Cowboys Free Agency Thread

[Stasheroo]

Plus he would have all the leverage to get a market deal in free agency. So you'd still have to over pay him a market level deal plus the other money. Talk about mortgaging the future.

That's exactly what it was. I guess old Howie thought they had a shot at winning back-to-back or something? He guessed wrong.

 

[p1_]

 

[Rev]

Tell Dak to spread the wealth then

 

[ravidubey]

Witten might be the most rotten steak I have ever eaten. Frankly this massively talented Oline hasn't been playing like it either. I don't buy that he needs steak at every position. He also turned a third round pick WR into a 1100 yard receiver and a scrap heap Cobb into a stud slot guy again.

Basically Dal needs a #1 reciever but I'm not convinced he needs a ton more anymore. Hell even Tom Brady needs weapons.

Oh wait so now the oline sucks if not for Dak? How quickly we forget 2017 when we lost Tyron for a stretch and the difference in 2019 when we got Fred back.

Dak has been spoiled with unbelievably good OL play for most of the plays in his career thus far. It’s retarded to say that steak is rotten.

Gallup is a good player who is getting his due... Dak isn’t elevating him anywhere near what the offensive line or even Zeke is by drawing an extra safety into the box.

Dak hits the open WR, that’s his game. He doesn’t look off safeties, drill accurate passes, lead his WR to the open spot, or hit the nice back shoulder fade. But if you’re open, Dak should find you.

Gallup is open; he makes his own production.

 

[Cotton]

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Oh wait so now the oline sucks if not for Dak? How quickly we forget 2017 when we lost Tyron for a stretch and the difference in 2019 when we got Fred back.

Dak has been spoiled with unbelievably good OL play for most of the plays in his career thus far. It’s retarded to say that steak is rotten.

Gallup is a good player who is getting his due... Dak isn’t elevating him anywhere near what the offensive line or even Zeke is by drawing an extra safety into the box.

Dak hits the open WR, that’s his game. He doesn’t look off safeties, drill accurate passes, lead his WR to the open spot, or hit the nice back shoulder fade. But if you’re open, Dak should find you.

Settle down Karen no one said the Oline sucks. Witten sucks. That was what was said.

Our Oline is still very good. Just not out of this world good. It's still a top 5 Oline in the NFL good.

It's funny how Dak gets all the blame when Witten, Dez's and Beasley's numbers go down. But now that Cooper, Cobb and Gallups all go up it has nothing to do with Dak. Meanwhile Dez and Witten's careers look over.

 

[Stasheroo]

I continue to be amazed at just how many 'irreplaceable players' a team that went 8-8 has.

 

[Cotton]

I continue to be amazed at just how many 'irreplaceable players' a team that went 8-8 has.

I think the hope is that the new coaching staff will bring out the potential talent in some of these players. Valid or not, I think that's the hope.

 

[Stasheroo]

I think the hope is that the new coaching staff will bring out the potential talent in some of these players. Valid or not, I think that's the hope.

I have that same hope as well. But not enough to consider paying a guy that's allergic to the football like Byron Jones $15 - $17 million a year and then "hoping" that he somehow learns to turn around or catch.

He's a good guy, great teammate, and a solid corner. But he's not worth the big bucks that are being talked about. Let the Broncos or Eagles overpay for a corner who at best causes an incompletion and another chance for the opposing offense to beat you on the next play.

 

[ravidubey]

Our Oline is still very good. Just not out of this world good. It's still a top 5 Oline in the NFL good.

They are the biggest reason our team has been so productive the last six years

They are not THE best like they were in 2016 and 2014, but they are damned good.

You can’t compare them to washed up Witten in one sentence then back off the next.

When they struggle, Dak becomes a complete non-factor.

Bottom line is Zeke, Oline, Cooper, Gallup, Cobb— these are huge enablers for any NFL caliber QB.

Don’t loop them in with Witten.

 

[Simpleton]

Tell Dak to spread the wealth then

Re-signing Byron has nothing to do with Dak or anybody else. We could have $150 million in space and I wouldn't be interested in signing him to a deal that makes him a top 2 paid CB in the league, which is presumably what he's angling for.

There is no way on God's green Earth I'd pay this guy 15+ a year when he literally has not made one legitimate INT in 5 years.

 

[bbgun]

There is no way on God's green Earth I'd pay this guy 15+ a year when he literally has not made one legitimate INT in 5 years.

Marcus be throwin' shade at you

 

[Texas Ace]

I hate when people get deliberately obtuse like that because they're defensive or sensitive.

Byron Jones is a quality player, no doubt. But truly elite players are who deserve that type of money and he's not an elite player.

Nobody is saying the guy sucks, so Mosher needs to stop being a baby about it. But the truth of the matter is that the guys you ideally want to pay that type of money for are the ones who make game-changing plays and do things that help win big games.

Byron Jones does none of that.

Here's an example....

Terence Newman was underrated by our fanbase. He was very much like Byron Jones in that people undervalued him because he didn't pick off a lot of passes (which is kinda funny because compared to Jones, Newman was Deion Sanders in that regard).

So what happened is that Cowboys fans made Newman out to be some average player when he wasn't. In fact, Newman was one of the better corners in all of football but his reputation for not making plays and for seemingly getting beat at the worst times left a negative impression of him that he never really broke from. But Newman was in fact a very good player for a long time for us, and yet there was feeling like we needed more from that position.

Put it this way -- Newman was a better cover guy than Aqib Talib was. But I would take Talib over him every day of the week because Talib was a playmaker. Same for a guy like Charles Tillman. Newman was a good notch or two above both of them in pure cover skills, but those latter two guys were far more impactful in the outcome of football games because they had a knack for picking off passes or knocking the ball loose.

My point is, Byron Jones is a really good to great cover guy but I'd rather have a solid cover guy who makes plays because those guys are gonna help you win games more than the Byron Jones's of the world will.

And if Byron Jones will never be more than a great pure cover guy, then he's not worth 14 million a year.

 

[fortsbest]

Marcus be throwin' shade at you

So I watched that clip and in 95% of those clips I saw a guy who never turned his head back to look for the ball, and was way lucky not to have been called for PI. I think Byron is a top notch dude and a really good DB, but not top 5 pay good.

 

[Stasheroo]

Marcus be throwin' shade at you

I guess Mosher didn't realize he wasn't helping his case with that 'highlight reel'?

 

[Stasheroo]

So I watched that clip and in 95% of those clips I saw a guy who never turned his head back to look for the ball, and was way lucky not to have been called for PI. I think Byron is a top notch dude and a really good DB, but not top 5 pay good.

And a guy with no awareness of what to do when the football is actually coming!

His best move is waiting for the receiver to catch it and hitting his hands, hoping to knock it away. Great plan...

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Re-signing Byron has nothing to do with Dak or anybody else. We could have $150 million in space and I wouldn't be interested in signing him to a deal that makes him a top 2 paid CB in the league, which is presumably what he's angling for.

There is no way on God's green Earth I'd pay this guy 15+ a year when he literally has not made one legitimate INT in 5 years.

It's a matter of numbers. You can give 15-20 mil to Byron or you can sign an equivalent Dlineman in free agency. Give me the Dlineman and I'll fill corner cheaper and with a guy who can get me 3-4 picks a year.

 

[Rev]

Re-signing Byron has nothing to do with Dak or anybody else. We could have $150 million in space and I wouldn't be interested in signing him to a deal that makes him a top 2 paid CB in the league, which is presumably what he's angling for.

There is no way on God's green Earth I'd pay this guy 15+ a year when he literally has not made one legitimate INT in 5 years.

I wasnt advocating the signing. More like telling the guy what he should do if he wanted to sign Jones.

 

[Genghis Khan]

I'm torn on Jones. I'm not sure he's worth top 2 or 3 money. I'm not sure any CB is for that matter, because you can adequately replace corners a lot easier than positions like pass rusher or QB or LT.

On the other hand it is foolhardy to ignore the position. If you have a secondary as bad as for instance philly, it's a huge uphill climb to win games.

Specifically with Jones, I'm not 100% convinced he'll be as effective with the new defense being implemented. He's definitely a prototype for what Richard was doing. Im not sure it'll translate under Nolan.

All that said, Jones is really freaking good and criminally underrated around here.

That Aikman quote gets a lot of play (about not worrying about throwing at corners who don't intercept the ball), but clearly it isn't a popular mentality among QBs considering Jones has been among the least thrown at CBs in the league for two years now. Most QBs won't throw to a WR who isn't open.

 

[Stasheroo]

I'm torn on Jones. I'm not sure he's worth top 2 or 3 money. I'm not sure any CB is for that matter, because you can adequately replace corners a lot easier than positions like pass rusher or QB or LT.

On the other hand it is foolhardy to ignore the position. If you have a secondary as bad as for instance philly, it's a huge uphill climb to win games.

Specifically with Jones, I'm not 100% convinced he'll be as effective with the new defense being implemented. He's definitely a prototype for what Richard was doing. Im not sure it'll translate under Nolan.

All that said, Jones is really freaking good and criminally underrated around here.

That Aikman quote gets a lot of play (about not worrying about throwing at corners who don't intercept the ball), but clearly it isn't a popular mentality among QBs considering Jones has been among the least thrown at CBs in the league for two years now. Most QBs won't throw to a WR who isn't open.

If you can pick on the other guys, why wouldn't you? Awuzie is a much easier target than Jones is, but I don't think that makes Jones great, I think it's a point of least resistance approach. If the Cowboys had a better corner? Jones would be targeted more. That speaks more to me about Awuzie's struggles than any greatness from Jones.

The Aikman quote gets play because it's true. If the worst thing you have to worry about is an incompletion (and with Jones that's clearly all you need worry about), nobody is scared.

You pay big money for difference-makers. Jones isn't one. Deion set the cornerback market because he was great. Feared, dangerous, and a playmaker. Jones will set the market because he's "the next guy" in an ever-expanding salary cap.