It’s been an interesting offseason for the Dallas Cowboys and not necessarily for the best. Could the team still pick up some solid players in free agency?
If recent history is a gauge, the Dallas Cowboys won’t be returning to the playoffs in 2019. And if the recent months are any indication, the defending NFC East champions have their work cut out of them this year — unless the organization can make some additional moves in free agency and strike gold in April’s draft.
Of course, there’s a long way to go before training camp, the preseason and the 2019 NFL campaign. But head coach Jason Garrett and the organization have seen a few things not go the Cowboys’ way as of late.
For the second straight year, the team gave defensive end Demarcus Lawrence the franchise tag. But in later February, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported that the star pass-rusher would not play under the tender, which was the case in 2018.
Meanwhile, defensive linemen Randy Gregory and David Irving are currently under league suspension. The latter is an unrestricted free agent, making his future with the Cowboys or any club murky at best.
In terms of notable departures, linebacker Damien Wilson let for the Kansas City Chiefs and wide receiver Cole Beasley signed with the Buffalo Bills. Also keep in mind that the Cowboys only have six selections in April’s draft. They dealt their first-round pick to the Oakland Raiders last midseason to obtain wide receiver Amari Cooper.
So a team that won the NFC East in both 2014 and 2016 but failed the reach the playoffs the following season in both instances have some work to do. Could the following veterans help Dallas’ cause at a reasonable price?