FRIECO – Jerry Jones hit the snooze button, so Dallas Cowboys Nation is understandably hitting the panic button.
All of their NFC East opponents added key players on Monday's first day of free agency, but the Cowboys were the only team in the NFL to never make a trade. In fact, their scorecard was an ugly minus-3 with no one arriving and running back Tony Pollard, center Tyler Biadasz and defensive end Dorrance Armstrong all leaving.
With the signing of quarterback Dak Prescott to a new contract, the Cowboys are now in desperate need of size-up players at running back, left tackle, center and behind the defense, but that could be the case in the playoffs. It was exploited in the upset loss to the Green Bay Packers.
While the Cowboys were struggling, the Philadelphia Eagles hit the ground running with the addition of running back Saquon Barkley and Pro Bowl pass rusher Bryce Huff. The New York Giants acquired elite edge rusher Brian Burns in a trade. The Washington Commanders and new head coach Dan Quinn then raided the Cowboys (taking Biadasz and Armstrong) and signed five more players, including starting running back Austin Ekeler.
The Cowboys reportedly tried to re-sign Pollard, but he was too expensive. The same goes for running back Zack Moss, who left the Indianapolis Colts to sign a two-year, $8 million contract with the Cincinnati Bengals.
According to one reportMoss' contract was “extended beyond their comfort”.
We've written about the Cowboys' disciplined philosophy of improving “within our means.” That's fine, but…
If your competition is clearly improving and you can't seem to lift your little finger, that's alarming.
Right, Micah Parsons?
Right, Dez Bryant?
Right, Tad Prescott?
right, marcus spears?
All four, directly or indirectly, harshly criticized the Cowboys' management and their inaction in free agency.
ESPN's Dan Orlovsky added Tuesday morning, “The Cowboys' standing pat is shocking. The Eagles have definitely jumped them in terms of winning the NFC East this season.”
To be fair, Jones orchestrated the shrewd trade for receiver Brandin Cooks and cornerback Stephon Gilmore in Week 2 of last year's new league season, the first big name. This was after the dust from the contract cloud had settled.
But in January, Jerry promised to “go all in” this year. So far, I can't help but feel like he's already broken.
