Your Thursday morning news surrounding the Dallas Cowboys.
There aren’t many holes for the Dallas Cowboys to cover in the NFL offseason.
With Tyron Smith and Tyler Biadasz slated to become free agents, Dallas’ biggest problem might be on the offensive line.
Tony Pollard, a running back, is one of the other free agents that Dallas can justify losing in order to improve at those positions.
When it comes to the offensive inside, Dallas has two options. It has two options: it can rebuild the offensive line through free agency and the NFL draft, or it can keep Smith and Biadasz.
The Cowboys’ greatest option for making offseason acquisitions this offseason may be to choose young players on less expensive contracts in the draft because they do not have a lot of salary cap space to use in free agency.
Smith is the No. 14 overall free agent according to Pro Football Focus. That could mean a shorter contract to stay in Dallas and pursue a title, or it could mean a great money somewhere else.
Eight Cowboys players, including Trevon Diggs, CeeDee Lamb, and Dak Prescott, earned more than $10 million in revenue in the previous campaign.
Due to the team’s wage cap restrictions, Smith will not be added to that list for 2024.
Although the Cowboys would love to have Smith lead the offensive line once more, he might leave the team if a rival team makes a sizable contract offer.
It would be excellent to hang onto Tyler Biadasz’s familiarity with Prescott and the rest of the offensive line.
Dallas’ cap issues may require salary conversion to a signing bonus.
Since Prescott’s current contract has both a no-trade and no-tag clause, Dallas runs the danger of losing him for nothing more than a compensation choice if they decide not to extend. It’s possible that neither of the two parties will have an agreement when the upcoming season begins.
That does not imply that the Cowboys will have to pay the huge sum of money.
As Michael Gehlken noted, teams can convert a portion of a player’s salary into a bonus that is spread out throughout the course of the player’s contract for cap purposes by using the “automatic conversion,” also known as “turning a switch.” (Once more, the terminology we frequently employ when the Cowboys perform this routinely: “Converting base to bonus.”)
Prescott’s contract has two empty years, which are just a formality to assist clubs manage the cap. These years allow for the conversion of approximately $28 million of his compensation, or just over $9 million each year, over the following three seasons.
Based on my calculations, he would have a cap hit of $40.93 million, which is less than quarterbacks Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams. That would free up a maximum of $18.53 million.
As Gehlken notes, Dallas could reduce Dak’s “basic salary” to a pitiful $1.21 million while paying Prescott his $29 million due (mostly in “bonus”). This is a technicality but nonetheless a shocking revelation. Once more, a math trick, but this one really pops!
Dallas might select the least expensive option and rebuild via the draft.
At his news conference on Thursday, McCarthy stated, “I think the main thing for Tyron is, talking about the road of the season and the training plan that was in place for him, this is definitely his best season that I have experienced with him since 2020.” He was pleased with that, then. It’s a benefit, in my opinion, that he won’t be recovering from offseason surgery. We’ll stay in communication as we proceed.
It would make sense for Dallas to give long-term stability at left tackle priority, whether or not he returns. The Cowboys’ run-blocking may also use some work. Here are some choices at that location.
Amarius Mims — listed at 6-foot-7 and 340 pounds — allowed only seven quarterback pressures and no sacks in 377 total pass block snaps across 30 games (eight starts) at Georgia. He predominantly played right tackle in college, but he is a physical specimen whom Dallas could train to play left tackle in place of Smith. He made his first career start against Ohio State in the College Football Playoffs in the 2022 season and mauled the Buckeyes up front. Dallas could use this kind of blocker in its run game as well.
Jordan Morgan was an All-Pac-12 offensive tackle in each of the past two seasons, and he will be at the Senior Bowl. He only allowed just three sacks and 24 pressures in 2022 and 2023. As evidenced by the video footage below, he can hold up against NFL-caliber talent. Morgan and Tyler Smith could lock down the left side of Dallas’ offensive line for the next decade.
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