Dallas Cowboys Free Agency the Ups and Downs

Nov 2, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones smiles prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

So with a week into the free agency period there have been minimal movement by the Dallas Cowboys, there are a few ups and downs so far. The moves have at least shown us that Stephen Jones is now in charge of personnel moves with the Cowboys maintaining their wait and see approach to free agency. While the moves create more cap space for the Cowboys not just this season but for the next few as well it does show a different movement in direction for the team. However, there have been more losses than gains than many fans would like.

First, let’s look at the negatives:

1. DeMarco Murray – It wasn’t just the loss of DeMarco, it was the way he was lost, what he said, and the team he went to. First, as many of you know I grew up in the Philly area, and I can not stand the Eagles, so losing him to the Eagles is a huge blow as well as to most a shot fired by Murray. Him stating that he felt he had a better shot at a Super Bowl in Philly is laughable and honestly, was more of a dig against what he felt was a bad offer by the Cowboys. They could have paid him, but Stephen is trying to be very budget friendly, and wasn’t willing to pay Murray what he wanted. Hey, let’s be honest though this last season was the first Murray stayed healthy for a full season.

2. Defensive Starters – I didn’t want to make a list of everyone the Cowboys have lost so far individually so here is a list of names so far. Justin Durant, Bruce Carter, and Henry Melton have all signed with other teams and Sterling Moore has visited a few teams. There is still Anthony Spencer, Nick Hayden, Rolando McClain, and George Selvie on the free market that the Cowboys could bring back, however if they lose all of them, this could be a massive hit to the defense.

3. Not much brought in – So far the Cowboys have signed, Darren McFadden, two Fullbacks in Jed Collins and Ray Agnew, three backup LBs in Keith Rivers, Andrew Gachkar and Jasper Brinkley, a backup CB in Corey White, two depth OTs (most likely a swing tackle) in R.J. Dill and Ryan Miller, a safety Keelan Johnson, and a punter in Tom Hornsey. Not much of these were really huge hole fillers. Brinkley and Rivers could compete for a starting LB job and there was a huge need at swing tackle with Jeremy Parnell leaving for Jacksonville.

There are a few positives here:

1. Money – This might be the first time in a while the Cowboys have had some money to play with. This is allowing the talk of Greg Hardy being brought in. Hardy would be a huge addition to the DL even if he is suspended for a few weeks. I won’t get into the morals of bringing him in, we will only look at him as a player.

2. Maybe McFadden – I know many Cowboy fans are not high on McFadden being here to replace Murray. To be honest I am not sure about it yet myself. However, he was playing in Oakland and their OL couldn’t start for most college programs right now. I will wait to see but if they feel like they need to draft a RB, this will show up quickly as they have a ton of holes they have to fill on D. If they start signing a bunch of D, then you know they are targeting RB early in the draft.

3. Low Risk – Even though the Cowboys have not brought in anyone that jumps off the page at you, they could fill roles nicely. They aren’t overspending on anyone and if they don’t fit they are not killing their salary cap for the next few seasons. If they could get a few restructures done they could still make a small splash heading into the draft.

So what I think will happen at this point is the Cowboys are going to look at their options for their late first round pick. They will look at RB and DL and try to guess who will be there when they pick. If they feel a RB should be there that they love, watch for some moves up until the draft to get a name or 2 along the DL. If they think they could get a bigger name at DL later in the first, then my guess is they will look to add some depth and not break the bank. They could go after a CB or one DL player up until the draft then look to go RB in the 2nd or 3rd. With Stephen pseudo-running the team now he is trying to not spend the future away from the team unlike his father. However, he still needs to fill holes and find the best players he can to do so without just bringing in depth and nothing else. It takes a while to build fully through the draft.

So there it is, a quick one week in primer on how free agency is going and where it can go from here. Tell me what you all think below and let’s have a little fun with this. Who do you still want here and why? (Don’t bring up Peterson because he still belongs to the Vikings…for now.)