Many people have been perplexed by the Dallas Cowboys’ lack of activity during the first week of free agency.
Despite owner Jerry Jones’ early offseason pledge to “all-in,” the Cowboys have been the least active team in free agency thus far. Linebacker Eric Kendricks is the lone undrafted free agent they have signed, and their re-signings have also been quite low-key. Important players like Tony Pollard and Dorance Armstrong have signed multi-year contracts with other teams in the interim.
Many supporters are upset with Dallas’s subdued approach to free agency thus far, despite the fact that the team does not have much cap space.
Jerry Jones’s son Stephen Jones, COO, claims that strategy has a purpose. At the beginning of free agency, the younger Jones gave the excuse of a “inflated market” for his decision to remain unsigned.
“I’ve always been of the ilk that you, in this first couple of days of free agency, you pay good players like they’re great, you pay average players like they’re good, and so on and so forth,” Stephen Jones said. “Because the market’s inflated in our mind. That’s one opinion.”
We can question one point: How can a team possibly get enough excellent players if drafting is the only path taken? That is a valid point of view, given the absurd contracts awarded in the first few days of free agency. When a team relies largely on draft selections and never spends on free agents, how can they ever have enough picks to cover every position?
Yes, Stephen’s go-to source for explanations is the NFL Draft.
Jones said it’s “not frustrating” to be a non-buyer “because it means we’ve done a good job with the draft. That’s a sign in my mind that our organization — Will (McClay) and the scouting department and the coaches that have been through here — we’ve
Jones said it’s “not frustrating” to be a non-buyer “because it means we’ve done a good job with the draft. That’s a sign in my mind that our organization — Will (McClay) and the scouting department and the coaches that have been through here — we’ve done our job of developing players.”
Stephen’s remarks, though, probably won’t alter the opinions of many Cowboys supporters.
Dallas finds itself in a difficult predicament as the team’s capacity to make free agency moves is severely limited by Dak Prescott’s salary hit of more than $55 million this season. However, Jones implies that Dallas wouldn’t be acquiring Pro Bowl players with that $20 million in room.
Once more, the Cowboys have the opportunity to add talent through the NFL Draft, but will that truly be sufficient to help them reach their goals? Does competent drafting represent the pinnacle of “doing their job”?