Cap Crunch & Consequences: A Critical Cowboys Offseason Blueprint
By Shawn Foley | NILvana Sports
The Cowboys have put themselves in a tough financial situation entering this offseason. Coming off a season with a record of 7-9-1 under first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer, there was a lot of good, but also a lot of bad. The offense was lights out, led by Dak Prescott and George Pickens. Ceedee Lamb was great when healthy, and Javonte Williams showed a resurgence in year 1 with Dallas. On the other hand, the defense was historically bad, allowing over 30 PPG. Although the Cowboys did this to themselves, as anyone could have predicted, trading Micah Parsons was a bad move. Going into the offseason, the Cowboys are about $ 30 million over the cap limit. This can easily be fixed with simple contract restructuring. No, this is not a pay cut; it simply pushes money back into later seasons, which frees up cap space this year but puts you at future risk. With Dak Prescott being 33 years old entering next season, the Cowboys will be comfortable pushing money back to try and win now.
Cap Constraints and the Reality of Financial Flexibility
To start saving money, the Cowboys will restructure the contracts of Dak Prescott, Ceedee Lamb, and Tyler Smith. Prescott will save 25.9 million, Lamb will save 17.9 million, and Smith will save 17.6 million. This will easily get the Cowboys well under the cap limit to start the offseason. Dallas cannot afford to let George Pickens leave the building. It is already said they will franchise tag him to keep him under contract for 1 more year, but whether he plays under that or not is up in the air. In my model, I gave him a 4 year 136 million contract, 34 million per year, the same contract Ceedee Lamb got 2 years ago. This allows Dallas to lock up a young star and freely move around his cap hit as they wish. Next, we gave Brandon Aubrey a 3-year contract for 5 million per year, totaling 15 million. Aubrey has been a superstar for the Cowboys, but given their financial situation, I can’t imagine they would give a kicker more than this. They may look to put a second-round tender on him, rewarding them with a second-round pick if he does not sign with Dallas.
The next in-house guy will be Quinnen Williams. Dallas made a splash trade at the trade deadline, acquiring the superstar defensive tackle. I project the Cowboys extended him for 2 years at 29 APY, totaling his contract at 4 years, $105 million. After a simple restructure, the Cowboys can save 14.6 million this year. Javonte Williams just recently got a 3-year contract worth 24 million, and I expect them to re-sign Jadeveon Clowney after he had 8.5 sacks last year. I gave him a 2-year contract for 20 million. At 34 years old, he can’t command much more than that. In my model backup, Olineman TJ Bass got a 2-year, 8.4 APY contract, and Rob Jones got a 1-year, $3 million contract. Two serviceable rotational linemen for Dallas.
Roster Cuts and Targeted Free Agency Moves
I also cut linebacker Logan Wilson to save 6.5 million, and safety Malik Hooker to save 7 million. This gives Dallas a little more money for two players who were straight-up bad last year. Going into the start of free agency i was able to trade Tight end Luke Schoomaker to the Broncos for pick #246. This will save 2 million dollars for a player who never saw the field. My free-agent signing focused only on four players (I fully expect Dallas to do more than this, but this is the hardest part to project). Safety Reed Blankenship got a 2-year 12 APY contract. Blankenship is a perfect fit, as his former coach with the Eagles, Christian Parker, is now the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator. Blankenship will easily be the Cowboys’ best safety. Next, I signed Cole Holcomb to a 2-year contract for 6 million total. Holcomb is a veteran linebacker, and he can become a starter right away. I like the fit with Demarvion Overshown and Shamar James. The last guy I signed was Tyler Higbee for 1 year 2 million. A Veteran tight end who can be a rotational backup. Look for the Cowboys to bring in linebacker Quincy Williams as well. I gave him a 2-year, 6.5% APY contract. You can see how the Cowboys’ minimal cap space will make it hard to rebuild this defense in 1 year.
Building the Defense from the Ground Up
Entering the draft, the Cowboys don’t have a 2nd- or 3rd-round pick. I only picked in the first round, I expect their day 3 picks to be fillers for backups on defense. With pick 12, I picked cornerback Mansoor Delane out of LSU. Delane is easily the best cornerback in this draft. He’s super sticky in coverage and a fluid mover. His footwork is on point, and he can turn his hips and run with most receivers. At pick 20, the Cowboys will take Cashius Howell, Edge rusher from Texas A&M. Howell had absurd sack totals in college; he’s super elusive and quick. I think he can easily be a day one starter for the Cowboys.
Conclusion:
At the end of the day, the Cowboys are in a tough financial position. Jerry Jones loves to say “we’re all in”, but I wouldn’t buy it this year in terms of free agency. Dallas can rework more contracts to free up cap space, but it would end up with a massive future risk. I don’t see Jerry Jones breaking the bank and making any big splash moves this offseason. It’s going to be tough to rebuild this defense in one year, and I don’t see the Cowboys being a contender next year. As a Cowboys fan, I would love to be wrong.
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