Cowboys news: Dorance Armstrong might be overlooked as he tries to claim a starting spot

Is Dorance Armstrong one of the Cowboys Most Underrated Players Going Into Next Season? -Shane Taylor, Inside the Star

Dorance Armstrong — underrated or overrated?

Dorance Armstrong is entering his fifth year with the Cowboys after signing a two-year $12 million deal in March. Armstrong compiled a very solid campaign with career highs in tackles (37), sacks (5), and quarterback hits (12) while also adding a fumble recovery, a blocked punt, and a defensive touchdown against the Washington Commanders in Week 14. He recorded 36 pressures and 23 quarterback hurries in just 13 games last season (five starts).

Some people love them, and some don’t, but when you look at a few of the advance stats, Armstrong was second amongst Cowboys defenders in hurries and pressures last season, only behind I’m sure you can guess, Micah Parsons. We may get our answer very early whether or not he will be one of the most underrated players on the roster next season.

If we see Armstrong receive a full workload at the defensive end, his pass-rushing numbers could turn out very solid for a team who will need to fill at least a bit of production. With the loss of Randy Gregory, someone will need to step up and make an impact, and it very well could be Armstrong.

Deadline Passes; Schultz To Play Under Franchise Tag - Nick Eatman, DallasCowboys.com

Schultz, Cowboys unable to reach long-term deal.

FRISCO, Texas – To no one’s surprise, there is no new contract for tight end Dalton Schultz.

The NFL’s deadline for teams to sign franchise-tagged players to long-term contracts was Friday at 3 p.m. That deadline has come and gone, meaning Schultz will play the 2022 season on the one-year guaranteed tag of $10.931 million.

Any negotiation for a long-term contact for Schultz will have to wait until the end of the season. The Cowboys would have the opportunity to start negotiating on a new contract as soon as the season ends and well before the start of free agency next March. But by then, it seems likely that Schultz would just wait to test the open market, especially since current tight ends in the NFL have average salaries of more than $12 million per season.

However, the Cowboys would have the option to tag Schultz again in 2023, but the price would jump to about $13.1 million.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of traction between the two sides in terms of a long-term deal. And that was even after Schultz sat out the last week of OTA practices in more of a silent protest to show the Cowboys his displeasure with the contract talks, or lack thereof.

Schultz did return the following week for the mandatory minicamp, and it seems as if he will report to training camp on July 25 without any issues.

Why no deal doesn’t mean Cowboys, Dalton Schultz are done after 2022 - K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire

What’s the next step at tight end for the Cowboys?

Whatever hope there was that the Cowboys were going to shore up their tight end position for the foreseeable future is quickly fading away. The club will apparently go into 2022 with a prove-it mentality as they and starting TE Dalton Schultz appear to have not made any progress towards a long-term deal.

Dallas slapped the franchise tag on Schultz early in the offseason, and there was such little progress Schultz skipped out on the final voluntary OTA session prior to the mandatory minicamp in June (which he attended). While there was some hope the sides would make progress over the last week, it now appears that Friday’s deadline to work out an agreement will come and go with the player on a one-year agreement.

Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlken first reported.

Without any surprises, Schultz will play for just under $10.9 million this season and have a chance to hit unrestricted free agency in 2023, barring a second tag. That would cost the Cowboys 120% of this year’s number, or $13.1 million.

It’s also been reported that Miami’s Mike Gesicki will play under the tag as well. Cleveland inked David Njoku to a long-term deal after tagging him in March, for four year, $54.75 million, an average of $13.68 million.

Cowboys Trade for All-Pro Receiver Is ‘Warm’ Possibility, Says Insider - DJ Siddiq, Hevy.com

This would be F-U-N.

According to Mike Fisher of Sports Illustrated, former Cowboys scout Bryan Broaddus believes while there’s a chance Dallas could acquire San Francisco 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel, it’s not a very likely one. According to Broaddus, the 49ers will “work it out” with their disgruntled receiver.

“He’s not going anywhere,” the Cowboys source said. “The San Francisco 49ers will work it out.”

The former Cowboys scout mentions both Samuel and Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf as “warm possibilities” for Dallas.

“I think you want to keep in touch with those teams, just so if we get to the point where you get into training camp and you’re not happy or you’re talking about potential (injuries),” said Broaddus. “So yeah, keep those warm (as) possibilities, sure.”

Samuel has been involved in trade rumors after requesting one earlier in the offseason. The 2021 All-Pro selection and Pro Bowler posted 1,405 receiving yards, 365 rushing yards and eight touchdowns last season. The rushing numbers are the most ever by a wide receiver in a single season.

49ers general manager John Lynch shut down the idea of trading his young star back in June.

“Well, we haven’t traded him, and — I’ve used the word fool — I’d be a fool to trade him,” Lynch said. “So yes, Deebo will be part of the 49ers this season.”

4 thoughts about the Dallas Cowboys before training camp begins - Tom Ryle, Blogging the Boys

Training camp is almost here.

This may be the Cowboys’ version of going all in

Unless this is your first time reading about the team, you are well aware that Scrooge Stephen Jones has $22.5 million in cap space to play with, but has pretty resolutely done nothing with it outside of some very, very marginal free agent signings. It is driving us crazy as we look at a roster that has some places that could truly benefit from some shoring up. It leads to wondering why Dallas can’t go all in on winning the way teams like the Los Angeles Rams did last season with so much success.

After so many years of doing exactly the same thing and getting pretty much the same disappointing results, a distasteful thought arises. Maybe this is Jones’ idea of going all in. Remember that Jones has been quite clear about liking his own players. For him, re-signing players from last year is at least as valuable as getting talent from outside the team. The Cowboys did bring back eleven of their own players, and made an unfortunately unsuccessful attempt to retain Randy Gregory. That was, at least by Jones’ standards, a big offer. They did complete a fairly lucrative deal with Michael Gallup. They franchise tagged Dalton Schultz, and while we grumble about not just getting a new multiyear deal done for him, that is still a good bit of money paid out even if they fail to get something worked out by the deadline, which is today. There were also some of those contracts that may represent pretty good bang for the buck. Jayron Kearse is the best of the lot, but Dorance Armstrong, Bryan Anger, and Malik Hooker were also more valuable than many might realize.

It certainly appears that Jones believes this is the right way, and he is doing everything he thinks he can to build this roster. He has always seen the draft as the biggest tool for building this team, and when they hit on players like Micah Parsons, it is understandable. It is difficult to live with for us. We just might have to.

Blogging The Boys Podcast Network and YouTube Channel

We offer a different show every single day on the Blogging The Boys podcast network.

• Monday: 1st and 10 with Dave Sturchio, Tony Catalina, and Aidan Davis
• Monday: Hidden Yardage with Mark Lane and Sean Martin
• Tuesday: The 75O with Tony Casillas and RJ Ochoa
• Tuesday: BTB Roundtable with various BTB personalities
• Wednesday: The NFC East Mixtape with RJ Ochoa and Brandon Gowton
• Wednesday: Talkin’ The Draft with Connor Livesay and Mark Schofield
• Thursday: The Ocho with RJ Ochoa
• Thursday: Ryled Up with Roy White and Tom Ryle
• Friday: Girls Talkin ‘Boys with Kelsey Charles and Meg Murray
• Friday: The Star Seminar with Danny Phantom and Rabblerousr
• Saturday: Cowboys Hoy with Mauricio Rodriguez
• Sunday: The World’s Team with Meg Murray and Paul Stewart

The Blogging The Boys podcast network is available on all major podcast platforms.

Subscribe here on Apple devices.

Subscribe here if you are a Spotify user.

Subscribe to the Blogging The Boys YouTube Channel for videos throughout every week right here.