The case for and against the Cowboys re-signing free agent Randall Cobb

The 2020 NFL free agency is just days away (possibly) and before long we’re going to get the answers to many of the questions we’ve been pondering all offseason. With so many of the Cowboys own players entering free agency, it’s unclear which of them will return this upcoming season. Big names like Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper are expected to stick around, although the team may get a little help via the franchise/transition tag. All signs point to Byron Jones going elsewhere as his price tag should end up making him one of the highest paid corners in the league. And then there is Robert Quinn. His 11.5 sacks from a year ago has Jerry Jones wanting to find a way to bring him back. Only time will tell if that hope comes to fruition.

While those guys are talked about quite a bit, many other players are swept under the rug as they don’t hold the same sense of urgency as the bigger name players. That’s not to say they aren’t important pieces to this team. In fact, the Cowboys are in talks to retain some of these guys.

But who are the players the Cowboys are trying to keep? Over the next few days, we’ll take a look at a few players that should receive heavy consideration for keeping around a little longer. Today, we’ll start with Randall Cobb.

Career Stats:

What have you done for me lately:

How about coming off a 55-catch, 828-yard season? In his first eight years in the league, he never had a season where he had more than 15 yards per reception while catching passes from Aaron Rodgers. But that all changed last year as the veteran receiver had his most efficient season of his career. The connection he has with Prescott has become a good one.

The WR situation:

If you pencil in Amari Cooper (and you should), the team is in good shape with rising star Michael Gallup on the roster. The team also has Noah Brown, Cedrick Wilson, Devin Smith, Lance Lenoir, and Ventell Bryant all under contract for one more season. They also have Jon’Vea Johnson for the next two seasons.

The case for hanging on to him:

The Cowboys led the league in yards last year thanks to a passing offense that jumped from 23rd in 2018 to second overall last season. When you have two different receivers that had over 1,000 yards each, that certainly helps, but Cobb’s contribution was pretty impressive in its own right. In fact, the combination of Cooper, Gallup, and Cobb were the first trio of wide receivers in Cowboys history that each had over 800 yards in the same season. When you look down the line at some of the impressive trio’s this franchise has had, that’s quite the feat. Supplementing that type of production won’t be easy, and the front office won’t have to if they just re-sign him.

The case for letting him go:

Keeping Cobb is ideal, but how much should the team be willing to allocate his way? Signing him for $5 million was great value last year, but what if he’s wanting $7 million this time around? Couldn’t the team find a considerably cheaper slot receiver in free agency, like say, the Bears’ Taylor Gabriel? Or what about this super deep draft class? With so many quality receivers through the first four rounds of the upcoming draft, the Cowboys can get a youngster on a cheap rookie deal.