Cowboys News: The NFL lost a legend and the Cowboys released Cooper Rush

Statement From Jerry Jones On Don Shula - DallasCowboys.com

The NFL lost a legend and it’s only fitting we lead with this.

The Miami Dolphins announced Monday that Hall of Fame coach Don Shula has passed away at the age of 90.

Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones released this statement on Shula’s passing:

“On behalf of our family and the Dallas Cowboys organization, we extend our deepest sympathies to the entire Shula family. We are so grateful for the relationship we have shared with Don and Mary Anne through so many years, and our support, friendship and admiration will be with her always moving forward.

Don was not just an iconic figure in the history of our game, he was an American institution who always represented the highest levels of character, leadership and integrity.

Dallas Cowboys waive QB Cooper Rush, officially sign Andy Dalton - Sportday Staff, Dallas Morning News

After three seasons, the Cowboys said goodbye to quarterback Cooper Rush.

The Dallas Cowboys aren’t wasting anybody’s time.

The Cowboys on Monday morning waived backup quarterback Cooper Rush and officially signed quarterback Andy Dalton, whom they agreed to terms with on Saturday night, locking in their new No. 2 passer behind Dak Prescott.

The move could pave the way for seventh-round pick Ben DiNucci to be the team’s No. 3 quarterback.

Rush, 26, has been with the Cowboys since 2017 after joining the club via undrafted free agency out of Central Michigan following the 2017 NFL draft.

He has three career pass attempts in five appearances as a backup the past three seasons.

The decision to sign Dalton, 32, didn’t look like a good one for Rush, who was scheduled to make $2.13 million in 2020, according to Spotrac.

Dalton’s deal with the Cowboys is worth a total of $7 million with $3 million in guarantees, a source told The News’ Calvin Watkins.

‘This is just the next step for me’: Andy Dalton reveals why he chose to sign with the Cowboys - Joey Hayden, DMN

Andy Dalton talks about why he chose to sign with the Dallas Cowboys.

“This is just the next step for me,” Dalton said on The Adam Schefter Podcast on Monday.

“I wanted to join a high-class organization, a team that’s ready to win. And to be with Mike McCarthy, his history with quarterbacks, I think it gives me a chance to come to a new place, a chance to learn, to help Dak [Prescott] out in any way I can, and then just to be an asset for this team.”

Dalton signed a one-year deal with $3 million guaranteed to serve as Dallas’ backup quarterback behind Prescott. But despite the move to Dallas, Dalton is still hopeful to become a starter in NFL again one day.

“I felt like [Dallas] was the best opportunity for this year, and it hopefully sets me up for my future,” he said.

“This was a big-picture plan, and I’m excited. Obviously, for this year, I think it’s a good opportunity for me to learn and be around an offensive coach and be around a great organization.”

Clay Matthews Could Provide Valuable Insurance for the Cowboys at LB - Matthew Lenix, InsideTheStar

The Cowboys have been on fire this offseason, so why stop now.

At 33 years old (34 by the start of the season) Matthews’s price tag won’t be that high, and as everyone knows, the Cowboys are always looking for cost-efficient free agents. Also, with Leighton Vander Esch coming off a neck injury he would give the Cowboys good value at the position just in case of another setback.

Matthews is best in a 3-4 scheme as an outside linebacker, and even though the Cowboys will use the 4-3 as their base, they’ll run a hybrid scheme with different looks to keep offenses off balance.

Only time will tell if the Cowboys have any interest in Matthews but if they want to add another cheap defender he’s sitting there for the taking.

Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys are at an impasse over nothing - Reid Hanson, Fansided

It’s all about the details when you’re talking about the negotiations between the Cowboys and Dak.

So if the Cowboys agree to a 4-year deal now, they’ll need to pay Dak $47.5M annually to keep him in 2024 and beyond (vs him playing on the final year of a 5-year deal at $35M). That’s a significant amount, sure.

Now let’s say the Dallas Cowboys seek to re-sign their signal caller again (which is highly probable). If they re-sign him in 2024 at $47.5 per year it will be cheaper than if he plays out a 5-year deal and signs for $51.5M per year in 2025 – so there will be savings on the back-end for the franchise.

Note: It’s important to keep proper perspective in mind here as well. The rate of growth can change based on a variety of revenue factors so we can’t just assume 8% is going to be the number. But everything will happen in unison so it’s still a pretty safe exercise (QB salary is based on team salary cap and team salary cap is based on revenue so it’s not like Dak will suddenly cost 50% of the salary cap or anything. He’ll take up the same percentage of cap space regardless of growth).

Dak Prescott is betting on himself. He’s betting in 4-years he’ll still be a franchise QB (he’ll be 30) and he can cash in on a second deal that’s adjusted to the current market. It’s good business for him… but it’s also good business for Dallas. That’s because if he falls on his face the Dallas Cowboys can move on quicker. And if he lives up to his deal the Cowboys can re-sign him to a new deal a year early which will save them money on Deal No. 2.

Cowboys scouts are the real MVP of the draft as they exhibit great trust in their “we-think” board - DannyPhantom, BloggingTheBoys

What a difference a year makes when you’re talking about this Cowboys scouting department.

This is Mike McCarthy’s first draft with the Cowboys. We have been told he’s a hands-off guy when it comes to player personnel decisions, but all the coaches provide insight on players that are taken into consideration before final the selections are made. And while some details have yet to come out, you can still sorta sense McCarthy’s influence from some of the choices that were made.

But the real heroes are Will McClay and the Cowboys scouting department. Executive vice president Stephen Jones calls McClay the MVP of the team’s draft, but McClay is quick to give credit to the team’s scouts.

“The MVP of the draft is the scouts, to me,” McClay said. “It’s a thankless job to go out and do that. We have an all-inclusive process that allows typically the scouts are in the meeting. They get to express their feelings about a player and do all that and that’s the way we’ve typically done that. Because of the conditions [virtual draft], we weren’t able to do that. They gave me and the college management staff all the information and trusted us to get that information to ownership. Ownership took that information, the coaches listened to all that.”

We wouldn’t expect anything less from McClay.

The Cowboys earned a lot of praise for this draft because of the continuous great value they received round after round.

Predicting Every NFL Team’s Biggest Impact Rookie in 2020 - Brent Sobleski, Bleacher Report

For the Dallas Cowboys, games are won and lost in the trenches of the NFL.

Dallas Cowboys: C Tyler Biadasz

The Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones deserves plenty of credit for this year’s draft class. But one pick stands out a little more than the others with the owner/general manager completing a once-unthinkable deal.

The Cowboys traded with the rival Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round to select Wisconsin center Tyler Biasdasz.

Biadasz entered the 2019 campaign as college football’s top-rated center. He didn’t play quite as well as expected yet still won the Rimington Trophy. Plus, concerns about offseason shoulder surgery pushed him down boards even more.

Executive vice president Stephen Jones said Biadasz emerged as a “blinking light” on the team’s board based on how highly the organization valued him, per the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins.

With Travis Frederick’s abrupt retirement, a fellow Wisconsin alum should immediately take over at center.

BTB Podcast

New Dallas Cowboys quarterback Ben DiNucci is a lot of fun. We got to know him on the latest episode of Girls Talkin ‘Boys.

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