Frisco, Texas – Well, after football wasn't very active, it certainly started making noise around here.
First, the Big 12 Conference Combine will replace last week's individual members' pro days. Then, on Monday, players from the area or players who played for colleges in the area visit Dallas Day. Then on Wednesday, Visit 30 here at The Star began, with the Cowboys bringing in not only a potential first-round pick, but also a draft-eligible player.
And in less than two weeks, the Cowboys will begin Phase 1 of offseason training on April 15th.
Let's go, I need something. shot I have the ingredients and as usual I have enough for another round today.
- Never fail: There always seems to be someone expressing disappointment that the Cowboys didn't try to sign them in free agency or draft them. The next surprise was 30-year-old running back Derrick Henry. He spent eight years with the Titans, rushing for 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns in four of his Pro Bowl seasons, most recently in 2023, before being shown the door at Tennessee. After signing a two-year, $16 million free agent contract with Baltimore, the Dallas resident noted on a recent podcast that he was disappointed the Cowboys didn't try to sign him, saying, I thought there was a little bit,” he said. Some kind of contact, some kind of talks, etc. They never contacted me, you know what I'm saying? I don't know much about their organization. All I know is what I've heard. I was talking to my friend the agent. They weren't very interested. That's what it is. ” Derrick, what does this mean? The Cowboys let six starting pitchers go to free agency, leaving them with barely enough cap space to re-sign them. Derrick, you could have gotten him a one-year deal with incentives like $5 million. But from what I hear, the Cowboys made the call knowing the money was out of reach. Maybe he doesn't know much about the salary cap. Just know that he is guaranteed $9 million at his age. All of that is his base salary and signing bonus in 2024, as well as a $10.8 million cap hit in 2025. It's another example of the salary cap problem the Cowboys have this season, but it's even worse next season. The funny thing is, no one says, “It's too bad the Falcons talked to me so harshly.'' Or look at Randy Moss and express your dissatisfaction, but the Cowboys didn't draft him in the first round in 1998 with the No. 8 pick (Greg Ellis), but Minnesota took him at age 21. 19 other teams also poached him.
- Speaking of RB: Hey Zeke, we're continuing our campaign to get you back here as a part-time running back. Like a one-year deal to add experience to that room. Probably about $3 with incentives. what you say? Ezekiel Elliott played 51 percent of the snaps for the Patriots last year and finished with 1,000 yards from scrimmage, 642 yards rushing, 313 yards receiving, and five total touchdowns. He averaged 4.1 yards per touch. It certainly wouldn't hurt to have him around. And it sounds like someone is coming out with the best marketing tool ever: “We're interested.” If the Cowboys are interested, he thinks he might attract interest from other teams as well. And from the Cowboys' standpoint, they might as well get something for the $6 million in dead money he still owes against the cap this year.
- Just a reward: When it comes to NFL/NFLPA pay-for-performance programs, Daron Brand struck gold in his second season with the Cowboys. Brand, a 2022 fifth-round draft pick, signed a four-year contract worth $3.964 million, including a signing bonus of $304,788. But he did earn more than his second-year base salary of $8.97 million and led the NFL with nine interceptions, five of which were returned for touchdowns, an NFL single-season record. Thus, he was handed a bonus of $759,756, but strangely enough he ranked 20th.th. Unexpected spending changes aren't bad.
- Mock of mocks: There's a natural tendency when you try to scoff at the Cowboys' 24-year-old first-round pick and give them an offensive tackle or guard. But did you know? What could be so wrong if the Cowboys started the season with Tyler Smith at left tackle and TJ Bass at left guard? That's the most economically viable way to make up for the loss of Tyron Smith. Dew. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if they traded back and selected a center that could potentially replace Tyler Biadasz. The Cowboys decided that the amount the Cowboys received in 2023 was too high, as Washington had just signed a three-year, $29.25 million contract. The contract includes a signing bonus of $13.5 million. As it stands, second-year offensive lineman Brock Hoffman would likely start at center if he had to play tomorrow. Keep in mind that not every position on the offensive line requires a first-round pick. Last year I had three of them, and at this point in 2024 I still only have two.
- Second take: While doing some research the other day, I came across a scene where the Cowboys lost to the Dolphins 22-20 on Christmas Eve. The Cowboys made field goals from Miami's own 25-yard line and 15-yard line, but also wasted 73 yards to start the game. A fumble exchange between Dak Prescott and Hunter Luepke led to a touchback and a first-and-goal lead. There was also part of a second illegal shift penalty in the third quarter, when CeeDee Lamb reset at the line of scrimmage, negating Dak's 14-yard run on third-and-11 from the Miami 25-yard line, forcing him to take a half step back. . He ends up onside with tight end Jake Ferguson, who just started the motion. In the end, Brandon Aubrey made a 43-yard field goal. Also, in the fourth quarter, there were two unforgivable mistakes by Edoga Chuuma, who started in place of the injured Tyron Smith, and instead of blocking pass rusher Bradley Chubb to his left, he double-teamed him in a pass pro. I decided. One was an incomplete field goal on third-and-3, and the other allowed a sack on first-and-goal, but they were overcome with the winning touchdown, leading 20-19 with 3:27 left. did. . What hurt was the game-deciding 12-play, 64-yard drive for the Dolphins' walk-off field goal, in which Miami offensive linemen twice tackled Cowboys defenders, once on Brand and once on He made a tackle on Damone Clarke and scored a huge run without a call. I'm just saying.'
- Best of Business: Cowboys equipment staff 2023 NFC Equipment Team of the Year by New EraAt the NFL Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. Mike McCord, Bucky Buchanan, Dylan Keene, the amount of time these guys put in is unbelievable. They deserve championship belts and should take turns wearing them as they walk through the locker room.
- this thing: As insurance at left tackle, the Cowboys re-signed Edoga, but with the veteran exception, he is only guaranteed a maximum signing bonus of $152,000 and a cap charge of $1,092,000 if he joins the team. Only…hey, it's the Bills, they wanted to let go wide receiver Stefon Diggs and trade Trevon Diggs' younger brother, plus a 2024 6-pound pick and a 2025 5-pound pick to Houston in just 2,025 seconds. It must be. Most importantly, it absorbed a reported $31 million in dead money while giving up $18.5 million in guaranteed base this year. This means the Bills paid a lot of money to save them headaches and limit their funds…and the Cowboys have his $18.5 million base before anyone leaves. I couldn't afford to pay. This year, we'll finally see a Diggs vs. Diggs showdown. This year, the Cowboys will face the Texans… RJ Godfrey – The son of Cowboys linebacker Randall Godfrey, the Cowboys saw him start 54 of 64 games as a 1996 second-round pick. For the first time in four seasons – playing at Clemson in the NCAA regionals this weekend… you probably saw UFL Michigan State kicker Jake Bates hit a walk-off 64-yard field goal to beat St. Louis. Aubrey, who could be the second coming of Brandon, is a former soccer player who was only a kickoff specialist in college, making his last field goal try since high school at the University of Arkansas. In fact, St. Louis was hit twice because they called a timeout right before hitting from 64 in the first as well.
And in some ways, I couldn't resist the last word of the week, but Iowa's Caitlin Clark scored 41 points, 27 of which came on nine 3-pointers for the Hawkeyes, and the women's college basketball world has been around for a long time. I've been down the road. She defeated LSU in the '94-87 district final. And I'm proud to have been one of her record 12.3 million people to watch a women's college basketball game on TV.
See Brad Townsend's location. dallas morning news Luka, who had a brief conversation with Dallas Mavericks MVP candidate Luke Doncic during shootaround before a game at Golden State on Tuesday night, said Clark's three-shooting ability was more like that of Stephen Curry than his own. “She shoots better than me, that's for sure,” he said. ” This is from an NBA trick shot artist who bounced the ball into the basket from a video screen high up on the court during warmups in Houston on Sunday night. Shake it. Google. Please try it.
Anyway, for context, let's consider the evolution of women's basketball. When I first started covering games, high school basketball in some states was still played on the half-court, 3-on-3 side, and in ancient history women were not allowed to run full court. . In fact, nearly 50 years ago, the NCAA had not yet sanctioned women's basketball. Operated under the jurisdiction of the AIAW (Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), the NCAA did not sanction a Division I championship until 1982. That was 42 years ago.
If only Clark had gotten one more point for symmetry.
