Whatever fans may think of Mike McCarthy, it seems that Dallas Cowboys players think highly of him — Mike McCarthy received an "A" grade on the Cowboys' NFLPA report card. The Cowboys franchise as a whole ranked top-12 in six categories.
Dallas remains an attractive place to play pro football. Which is good news, because the Cowboys have some holes to fill in free agency.
Being such a well-regarded place to play gives Dallas an especially interesting advantage when it comes to bringing back former players. These guys will know how good things are in Dallas, especially when they've seen that the grass isn't always greener by playing elsewhere.
Here are 4 former Cowboys that Dallas should reunite with in free agency.
1. Ezekiel Elliott
Who else, right?
Ezekiel Elliott gambled on himself last year, signing a one-year "prove it" deal with the New England Patriots. His solid season showed he's still got something left in the tank, but it also won't have driven his asking price way up.
Tony Pollard is likely hitting free agency, and even RB2 Rico Dowdle is too. We know Deuce Vaughn isn't RB1 material at this stage, and it would make a lot of sense for the Cowboys to draft another rookie this offseason.
But potentially having two unproven youngsters means you need a vet in the room, and Zeke is the perfect fit.
Elliott proved he can still be an every-down contributor in New England (184 carries plus 51 receptions across 17 games), and while he's never going to be a 300-touch kind of guy again, it's good to know he's still as durable and reliable as ever.
2. Chidobe Awuzie
It remains to be seen how many cornerbacks the Cowboys let walk this offseason, but it's clear this will be a position of need.
With Stephon Gilmore potentially walking and Trevon Diggs working his way back from an ACL tear, there needs to be somebody capable on the outside across from Daron Bland. But given Diggs will be returning, Dallas also won't want to spend too much on that "somebody."
Chidobe Awuzie just finished out a big 3-year, $21 million contract, but he's going to be cheaper this time around at 28 years old and having made just 32 starts over those three seasons. That doesn't mean he con't contribute though.
Awuzie wasn't as lockdown in 2023 as he had been in recent years, but he still earned a respectable 62.3 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus. For context, Gilmore earned a 69.3 grade this season.
Awuzie also remains one of the league's better run-stopping corners. That shouldn't make or break a decision to sign him, but it is a nice added bonus with Mike Zimmer wanting to get a little tougher against the run than Dan Quinn was.
3. Cameron Erving
It's pretty clear at this stage of his career that Cam Erving is not a reliable starter for anyone who's serious about contending. But while he has his areas of struggle, that doesnt' mean he can't be a useful piece of an offensive line.
The Cowboys will likely be drafting Tyron Smith's replacement in the first round, but he's not the only lineman potentially on his way out. It's also never clear whether a rookie will really be an NFL-caliber starter from day one, and the Cowboys can't afford to let Dak Prescott get beat up while a rookie gets their legs under them.
Erving has experience playing just about everywhere on the offensive line, so whatever spot might need a fill-in can be filled by the one-time Cowboy.
The big knock on Erving is that he's a brutal run blocker (especially when you have him playing inside, where you expect even better run blocking than you would from a left tackle). But we've seen over the last couple of seasons the same thing he showed us in Dallas in 2020:
Erving may be one-dimensional, but he is still an above-average pass blocker. Your quarterback is safe with Erving protecting them.
We wouldn't want to have to count on Erving to make 17 starts or anything, but as a depth piece he backs up multiple positions and won't lead to any disasters if he needs to make a few spot starts. That would make him a very underrated signing.
4. Noah Brown
Wide receiver isn't exactly a pressing need for the Cowboys, but fans have their fingers crossed that replacing Michael Gallup is on the priority list. And who doesn't like speculating about additions at one of the most fun positions on the field?
Noah Brown left the Cowboys on a one-year deal from the Houston Texans last year, making a little under $2.5 million. He had a good season in Houston, but his 567 yards and 2 touchdowns on 33 receptions didn't show teams anything his 555 yards and 3 touchdowns on 43 receptions with the Cowboys in 2022 hadn't already.
So while it's a thin wide receiver class this year, he shouldn't cost too much to bring back. That's doubly true when you consider how loaded this receiver rookie class promises to be. Not many teams will have the kind of glaring need that might drive them to overpay someone like Brown.
This should let Dallas fix the mistake of keeping Gallup over Brown.
While his stats didn't necessarily show it, Brown earned a 74.3 grade from PFF last season. That's a higher mark than Gallup has posted in any of his six NFL seasons.
The Cowboys don't have an established WR3 right now (and really won't once they cut Gallup to free up cap space), and that's becoming an increasingly important role in the modern NFL. Bringing Brown back to fill the role makes a ton of sense.
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