Dallas Cowboys: 5 Budget free agents to target for 2021
By Randy Gurzi
The Dallas Cowboys like to be frugal, so let’s check out some budget free agents they can sign in the 2021 offseason.
A year to forget is in the books as the Dallas Cowboys are ready to look forward to the 2021 campaign. Free agency is set to begin March 17 for Dallas and the rest of the NFL, which will be their first chance to try and improve a roster that went 6-10 under first-year head coach Mike McCarthy.
In years past, the Cowboys have been frugal to the point of cheap in free agency. They have looked to save money by short-changing their own players (see Prescott, Dak) and then passed over one All-Pro after another in free agency.
They do, however, like a bargain. Sure, the bargains haven’t always worked out — Dontari Poe and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix come to mind — but occasionally they have — Robert Quinn and Aldon Smith could be examples there.
Even with the moves being less than fail-proof, the Cowboys like poking around the dollar store, so here we save them some work and identify five players they can sign to affordable contracts in 2021.
5. B.J. Goodson, Linebacker
The name B.J. Goodson might not have a lot of buzz around it but there are two things about him that make him an attractive potential signing for Dallas.
One, he would be affordable considering he made just $2.4 million for the Cleveland Browns last season. Two, despite the fact that Cleveland linebackers were much-maligned throughout 2020, Goodson performed better than all three linebackers the Cowboys trotted out there, including Jaylon Smith who they have touted as a building block.
Goodson had a career-high 91 tackles with two going for a loss and a half-sack. He also picked off two passes and recovered a fumble. He won’t jump off the tape, but he simply does his job and doesn’t get caught out of position very often, which was a big-time problem for this defense last year.