Over the past few season the Cowboys have taken a different approach to free agency, and it has been paying off for the long-term vitality of the team. Gone are the days of handing out bloated contracts to players past their prime, and gone are the days of pursuing the big catch free agents.
You can say the light finally came on for Jerry Jones in regards to money spending, but to his credit he is listening to the people around him. Collectively, The Jones family, Jason Garrett and Will McClay have all been major cogs in the new found philosophy when it comes to spending money.
For the Cowboys it has become about the right kind of guys, literally and not the big name players.
“I don’t know if active is a good word,” Jones said on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “I think active can get you in trouble in free agency. I think you have to be efficient and look for your values, and you can do good things.
“We did it last year with a player like Mincey where we got a lot of great value out of him. But at the same time, we’ve been in situations where you have to pay too much for players. You got to be very careful there. We’re certainly going to be that way. We’re going to look to be efficient. If that proves to be productive then that would be good.” (DMN, Mochota)
The Cowboys have clearly acknowledged past mistakes in free agency, and they are looking for players that share the same values and goals of the team. The culture has changed in Dallas at the executive level and in the locker room.
The formula is working. The Cowboys are building this roster from the draft and using free agency as a period to sign their own players and bringing in players to help supplement various team needs. We’re supplementing the team with free agency, and drafting players with goals of finding starters and franchise players.
Free agency starts on Tuesday, and I expect the Cowboys to make a few of their own signings and then they’ll bring in a few mid-tier guys over the next two weeks. With that being said, here are a few players the Cowboys could be interested in:
1. Stephen Paea, DT, Bears
2. Adrian Clayborn, DE, Buccaneers
Hearing Dallas, Atlanta, Seattle, Minnesota, NYG have all shown preliminary interest in Bucs DE Adrian Clayborn
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 7, 2015
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3. Jared Odrick, DT, Dolphins
4. George Johnson, DE, Lions
5. Mark Ingram, RB, Saints
6. Chris Culliver, CB, 49ers
7. Brandon Graham, OLB/DE, Eagles
8. Jabaal Sheard, DE, Browns
9. Charles Tillman, CB, Bears
10. Malcolm Smith, LB, Seahawks
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