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So far, much of the attention on the Cowboys and their free agents have centered around Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper, and the lack of action around Byron Jones. Those three represent the top tier of Cowboys free agency and have found themselves routinely listed in the Top 10 of all available free agents in 2020 throughout the NFL.
Of course, the Cowboys have a lot of other free agents out there and a few them are pretty important to their efforts to rebound in 2020. Robert Quinn led the team in sacks last year with 11.5 and was constantly in the face of opposing quarterbacks. His ability to bend around the edge was a marvel. His presence book-ending with DeMarcus Lawrence is vital to the Cowboys pass rush.
Randall Cobb is another guy who was really productive in 2019. He had 828 yards receiving and three touchdowns. Mike McCarthy is a big fan and seemed to indicate he would like to use Cobb in more varied ways than the Cowboys did last season. That’s provided he returns.
Fortunately, the Cowboys are actively negotiation with both Quinn and Cobb.
Against that backdrop, let’s try to put at least part of what’s going on behind the scenes with the Cowboys into focus. Here’s a stab at what to expect, based on communication with several of those involved in recent days.
Dak Prescott will likely be hit with the exclusive franchise tag on Monday as the two sides continue to negotiate.
No one is willing to say Amari Cooper will sign before he hits free agency. But negotiations are encouraging and the odds of him agreeing to a long-term contract in the next few days is much greater than Prescott.
Two other impending free agents, Randall Cobb and Robert Quinn, have expressed a willingness to stay and are currently in negotiations with the club.
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Discussions with Cooper, Cobb and Quinn can hit a bump or those with Prescott can stumble onto an unexpected breakthrough. But for the moment, this is the landscape.
Ed Werder dropped this tweet the other day.
#Cowboys source tells me team in active contract negotiations with at least six players scheduled for free agency next week. So more than Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper, although they remain the highest priorities since they are candidates for franchise/transition tags.
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) March 10, 2020
We now know who four of them are, Prescott, Cooper, Cobb and Quinn. Any guesses on the other two?