How Cowboys Should Prioritize Fixes for Disastrous 2024 NFL Offseason
The Dallas Cowboys find themselves in a situation where they've reached paralysis by analysis. The organization understands it has moves to make. Yet none of them have been accomplished this offseason.
The same team that tied for the NFC's best record last season and claimed an NFC East crown basically stood pat, let multiple key players leave, didn't improve in any specific area and somehow still expects to be highly competitive this fall.
Yes, the Cowboys feature a talented roster. Dak Prescott is a top-10 quarterback. CeeDee Lamb was the league's most productive wide receiver last season. Micah Parsons is now a perennial NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
It just so happens all three of those players mentioned are due massive contract extensions. In two instances, Dallas needs to get them done before the regular season begins.
Something or someone has to budge. The Cowboys understand what's at stake with their star players. They can also look ahead and see the team has a projected $67.9 million in projected salary-cap space for the 2025 season, per Spotrac. Currently, the organization has approximately $12 million in wiggle room.
The Cowboys can still achieve the majority of their goals this offseason even after what has been a disastrous start to 2024. The following five steps should position Dallas better for the upcoming season and into the future.
1. Immediately Sign WR CeeDee Lamb to a Contract Extension
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The sooner the Dallas Cowboys can sign CeeDee Lamb to a contract, the better, because the wide receiver market is only going to increase by waiting longer to get anything done.
Right now, the Cincinnati Bengals are trying to negotiate a long-term contract with Ja'Marr Chase. The deal will almost certainly reset the exploding wide receiver market.
"I'm gonna be pleased if it gets done so we retain his rights out into the future," Bengals owner Mike Brown told reporters. "The earlier the better. But he's a great player, and we know what he means to the team. He and his agent have an idea about that too. Then, what others get paid seems to impact what he wants to get paid. There are all kinds of issues that play into this. It's not easy to resolve, but our intention is to keep Ja'Marr Chase."
A specific part of Brown's quote is very important.
"The earlier the better."
Multiple organizations now operate with a specific guardrail in mind, "Identify and pay early." The reason why is simple: As the NFL's revenue and salary cap continue to escalate, the positional markets reset. The sooner a team gets a star under contract; the more likely it'll look like a tremendous value just a couple years later.
For example, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett signed a contract extension nearly four years ago. Since then, the overall value of his $120 million deal has been surpassed by $45 million and his average annual salary now ranks seventh.
Dallas can actually benefit from expediency, though the organization rarely operates that way.
Lamb led the NFL last season with 135 receptions. He's a top-tier target. He'll be paid as such. The Cowboys already missed an opportunity to ahead of the contracts signed by Minnesota Vikings' Justin Jefferson and Detroit Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown. Dallas doesn't need to let the market go any further.
By signing Lamb now, his deal will likely be surpassed by Chase's eventual extension in short order. Second, the Cowboys can lower Lamb's cap number now, which current sits at $18 million, and push it into next season, much like the Vikings did with Jefferson's deal.
Thus, the prioritization of Lamb's extension now serves multiple purposes. First, it'll end the wide receiver's holdout. Second, it'll get ahead of the market slightly. Finally, it can create more flexibility to allocate resources elsewhere.
2. Sign Free-Agent WR Hunter Renfrow
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The Dallas Cowboys did a disservice to CeeDee Lamb by not adding another legitimate target at wide receiver. He still needs help.
As mentioned earlier, Lamb led the NFL last season with 135 receptions. His 181 targets also led the league.
Great receivers demand the lion's share of targets. No one will argue otherwise. Yet Brandin Cooks turns 31 later this year, and he's already experienced four straight years of decreased yardage output. Michael Gallup left the team, then retired. Jalen Tolbert is the Cowboys' next-best option after he posted all of 22 receptions for 268 yards in 2023.
To amplify matters, the Cowboys waited until the sixth round to draft Southeast Missouri State's Ryan Flournoy. The small-school product is physically gifted, but no team should be banking on a late-round draft pick to immediately develop and address a significant area of concern.
Thus, the Cowboys should still turn their attention to free agency, where Hunter Renfrow remains available.
Lamb works out of the slot often (40 percent of last year's snaps). But the All-Pro is capable of working outside and can move around depending on alignment and play-call. Renfrow, meanwhile, can provide a consistent presence from the slot. He doesn't need to be anything more.
Renfrow posted career-lows last season with 25 receptions for 255 yards. He didn't fit in the offense as built by previous Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels. All he needs to do in Dallas is work the underneath routes and contribute as he always has as "3rd-and-Renfrow."
At this point in free agency, Renfrow's price tag shouldn't be exorbitant. Instead. he should see an opportunity to play alongside Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott, while immediately stepping in as a critical component to squad with high expectations.
3. Inquire About, Trade for RB Khalil Herbert
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Heading into the offseason, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones specifically mentioned three areas in which his team needs to improve.
"We need to stop the run better, we need to be more physical, and we need to run better, to be specific," he said.
Well, the Cowboys didn't add anything to the defensive interior. There isn't much available now. The hope is that the coaching staff can develop last year's first-round selection, Mazi Smith, to become a massive space-eater and disruptor.
The lineup did take two big hits along the offensive line, with left tackle Tyron Smith and center Tyler Biadasz leaving in free agency. However, the Cowboys invested heavily in their offensive line by drafting offensive tackle Tyler Guyton and guard-turned-center Cooper Beebe in the first and third rounds, respectively.
In order to run the ball better, Ezekiel Elliott, who rejoined the Cowboys this offseason after a year with the New England Patriots, shouldn't be considered the complete answer. Elliott can still be serviceable, but expectations need to be shifted. The two-time NFL rushing leader turned 29 earlier this week.
Another option is necessary for the Cowboys to achieve Jones' stated goal.
The Chicago Bears' backfield is loaded. Running back D'Andre Swift turned out to be the organization's biggest offseason signing. The unit also includes Roschon Johnson, Khalil Herbert and Travis Homer. Johnson was a fourth-round draft pick last year, while Homer is a core special teamer. Herbert, who is on the last year of his rookie deal, could be the odd man out.
"I figured," Herbert said of the Bears' interest to add another back. "Especially, last year, they brought in D'Onta [Foreman]. You kind of know how the game goes."
Herbert averaged 4.9 yards per carry through his first three seasons. He led the Bears' running backs with 611 yards in 2023. The Cowboys should flip a '25 Day 3 draft pick to the Bears for Herbert so he can split backfield duties with Elliott.
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4. Sign QB Dak Prescott to a Contract Extension
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Quarterback is always a priority. Somehow, the Dallas Cowboys have failed to get a deal done early with Dak Prescott before and it's happening again.
Yes, the argument to identify and sign early should also apply here. That moment has passed. Lamb is more important in the immediacy. The rush to market isn't quite the same at quarterback after Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff and Trevor Lawrence already signed new deals this offseason. The Miami Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa remains an X-factor, but the current market shouldn't move much, if at all, based on what's already occurred in recent months.
Besides, the perception of Prescott's game doesn't necessarily entail a top-of-the-market deal based on where it currently sits.
"He always does well enough to be in the top 10 but never gets over the hump," an NFC executive told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "He makes all the throws. He's playing the position at a high level. But something's missing. There are a lot of factors in that, from the running game, playcalling, defense, and Dallas hasn't won in a long while. But certain guys are going to elevate their team late in the game, and Dak doesn't seem to do that."
Still, the numbers for an extension won't be small. A new contract can benefit the team in the short term, though.
As of now, Prescott has the league's second-highest salary-cap charge at $55.1 million. His actual cash spent is $34 million. The Cowboys can increase that number to benefit the quarterback, while using further extension years to lessen the cap figure by spreading out the signing bonus, thus creating more space and rollover cap.
Dallas has been here before. The Cowboys waited too long the last time the quarterback's contract came due and provided him with all of the leverage. The same is true now. But there are ways to benefit both sides by getting something done this summer.
5. Push Micah Parsons' Contract Extension to Next Offseason
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Micah Parsons is well-deserving of a contract extension. He'll get one eventually. The time isn't right, though.
In just three seasons, Parsons already amassed 40.5 sacks. He's already considered an elite defender.
"Micah Parsons became just the fourth player in the PFF era to record 100 or more pressures in a single season, finishing the 2023 regular season with 103 from his 17-game slate," Pro Football Focus' Sam Monson wrote. "... Only Myles Garrett had a higher pass-rush win rate than the 24.1 percent that Parsons managed, and his pressure rate was the top mark in the league."
In any other offseason, Parsons would be an organization's No. 1 priority if Dallas hadn't pinned itself into the proverbial corner.
Whereas CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott are free agents after this season, Parsons still has two years remaining on his rookie deal (safely assuming the Cowboys will pick up his fifth-year option). He just entered the initial window to negotiate a second contract.
Despite making three All-Pro teams in three years and being a force of nature, the 2021 12th overall draft pick will be forced to wait as everything else plays out regarding the Cowboys roster.
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