The Cowboys were “all-in” in February, but in March, not so much.
Linebacker Eric Kendricks is the only outside free agent the Cowboys have signed. They also re-signed Jourdan Lewis and long snapper Trent Sieg to one-year deals, while running back Tony Pollard, left tackle Tyron Smith, defensive end Dorance Armstrong, center Tyler Biadasz, defensive end Dante Fowler and defensive tackle Neville Gallimore are among those to leave.
The Cowboys haven’t reached agreement with Dak Prescott on a long-term deal, so his $55.455 million cap hit weighs heavily on their ability to do much in free agency, even if they wanted to. And they don’t.
The Cowboys haven’t made a splash in free agency since 2012 when they signed prized cornerback Brandon Carr and others. That’s why Jerry Jones’ “all-in” comment at the Scouting Combine came as such a surprise.
Jones now acknowledges the Cowboys are challenged to do things differently because of their salary-cap constraints.
“I have been more all-in before,” Jones said, via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “By any definition and I have more all-in to make a run back to the line of scrimmage then I’ve been to run for 50 yards. It took more all-in to just get back to the line of scrimmage than it did to run for 50 yards. Sometimes that is a bigger challenge. That is really the gist of what we’re about this year. We’ve got to get it done.
“I think that we have been in a situation where we can get it done with lesser. More doesn’t necessarily beat Green Bay. There are other things. Maybe having it better strategically in different spots, but more than necessarily beat them, either. So we’re going to be asked to do some things different because we’ve got some different players.”
The Cowboys are hamstrung by the need to extend Prescott, receiver CeeDee Lamb and edge rusher Micah Parsons. All are expected to be top of the market deals at their respective positions.
The Cowboys could let Prescott play out his contract, which expires after this season, but regardless where he’s playing in 2025, the quarterback will count $40.460 million against the Cowboys’ cap in 2025.
The Cowboys have $16 million in dead cap hits this season, including $6 million for Smith and $6 million for Ezekiel Elliott.
“What we doing here can hit the next five years because it can impact us that far,” Jones said. “So you’ve got some real, real decisions. We have huge amounts of money that hit our cap for dollars we’ve spent on players for either a period of time when they played or the player himself that won’t be here in the future. We won’t be getting an ounce out of them in 2024.”
So, the bottom line is this: Mike McCarthy goes into 2024 in the final year of his deal, needing to win to keep his job, and being pressured to win with less than last season.