2022 Cowboys Free Agency Thread

[UncleMilti]

Remember, Kearse was in Minny and was mostly ineffective in Zimmer's defense. I like the player, I don't trust Zimmer's relationship with him and his ability to use him correctly.

I don’t remember Zimmers D being all that great in Minny.

 

[p1_]

I don’t remember Zimmers D being all that great in Minny.

I seem to recall it somewhat over-performed for Parcells in year one, especially as we didnt have the pieces to play 3-4 when he arrived. But then again we had Quinthy and THam on offense, so .....

 

[Genghis Khan]

I don’t remember Zimmers D being all that great in Minny.

They were actually quite good for about a 4 year run from 16-19. Probably top 5 or 10 defense all 4 of those years.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

They were actually quite good for about a 4 year run from 16-19. Probably top 5 or 10 defense all 4 of those years.

I thought he did good in Cincy too.

 

[Simpleton]

I don't know what their ranking was but Minnesota's defense was monstrous in 2017 when they lost the NFCC at Philly.

 

[boozeman]

I don't know what their ranking was but Minnesota's defense was monstrous in 2017 when they lost the NFCC at Philly.

The Zimmer era in Minnesota was kind of weird.

All I know is that there was so much stank from the past, I don't want to hop into the DeLorean and go back to 2005-2006.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

The Zimmer era in Minnesota was kind of weird.

All I know is that there was so much stank from the past, I don't want to hop into the DeLorean and go back to 2005-2006.

Zimmer had a good defense in Minny but it has fallen off recently sort of like the Falcons under Quinn.

 

[Cotton]

 

[Rev]

Yep. Used to call Witten in his later years a tree stump. He would catch the ball and that's where he would be tackled. Same with Schultz. Nothing after the catch.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Yep. Used to call Witten in his later years a tree stump. He would catch the ball and that's where he would be tackled. Same with Schultz. Nothing after the catch.

This is why if he leaves I don't cry. His blocking has gotten worse as the season progressed too.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Yep. Used to call Witten in his later years a tree stump. He would catch the ball and that's where he would be tackled. Same with Schultz. Nothing after the catch.

That's true. But how many TEs are anything else? I feel like a TE that gets RAC is pretty rare, and a TE who is a RAC guy and also consistently open is extremely rare.

If you have to choose though, a TE that is constantly open is way more valuable than a TE who can get downfield and get RAC but isn't open as often.

Ideally you get both, but as i said i think that's pretty rarified air.

So i wouldn't break the bank for Schultz but i also don't think just any old TE can do what he's doing. I do think he's worth a nice contract.

 

[Genghis Khan]

This is why if he leaves I don't cry. His blocking has gotten worse as the season progressed too.

The blocking is a bit of an issue, i agree.

 

[Simpleton]

That's true. But how many TEs are anything else? I feel like a TE that gets RAC is pretty rare, and a TE who is a RAC guy and also consistently open is extremely rare.

If you have to choose though, a TE that is constantly open is way more valuable than a TE who can get downfield and get RAC but isn't open as often.

Ideally you get both, but as i said i think that's pretty rarified air.

So i wouldn't break the bank for Schultz but i also don't think just any old TE can do what he's doing. I do think he's worth a nice contract.

Yea, I mean that's just why he shouldn't be up in the stratosphere with guys like Kelce, Kittle and Andrews.

12 should be his ceiling honestly, but 10-11 is more fair if we're being honest.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

The blocking is a bit of an issue, i agree.

It's something that I was actually surprised early in the season that I thought he did well on. They would line him up wide, run a quick pass and I thought he would do a really good job blocking his man. By the end of the season though it just looked bad again. I'm not sure why this is. I thought he was a bad blocker prior to this season and was actually kind of shocked that he had taken that next step.

To me there are two types of TEs that you sort of give the money to. Guys who do what Schultz does plus excellent blocking. Call this your Jason Witten type. They aren't going to burn many people but they get in the zone well and catch balls. And then on the other side they impact the game as blockers.

Then there are the other types of TEs. They are more like WRs. Their blocking sucks but you accept it because they run really well. They require a corner or safety in man coverage and will torch basically any LBer. You accept the poor blocking or substandard blocking because of their YAC and things like that.

Schultz doesn't really fit into either of these categories. I still think he is a good player and I've seen glimpses that make me think he is capable of being a good blocker. Just not sure if it's lazy or a beat up body that had him half assing it the second half of the season. So I'd love the guy to be back and I'm not necessarily actively looking to upgrade him. But on the same token I'm not ready to pay him like a top 10 TE in the NFL either because of it.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Yea, I mean that's just why he shouldn't be up in the stratosphere with guys like Kelce, Kittle and Andrews.

12 should be his ceiling honestly, but 10-11 is more fair if we're being honest.

I'd be in at 8. And he probably could get more in free agency. But 8 mil puts him in the top 10 area right around Logan Thomas and Zach Ertz.

12 mil puts him more in that top 5 TE in the NFL range. Which given the way contracts work I understand. New contracts are bigger than old contracts. But personally if that's what it is looking like I probably move on and focus on a shifty slot receiver type to pick up some of the receiving duties. Sort of like Cobb was for us.

 

[Simpleton]

I'd be in at 8. And he probably could get more in free agency. But 8 mil puts him in the top 10 area right around Logan Thomas and Zach Ertz.

12 mil puts him more in that top 5 TE in the NFL range. Which given the way contracts work I understand. New contracts are bigger than old contracts. But personally if that's what it is looking like I probably move on and focus on a shifty slot receiver type to pick up some of the receiving duties. Sort of like Cobb was for us.

Yea but when guys like Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry just signed for 12.5 last year I think we have to be realistic about what it'll take to bring him back.

8/year has him in line with someone like Logan Thomas, whereas 10-11 has him below that elite tier, but also just below guys like Henry and Smith, which seems fair.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Yea but when guys like Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry just signed for 12.5 last year I think we have to be realistic about what it'll take to bring him back.

8/year has him in line with someone like Logan Thomas, whereas 10-11 has him below that elite tier, but also just below guys like Henry and Smith, which seems fair.

Yeah not saying I'm not being a little unfair. Like I said, he can probably get more on the open market where teams overspend. I think Hunter Henry was viewed a little differently than Schultz though. High draft pick with more athletic ability. I think there was some view that he was just injured and underutilized.

There will be other options on the free agent market. I'm sure if I posted them I'd be picked apart that they aren't as good as Schultz. But some of Schultz production is based on the offense he is playing in and the weapons around him getting all the attention. What will Mike Gesicki get for example?

 

[Rev]

That's true. But how many TEs are anything else? I feel like a TE that gets RAC is pretty rare, and a TE who is a RAC guy and also consistently open is extremely rare.

If you have to choose though, a TE that is constantly open is way more valuable than a TE who can get downfield and get RAC but isn't open as often.

Ideally you get both, but as i said i think that's pretty rarified air.

So i wouldn't break the bank for Schultz but i also don't think just any old TE can do what he's doing. I do think he's worth a nice contract.

Well if I'm dreaming and thats what we all do then give me the best one. Im not down on Schultz. He is what he is. He is going to get open, tackled where he catches it, and scare with you with near fumbles. I just hope it doesn't prevent us from allocating funds where needed because you know the cowboys sign there own.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

On the topic of TE so obviously if we dip into free agency to replace Shultz it's going to be on the lower end of money. So a guy like Gesicki would be out for us. He is probably the best free agent TE. Gronkowski either retires or returns to the Bucs.

So here out of curiosity what will these guys get paid:

David Njoku
Gerald Everett
Evan Engram
Mo Alie-Cox
OJ Howard
Tyler Conklin
Zach Ertz...

 

[Genghis Khan]

There will be other options on the free agent market.

That's the big thing and what i worry about the most. I'm fine with moving on from Schultz in theory but the problem is that we have to replace him with a viable replacement. We can't just let him go and roll with Jarwin and McKeon.