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By Jon Machota Feb 21, 2022
Following the Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl parade last week, head coach Sean McVay chanted several times, “Run it back!” while superstar defensive tackle Aaron Donald was about to address the crowd. It makes plenty of sense for the Rams to do everything possible to attempt to repeat as champions.
Can the same be said for the 2021 Dallas Cowboys?
On paper, Dallas entered the playoffs with its most talented roster of at least the past decade. On the field, the results were similar to the past 25 years, a disappointing exit as the NFL’s only wild-card team to lose at home.
Arguments can be made for why the Cowboys should do everything to bring back all of their key pieces. And it’s certainly possible. Although Dallas is projected to be more than $21 million over the 2022 salary cap of $208 million, according to OverTheCap.com, it can quickly get plenty of space with several contract restructures. The website projects the Cowboys can create nearly $50 million in cap space on simple restructures alone.
Converting payments into prorated signing bonuses has been normal activity for the Cowboys. The issue is that it’s a short-term fix that can make navigating the cap more difficult in the future. Dallas is not going to restructure every contract on the books. It will actually be very few. The most likely candidates this offseason are Dak Prescott and Zack Martin.
“The salary cap is real,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said earlier this month on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “Certainly when you get to paying these quarterbacks, it’s a quarterback-driven league, Dak deserves every penny he gets. But once you get into that league with these $40 million quarterbacks then things have to give and take. One of the things, which is the good news for our organization, we’ve been a big believer in homegrown talent and bringing it in through the draft.
“Now, if we can find the right pieces, value pickups, as I like to call them, so you don’t have to reach in the draft and you can pick a guy that you don’t necessarily have a need for, like a CeeDee Lamb or a Micah Parsons and not have to reach for a corner, if you will, or if you were after a defensive lineman, then that allows you to go out and pick the best player on your board, which a lot of people preach but a lot of people don’t do it.
“We want to build our team through the draft. We do think we have a really young team, but we are going to have to make some decisions, tough ones probably. We’re not going to be able to keep everybody we’d like to keep in free agency.”
With all of that in mind, here’s a look at what should be at the top of the Cowboys’ offseason shopping list.
1. Edge rusher
If the Cowboys wanted, they could run it back with DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory as their starting edge rushers next season. On paper, it’s a strong combination. But there’s a good chance Dallas won’t have both back. Lawrence, who turns 30 in April, has two years remaining on his current contract. His base salary is $19 million for 2022 and $21 million for 2023. Considering Lawrence’s age and injury history, it’s unlikely that the Cowboys would restructure his contract. There’s a better chance that they move on. Dallas would like to keep Gregory. But what kind of commitment are the Cowboys willing to make to the unrestricted free agent? He will turn 30 in November and has only played 50 games over the last seven seasons because of suspensions and injuries. If he’s looking to find the most lucrative deal on the open market, that probably won’t come from the Cowboys.
Behind those two this past season were Dorance Armstrong and Tarell Basham. Armstrong is an unrestricted free agent and Basham is probably best suited to be a backup. That leaves rookie Chauncey Golston. The third-round pick should see more playing time in 2022, but he hasn’t shown enough to assume he’s ready to start. The draft will be important in this area, especially if Lawrence and Gregory aren’t both back. Parsons is an outstanding pressure player and he could certainly be a full-time defensive end, but the Cowboys also need the Defensive Rookie of the Year at linebacker.
If Dallas finds a way to keep both Lawrence and Gregory, edge rusher doesn’t need to be addressed early in the draft. If one is gone, the position has to be considered as early as their first pick, No. 24 overall.
2. Left guard
The offensive line issues were bigger than just one weak spot, but left guard was arguably the biggest problem. Connor Williams, who is about to become an unrestricted free agent, committed way too many penalties. Backup Connor McGovern didn’t do much with his opportunities in the starting lineup.
How do the Cowboys improve? They could hope for McGovern to be better with a full offseason at the position. They could move veteran right tackle La’el Collins over to left guard, where he played earlier in his career. Terence Steele would then move to starting right tackle. Or they could draft a player as early as Pick 24.
3. Safety
No team has invested less in this position than the Cowboys. There’s no reason to think they’re about to change their philosophy. But if there was ever a time to spend a little more than usual in this area, Jayron Kearse certainly seems worthy. Kearse had a breakout season, becoming one of the team’s top defenders. But like two of the team’s other top four safeties (Damontae Kazee and Malik Hooker), Kearse is an unrestricted free agent. That leaves only Donovan Wilson under contract.
It’s possible that Dallas finds a way to keep Kearse or maybe Kazee, but it’s likely that the spot again gets filled the same way as last year, with multiple one-year free-agent deals. The draft is also a possibility, but probably not before the third round.
Leighton Vander Esch (Tommy Gilligan / USA Today)
4. Linebacker
Parsons is a great start, but there’s not much proven playmaking behind him under contract. Had Jabril Cox not suffered a torn ACL at Minnesota, he could very well be entering 2022 as the starter alongside Parsons. But his injury, along with Keanu Neal and Leighton Vander Esch entering free agency, makes the group pretty thin. Parsons, Neal and Vander Esch each had over 70 tackles last season. Next highest on the roster was Luke Gifford with 11.
Pick 24 might be a little too rich for the position, but the second or third rounds could make sense. What seems more likely is that Dallas attempts to keep either Vander Esch or Neal or looks to sign a veteran in free agency to a bargain one-year deal.
5. Wide receiver
This is about adding another pass catcher. That could be at wide receiver or tight end. And the importance really depends on what Dallas decides to do with Amari Cooper. Continue to pay him $20 million per season or move on and potentially save $16 million against the cap? With Cooper, this is not a top-five need. But without him, things get thin behind Lamb and TE Blake Jarwin. WR Michael Gallup, WR Cedrick Wilson and TE Dalton Schultz are unrestricted free agents. Schultz will be the most difficult to keep, coming off his most productive season. Gallup’s chances of returning seem to have increased since suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 17. Perhaps Gallup re-signs on a one-year deal so he can go into free agency next year fully healthy.
If Cooper is out, the Cowboys will likely need to address wide receiver or tight end within the first three rounds. If it’s a wide receiver, the ideal fit would be a bigger body who can play on the outside, allowing Lamb to work more often in the slot. If it’s a tight end, the ideal fit is someone who has good hands but can also hold up in the run game.
