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The time between now and free agency kicking off in the National Football League continues to shrink, and as it does, our imagination continues to run away from us when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys.
To be clear, we are talking about a team that historically (as in the last almost decade) has sat out the real fun of free agency, but the organization has fallen on tough times in the results department and might feel like a change in strategy could serve them well. This is, of course, the lie that we tell ourselves every year.
Smart money says that the Cowboys will in fact continue to bargain shop when it comes to adding veteran help by way of the open market, and while we do not know who the Cowboys will be going after we can make some sense of positions that they will likely target.
It would be wise of Dallas to use free agency to fill needs on their roster before the 2021 NFL Draft, but many would say that this sort of forward thinking has been absent around The Star for far too long.
Could Bashaud Breeland make sense for the Dallas Cowboys in free agency?
One position where the Cowboys pretty much have to come away with someone in free agency is cornerback. At present moment all they really have to be excited about (using this term loosely) is Trevon Diggs and Anthony Brown. Time will tell if Dan Quinn moves Reggie Robinson II back to his collegiate spot.
Both Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis will be free agents and it is possible that the team looks to keep at least one. We have talked about the possibility of them going after bigger names like Richard Sherman or Patrick Peterson (many want to see this and have the team slide them over to free safety), but what about a recent Super Bowl champion?
NFL.com listed “fun” free agency matches for all 32 teams and when it came to the Cowboys they chose a cornerback on the Kansas City Chiefs. Coincidentally Charvarius Ward left the Cowboys for Kansas City, but the selection here is Bashaud Breeland.
Dallas is currently slated to watch both of its starting corners walk in free agency, and while Anthony Brown and Trevon Diggs could end up being their starting duo in 2021, adding a veteran like Breeland makes sense, too. Breeland has bounced around the league, yet manages to provide solid play at the position and seems like the type of veteran the Cowboys typically pursue in situations like this.
Breeland had a down 2019 season when his team won the Super Bowl, but bounced back individually in 2020. He was the worst-graded cornerback on Kansas City’s roster by PFF standards, although he out-graded every cornerback on the Dallas Cowboys for full perspective.
The 2021 season will see Breeland play at the age of 29 so he is certainly near the tipping point of 30, but the 2021 offseason is a very unique space in time. Many people have noted that due to the lowered salary cap this year, and with a boost in it expected to come next year thanks to the new television contracts, many veterans could look to sign one-year deals this season in an effort to get back to the open market when the pies are larger across the league in 2022. Breeland could fit that mold for the Cowboys.
It would be wise of the Cowboys to address cornerback in free agency as mentioned. A lot of mock drafts have them taking a cornerback with the 10th overall pick, but relying on that as the only “fix” to the position this offseason would be irresponsible.