Despite it being the offseason for the NFL, there is no shortage of storylines for the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys have already started making waves by allowing David Irving to walk and releasing Terrance Williams. The positions of wide receiver and defensive tackle were ones that many felt were needs in the upcoming NFL Draft and free agency period in Dallas. With the new vacancies, those needs become even more apparent.
Irving made a big impact on the defensive side of the ball in previous seasons whenever he would actually see the field. Despite playing so few snaps for the Cowboys overall, he should be considered an organizational and developmental success after being snatched off the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad.
However, with his off the field issues, suspension and injury history, and rising price tag, it should really come as no surprise that the Cowboys are moving in another direction as he made next to no impact for the team in 2018 despite Dallas carrying him on the active roster all year long once his suspension was served.
The Cowboys also found a diamond in the rough with Antwaun Woods after signing him away from the Tennessee Titans last May. But even with the emergence of Woods, the defensive tackle position is one that the Cowboys put so few resources into that it might come back to bite them unless they look for new options this offseason. Maliek Collins was thought to be a key at the position but he has had his own availability issues with injuries over his young career.
The Cowboys do need to find a way to start addressing depth at the DT position, but, as of right now, it might be best to bring in lower-tier free agents as a bridge until they use draft capital on the position and find some younger options. The class in the upcoming draft is deep at the position, so the Cowboys could find a quality prospect in the later rounds if they choose to draft elsewhere early on.
The departure of Williams is one that had been speculated for some time now. The emergence of Michael Gallup and the addition of Amari Cooper made it an easy move to make. Williams spent most of the year on the injured reserve after playing sparingly over the first few weeks of the season with a possible suspension looming over his head.
Getting almost no production out of Williams right after he signed an extension was a bit of a blow to Dallas. They won’t want to make that mistake again but they know now that they can survive without him. It’s not all doom and gloom at the position, either, as the Cowboys have Cedrick Wilson coming back next season with Noah Brown and perhaps Allen Hurns, if he can recover from the gruesome injury that ended his season in the Wild Card round.
Nevertheless, the Cowboys could use depth at the position but it isn’t an issue where the loss of Williams is putting the Cowboys in a precarious position. 2018 showed that it was time to move on from him. They have playmakers at the position and only really need depth at this point and time.
The Cowboys made their moves to bring back Irving and Williams last year in a way that made sense for them at the time and, even when they backfired, they didn’t hurt the team too much as they ultimately won the division without much production from either Irving or Williams.
Shedding a couple of bigger contracts also frees up cash as they Cowboys look for long-term contracts with Dak Prescott, DeMarcus Lawrence, Byron Jones and perhaps Amari Cooper. The dark horse as far as contracts go is with unrestricted free agent Cole Beasley. Will the Cowboys pony up the cash to bring him back or will the team continue their youth movement? The next few weeks should be very interesting for America’s Team.
Do you think that the Cowboys should try to be more involved in acquiring free agents or should they focus on continuing to build through the NFL Draft? Share your thoughts on the offseason with Patrick @DraftCowboys.
