Cowboys news: Latest in Cowboys free agency rumors and player news

Cowboys Rumors: Latest Buzz on Phillip Dorsett Interest, Dak Prescott, More - Joe Tansey, Bleacher Report

Could the Cowboys be bringing in another potential weapon for Dak Prescott to throw the ball to? The departure of Randall Cobb leaves a hole at WR3.

There are ample wide receiver options remaining on the free-agent market, but Dorsett is one of the few who could be signed at a decent value.

In 2019, he earned just over $2.5 million with the New England Patriots, and he has never made more than $3 million in a single season.

Dorsett likely does not have leverage to ask for more than what he received last season since he had 29 receptions for 397 yards.

His yardage total would have been the sixth-best on the 2019 Cowboys roster, which featured a pair of 1,000-yard wideouts in Cooper and Michael Gallup. If he signs with Dallas, Dorsett would be a complementary piece that could develop into a solid third option for Prescott.

Since Dallas needs someone to fill the third spot on the wide receiver depth chart, it likely will not pursue Robby Anderson, who was a primary target for the New York Jets last season. Breshad Perriman, who made $4 million in 2019 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, could be deemed a bit too expensive as the Cowboys try to work within the salary cap.

Source: Cowboys DE Randy Gregory files for reinstatement - Todd Archer, ESPN

Could the Cowboys be getting some help back in 2020?

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory, suspended indefinitely in February 2019, has officially filed for reinstatement to the NFL, a source told ESPN.

Under the league’s substance-abuse policy, the NFL has to make a decision on Gregory’s status in the next 60 days.

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Under terms of the new collective bargaining agreement, players can no longer be suspended for a positive test for marijuana but because he was penalized under the old system he would still need to be welcomed back by commissioner Roger Goodell. A player can continue to be suspended for missing tests or not taking part in a care plan.

History shows how franchise quarterbacks are hard to come by, and why Dak Prescott is a rare find - DannyPhantom, BTB

What does the data tell us about the probability of finding a true franchise quarterback? BTB’s own DannyPhantom went through the information, and it the results are very interesting.

What is odd from all the free agent activity this season is it reveals the true inability to sustain success as an NFL quarterback. Former top overall picks are now out of work. Even more strange is that many of those quarterbacks who made it to a second contract, ended up doing so with a different team. Kirk Cousins and Jimmy Garoppolo both have big money deals, but they aren’t with the team that originally drafted them.

When you put everything out on the table, it just speaks to how challenging it is to land a quality quarterback in the league. So, when the Cowboys are sitting with a quarterback who has started every game since entering the league and is now on the franchise tag as he awaits his new contract - that should be a small clue that he might be one of the keepers.

To get a better understanding of this, let’s go back 10 years and see which quarterbacks made it through the gauntlet that is an NFL career. We’ll start at 2010 and finish at 2016 since all quarterbacks drafted after that are still playing on their rookie deals so it’s too early to have final data for those guys.

Dak Prescott can franchise tag his way to huge payday with Cowboys - Michael Collins, Maroon and White Nation

Will Dak follow in the steps of Kirk Cousins en route to earning a big pay day?

By the time the third year rolled around, franchising Cousins again would have been too big a hit to the Redskins salary cap, so Cousins was able to now test the open market.

He struck gold with the Vikings, signing a 3-year, $84 million deal with Minnesota. He’s now signed an extension that will bring the total value of that contract to over $150 million. That paves the way for Prescott to follow a similar path with the Cowboys.

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Dak is certainly looking to be a much more accomplished and desirable quarterback than Cousins was when he left Washington, so it could mean a record-payday for the Cowboys signal-caller.

Jerry Jones and the Cowboys took a flyer on Prescott in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, and they’ve certainly milked their money’s worth out of his rookie deal. Dak handled the baptism by fire in Dallas better than anyone could have possibly foreseen.

Playing under one-year deals can make some players feel like they are unappreciated. Chances are, Dak Prescott will look at it as an opportunity to make the Cowboys (or some other NFL team) really pay down the road.

7-Round Mock Draft: Cowboys may have to draft Dak Prescott’s replacement - K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire

What happens if the Cowboys need to find Dak’s replacement? K.D.’s latest mock draft addresses just that.

The Cowboys had an opportunity to pay Prescott the going rate before last season. When outside observers were saying the at-the-time three-year veteran was worth between $20 million and $24 million a season, the real math showed he was worth $29 million a year.

Prescott’s first-three-year performance put him in similar breath with Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan, Tom Brady and Russell Wilson, among other big-name QBs.

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If, and it’s a big if, the Cowboys cannot convince Prescott to sign a long-term deal it will be a huge setback for the organization. One that, honestly, they need to prepare for. The club should continue doing everything they can to bridge the difference between Prescott’s demand for just a four-year deal and the team’s desire for more years of control. If it means shooting pass Wilson’s average of $35 million a year, so be it. It will be a relatively cheap deal as the next wave of signal callers earn their new contracts, starting with Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City, Lamar Jackson in Baltimore, Deshaun Watson in Houston.

So how exactly can they prepare? The only feasible solution, and one many may not be prepared to address, is to draft a quarterback.

Gerald McCoy says signing with Dallas was a ‘no-brainer’, that Cowboys have ‘all the pieces’ - SportsDay

Gerald McCoy sounds excited to play for the Dallas Cowboys.

Murray: “Have you had any conversations with Mike McCarthy and what role do you expect the Cowboys will use you in?”

McCoy: “I haven’t spoken with many of the coaches yet. But, what I’ll be doing is what I was drafted to do. Be a three-technique, get up field and disrupt. Get to the quarterback. That’s what I love doing and that’s what I’ve done my whole career. That’s what I plan to keep on doing. That’s what’s fun about it, and I believe we’re going to make a lot of noise. ... I’m just looking forward to the process. Primetime, that’s what Dallas is. America’s team. I’ve never been on a team of this magnitude, with this much publicity and notoriety. It’s going to be exciting.

“And the thing I’m most excited about — I have to be honest — is playing a Thanksgiving Day game. I grew up watching Dallas play one every year. Playing a Thanksgiving game is one of those things I’ve dreamed of doing in my career.”

Dallas Cowboys should sign Jadeveon Clowney if they want to win a Super Bowl - Patrick Schmidt, FanSided

Should the Cowboys look in the direction of Jadeveon Clowney. It seems intriguing, if Clowney is willing to bring his price down.

Signing Clowney comes with a likely high price tag and with some risk.

As talented as Clowney is, he’s also a player with a history of injury, including a sports hernia surgery in the offseason. When he’s been healthy, and he’s been mostly healthy the last four years, he’s been one of the best players on the edge.

Clowney is excellent against the run, but he hasn’t quite had the perennial double-digit sack seasons that was expected of him after his All-American career at South Carolina and what he flashed during his time with the Texans.

Clowney is coming off a three-sack season last year. He could slide right in and fill the void left by Rober Quinn who signed a five-year deal worth up to $70 million and $30 million guaranteed with the Chicago Bears earlier this week. Quinn had 11.5 sacks in a resurgent year — his only year — for the Cowboys as he found a lot of one-on-one matchups with Lawrence attracting a lot of attention on the other side. But even when Quinn faced double-teams, he often beat them.

The defense needs to replace his presence and production otherwise Lawrence could see a ton more attention and his impact could be somewhat muted as a result.

NFL Division-by-Division Rankings After First Week of 2020 Free Agency - Alex Ballentine, Bleacher Report

Where do the Cowboys fall in the division rankings after the first week of free agency? Here is one opinion.

The Philadelphia Eagles were expected to be Super Bowl contenders in 2019 but fell short. They did, however, get strong play out of Carson Wentz for a full season and rallied to get to 9-7 after starting 5-7.

Philadelphia hasn’t done a lot to get better in the offseason, though its trade for Darius Slay should impact the secondary and shore up a major weakness from last season. The Eagles also agreed to sign Javon Hargrave to improve their defensive front. So, the playoffs should once again be an expectation.

The Dallas Cowboys are an interesting team. They tagged Dak Prescott and are bringing back Amari Cooper, but they’ve suffered major losses on defense, including the departures of Robert Quinn, Maliek Collins, Byron Jones and Jeff Heath. The additions of Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Gerald McCoy will help, but the defense could still take a step back.

The New York Giants and Washington Redskins were in transition last year, and that could continue in 2020.

Both will be looking to new head coaches to bring direction to the franchises, and both figure to start young quarterbacks in Daniel Jones and Dwayne Haskins. Blake Martinez and James Bradberry will help the Giants defense.

The Redskins took some good steps in building their roster. They placed the franchise tag on Brandon Scherff and brought in some experience with Kevin Pierre-Louis and Thomas Davis, but they shouldn’t be expected to be a lot better than they were last season.

5 fringe first-rounders who may crash the party on day 1 of the 2020 Draft - Kyle Crabbs, The Draft Network

Many among Cowboys Nation have their eyes on Antoine Winfield, Jr. Could the talented safety creep his way into the first-round?

Antoine Winfield Jr.

S, Minnesota

The conversation for top safeties starts with LSU’s Grant Delpit while Alabama’s Xavier McKinney is another popular name. But Winfield helped himself big time with his plus showing at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, proving he had more burst and long speed at his disposal than he often had the chance to show. His nose for the football, paired with better explosiveness than first anticipated, makes him a viable party crasher — provided his medicals come back clean after seeing two of his last three seasons ended prematurely on account of injury.

Reid’s 2020 “What Would I Do” NFL Mock Draft 1.0 - Jordan Reid, The Draft Network

How would you feel about the Cowboys adding an interior defensive lineman on day one? If still available, this could be a great pick for Dallas.

Cowboys

Javon Kinlaw

IDL, South Carolina

I understand that the team just signed Gerald McCoy to a three-year deal, but lets absolutely wreck shop by adding Kinlaw to it while still waiting on Trysten Hill to develop.

Instead of pondering coronavirus’ potential NFL impact, Cowboys’ Travis Frederick is more concerned about helping Dallas youth - Michael Gehlken, SportsDay

Really good read on Travis Frederick and his involvement in the community by Gehlken.

Last Monday, Frederick began an ongoing donation campaign. A group of Cowboys teammates and coaches committed to join him in matching up to $40,000 in public donations toward the cause. Within a week, they and the public have combined to raise more than $20,000, over a quarter of the way to the potential amount once maximum match capacity is reached.

Through a partnership with Sharing Life Community Outreach, $2 provides enough food for a single child for a day, and $25 covers two weeks, Frederick said.

“We are mobilizing and providing those meals very quickly,” Frederick said. “This isn’t something that is a fundraiser that is going to go into an account and be used over the next couple years. This money is immediately going to impact the lives of people who are being challenged by this situation. …I know that some districts and some places are doing their best to try to continue those programs. But the way that it works for childcare, it’s not always possible for you to go in and receive that.

“Not all districts are doing it the same. I think it’s really important for us to acknowledge the problem, and the problem is these kids are losing access to that food. Even worse, families are losing access to that because it’s costing them more money now to feed the kids that are at home. And if you think about it, a lot of these people are potentially out of work or not able to go into work. It’s just creating a terrible downward spiral. …That’s why we decided that we needed to do something.”

BTB Podcast

Free agency is slowing down a little bit, but there are still some Cowboys rumors floating around. What do we make of them? We discuss on the latest episode of The Ocho.

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