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By Jon Machota and Bob Sturm Mar 16, 2022
With so much NFL free agency news happening early this week, Cowboys writers Jon Machota and Bob Sturm got together for another offseason discussion piece. Here’s a transcription of their Tuesday night conversation.
Machota: Let’s start off with this Randy Gregory news. The Cowboys had a deal in place for five years, $70 million with $28 million guaranteed, a source confirmed. And then about an hour later, Gregory was headed to Denver for the same deal. It later was reported that the language in the Cowboys contract included a clause that stated the franchise had the right to void the deal if Gregory was fined or suspended. That language is reportedly not in the contract Gregory agreed to with the Broncos. What was the most surprising part of all of it for you?
Sturm: I guess I still don’t quite grasp why this was worth destroying the deal over. It sounds like both parties wanted to carry on. Both found a number they liked. I definitely understand the concept of wording that may feel problematic to one side or the other, but usually when that happens, we find a solution. We find some common ground, get things worked out and cooler heads prevail. To do a 180 this quickly, I think it has really blindsided the Cowboys. I’m not really in a position to take sides here because I’m pretty confused on how it went down. But the fact that 24 hours ago and maybe even a week ago, everybody felt great about Randy re-signing, this is pretty wild.
Machota: When it comes to professional sports, I don’t believe everything breaks down simply to bad guy versus good guy on every topic. There’s often a little blame to go both ways where you can see where either one has a point. If the Cowboys tried to pull a slick move at the final minute, shame on them and they got what they deserved. On the other side, if Randy Gregory just simply signs with Denver, he looks like a bad guy to Cowboys fans because the organization supported him over the last seven years. But now, Gregory looks pretty good from all sides. He gets everything he wanted in the contract and Cowboys fans are more angered with their own team than Gregory because it looks like they tried to get too cute and made a huge mistake, so the blame is on them. From the outside, it looks like they should have just removed the clause to completely match Denver’s offer, but that is reportedly how the Cowboys have done business with every player other than Dak Prescott.
Sturm: I guess I don’t quite understand where things went wrong, but it’s free agency. And for that reason, you don’t have too much time to debrief about where you took a wrong turn. You’ve got to dust yourself off and use that giant slot of found resources and go try to fix your team.
Machota: I now think they have to make a notable move at right defensive end. That could be a free agent like Von Miller or Chandler Jones, or if that doesn’t happen, I think they need to follow their blueprint for acquiring Robert Quinn in 2019, invest a draft pick in making a trade for a veteran on another roster. They have to make a noticeable upgrade. I just can’t see them going into next season with their starting right end being Dorance Armstrong and someone else on a similar level.
Von Miller (Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
Sturm: No, they can’t do that. That’s for sure. I guess the question would be: To what level are you willing to go hard at that? Because second to quarterback, edge rusher is extremely expensive. Now you’re talking about an incredibly high compensation level and probably a pretty high trade compensation. You have to be careful there. When I look at this particular problem, I do see Von Miller. I don’t know that Chandler Jones is an option, just based on the fact that he has been unhappy about his money for quite a while. So I don’t think he would be terribly interested in sliding into a contract where the guaranteed money ends up looking something like two years for $28 million, which is what they had for Randy. I think you can do OK there, but I guess the question is: Would you give all that for Von Miller at this age (he turns 33 next week) who is in some manner of decline? And let’s not forget that one week ago he was making eyes at the Broncos and they would rather have Randy Gregory. So that should probably tell us a little something about an independent evaluation of Gregory versus Miller.
The other one I would throw out is Za’Darius Smith. (He made the Pro Bowl in 2019 and 2020 with the Packers.) And I realize he missed most of 2021 mostly because of a back situation, which I believe he had addressed. Now, your guess is as good as mine of what caliber Za’Darius Smith is right now, but I would say as he currently sits you probably have to at least know that if he’s right, you could get him for that price. And there’s a chance you could get him for below that number, perhaps. That’s a name I would throw into it just because he’s 275-280 pounds. He’s a very solid defensive end, but he also gets to the passer 12 times a year. That’s a pretty neat trick for a guy who doesn’t turn 30 until September.
Machota: I’m just not ruling out the possibility of a trade because at this time in 2019 we were not even thinking about the name Robert Quinn. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a big-name star, but somebody who has the potential to get double-digit sacks.
Sturm: I think you’re onto something there. I just haven’t done my search of who might fit into that group. But there will be options. If basically you’re saying Dorance Armstrong isn’t the full-time answer, and maybe not what you could draft at Pick 24 or in the second round, I agree. It’s a good edge-rushing class for sure, but I think you would want a veteran paired with a rookie if you’re going to try to go that route.
Machota: Since you brought that up, let’s talk about that real quick. How good do you think this edge-rushing class is in terms of the Cowboys being able to find an immediate impact starter still being there at Pick 24? I haven’t studied all of the top edge rushers, I’m going off things I’ve read and largely what Dane Brugler has been saying, and it appears that there’s a top six that has separated itself and it doesn’t look great for the possibilities of any of them falling to the Cowboys at 24. They don’t have to absolutely go for an edge rusher, but what do you think the options could be at 24?
Sturm: It’s pretty tough for me to fully know what that picture looks like now. Obviously, the top two, Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan) and Kayvon Thibodeaux (Oregon), will be long gone. From there, you start to look at Travon Walker (Georgia), George Karlaftis (Purdue) and David Ojabo (Michigan). If Jermaine Johnson (Florida State) has moved his way up from his combine, now you’re looking at that third tier, which might be any combination of Drake Jackson (USC), Kingsley Enagbare (South Carolina), Cam Thomas (San Diego State), guys like that. Or those combo guys like DeMarvin Leal (Texas A&M). A guy like Leal makes a fair amount of sense because he can kind of do both, and I know they like that combo. I’ll be honest, losing Gregory is a little different than losing DeMarcus Lawrence. I think there should be a little more comfort if you went with like a tandem because you’re not replacing Lawrence. You still got your No. 1. While it’s not ideal, I do think you can be creative. And back to your original point, to go find Robert Quinn for a sixth-round pick and to have him pretty productive for you and then he went to the Bears and remained productive, I think that should tell us that the offseason does not end Wednesday. The acquisition department can be busy all the way through the summer. I don’t think this is any time to panic if you don’t get the right guy at the right price.
Bobby Wagner (Joe Nicholson / USA Today)
Machota: I also want to mention Bobby Wagner. He’s one of the most popular names in free agency in regards to the Cowboys. Personally, I’d be more locked in on the edge-rushing situation, that’s where I’d be focused on spending the money that didn’t end up going to Gregory. But if you don’t get one of those top edge rushers are you interested in using some of that money on a linebacker like Wagner, who is an eight-time Pro Bowler and All-Decade player who Dan Quinn is very familiar with from their time together in Seattle? I’d prefer to go a little cheaper at the linebacker position. Wagner turns 32 in June. But how do you feel about that possibility?
Sturm: I love Bobby Wagner and everybody should. So let’s just start at, if that’s their decision, I think that’s plenty to get fired up about. However, I would suggest that that would concern me that the solution is to then play Micah Parsons at edge way more than they would as an elective. I’m not crazy about that. I think his value is as a moveable piece to attack your weaknesses. If we just make a list of what your edges are, if you invest in Wagner and Parsons isn’t moving down, then we’re back to Chauncey Golston and Tarell Basham at right end. It’s pretty light. That’s not great. You would be tempted to put Parsons at the right end a ton, and I’m not crazy about that. Do I have to give Wagner all $14 million? Geez, that feels a little stiff. But boy, if I had Micah Parsons and Bobby Wagner running around, I have to believe that Dan Quinn can make some of that work. It’s intriguing and never in my wildest dreams would I have pictured when this offseason started that Bobby Wagner could be part of this defense and maybe even a central part of this defense, so I think we have to at least have the conversation. The real question is if you could have one or the other, 33-year-old Von Miller or 32-year-old Bobby Wagner? I think that would require a few minutes of thinking it through, right?
Machota: For me, I’d have to see what the deals would be. If I’m only counting on paying Von Miller for a season or two, I’d rather have him than Wagner. The right end spot is just too important for me. And the thing I keep going back to with him is just how he has played in the big moments. His playoff numbers are amazing. Eleven postseason games, eight wins, two Super Bowl rings, 10 1/2 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, 18 quarterback hits, one Super Bowl MVP. In this past season’s playoffs, four games, four sacks (two in the Super Bowl), six tackles for loss and six quarterback hits. He came up with the big plays for the Rams in the playoffs and I didn’t see enough of that from the Cowboys defense against the 49ers. I look at it like that because as much as some want to act like the sky is falling with the Cowboys, they remain in the worst division in football. They’re basically getting handed a free ticket to the tournament. Give me a guy who shows up in the tournament.
Sturm: Yeah, I think you’re right. I think the answer is Von Miller. I’m a little concerned with his age and I’m a little concerned that Denver seemed to prefer Randy Gregory over Von Miller. Although, we never know. Almost like Dez Bryant in Dallas, there’s history to consider. And I guess I don’t know if Von Miller adds anything to that Broncos organization that they were kind of done with. That is a real mystery to me. But when you just say, OK, I can only have one, what’s the right answer? I’m pretty sure the answer is probably Von Miller on a short-term basis. And one of the answers to that is what are your other plays at each position. We talked about how you don’t really have anything at right end to feel great about. At linebacker, I kind of think Jabril Cox standing next to Micah Parsons gives me at least the basis of a super talented, very fast guy who might be able to start and I could live with that. I might still want to draft another linebacker just to build depth, but I might have a starter at linebacker already on the roster. I don’t think I have a starter at right end. So maybe that helps make the choice, too.
Machota: This is a good spot to stop. Let’s meet back up early next week to share our thoughts on what else the Cowboys have done in free agency.
