into the fire during the regular season because of unforeseen circumstances.
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Name a surprise cut that you think will come out of Oxnard. — Adam D.
Sticking with the question above, if Lance doesn’t look the part in practices, joint practices and preseason games, he could be a candidate. You could also pick almost any tight end, outside of Jake Ferguson, obviously, to fit in this category.
Luke Schoonmaker is last year’s second-round pick but has been riddled with injuries. Peyton Hendershot wouldn’t be terribly surprising but he was viewed as the No. 2 guy just a year ago. When you have a guy in John Stephens Jr., who was on track to make the roster last year, returning from injury and your best undrafted free-agent signing (Brevyn Spann-Ford) at the position as well, it increases the possibility of something surprising happening.
Saad, is it just me or do they look weak at WR. What happens if 88 gets hurt?
It’s not just you. The depth at receiver is one of the most intriguing things to me going into training camp. Everybody knows who Lamb is and what he brings. But was last year just a slow adjustment to a new system for Brandin Cooks, or, at almost 31 years old, is he losing a step? Jalen Tolbert took an encouraging step last year but the bar was so low after his rookie season. Can KaVontae Turpin handle a bigger role — as the Cowboys hope — on offense?
On the surface, it feels like the Cowboys are banking on a lot of hope at wide receiver; hoping that Cooks isn’t losing a step, hoping Tolbert takes the next step, hoping Turpin is capable of more than just special teams and hoping one of the under-the-radar young guys emerges as something more. It’s not the safest approach but it does make things interesting.
(Top photos of Jerry Jones and Dak Prescott: Kevin Jairaj / USA Today)
