The Cowboys are wasting no time in shoring up our coaching staff and it starts with Jason Garrett. Stephen Jones indicated that he is busy working on a new contract for Garrett and wants to keep the assistants. We should have some news on this front within the next two days.
As for the players, the Cowboys will be busy deciding which players they want back and which players they will let walk.
Free Agency begins March 10, 4PM EST
Jeremy Parnell 28 UFA
Tyler Clutts 29 UFA
Darrion Weems 25 RFA
Dez Bryant 25 UFA
Rolando McClain 27 UFA
Bruce Carter 26 UFA
Justin Durant 29 UFA
Nick Hayden 26 UFA
Anythony Spencer 30 UFA
George Selvie 27 UFA
Dwayne Harris 26 UFA
DeMarco Murray 26 UFA
Ryan Williams 24 UFA
Cole Beasley 25 RFA
Lance Dunbar 24 RFA
Chris Jones 25 RFA
Sterling Moore 25 RFA
Ron Leary 25 Exclusive Rights FA
Doug Free 30 Club Option or UFA
Henry Melton 27 club option If he’s on the roster the 1st league day (March 10) of 2015, a 3 year $24M extension with $9M guaranteed vests
Let’s talk about some of the names that pop out.
— Jeremy Parnell played a good amount of time with Doug Free injured during the season and in both playoff games. It’ll be interesting to see if the Cowboys decide to let Free go or do they hope to restructure a new contract. I don’t see the Cowboys paying Free $8 million/yr.
On the flipside, offensive lineman tend to have a longer shelf life than most other positions, so even at 30, Doug Free could get extended a new contract. It’ll be a matter of what Free is looking for. He is a free agent if the Cowboys don’t pick up the club option.
— Dez Bryant will either get the franchise tag or a new monster contract. Either way, Dez is not going anywhere, he is too much of a special talent and the epitome of a franchise player.
— Rolando McClain is still a question mark for me. He misses a lot of practice time and did not show up for the playoffs. You can be the most physical player and make plays, but if you are not on the field I have a hard time investing long term. Throw in his past issues, this possible extension is very risky. If he stays that would be great, but Dallas better draft another Hitchens type linebacker that can come in and play if needed. We wanted Shazier in the last draft, so LB could be atop the needs again.
— Bruce Carter probably had his best season as a Cowboy this year, and you have to wonder if he has finally come into his own or was it because it was a contract year. If not the latter, then the Cowboys should offer Carter a new deal and see if he re-signs.
— Justin Durant is going up against father time. At 29, Durant probably won’t demand a bank busting contract, so the Cowboys could be in play for his services. Durant was playing solid until his injury took him out. Keeping Durant gives us some depth insurance and I would like to keep him.
— Nick Hayden and George Selvie are likely going to test free agency. They were decent rotational guys, but didn’t do much more than that.
— Anthony Spencer finished strong on his 1-yr deal and he’ll have some good tape to take with him into free agency. Spencer tested the market last year as he was still recovering. This time around, he is healthy and making plays. His age will be something that may turn teams away, but if he wants to stay in Dallas, the Cowboys could probably make a cap friendly contract that would be good for both parties. In the end, I don’t see Spencer coming back.
— Dwayne Harris is going to test free agency. Harris was scary in the return game and I’m talking about his fielding of the ball and hands. I’m done with all the bobbled catches and carelessness with the ball. The Cowboys will move on here.
— DeMarco Murray had his best season behind a top-flight offensive line, but the fumbles were too high for my liking. Stats are fine, but you cannot turn the ball over in this league. Murray nearly completed an injury free season, but a broken fourth metacarpal slowed him down. You can argue it’s bad luck or he’s injury prone. Whichever side you fall on, the Cowboys need to look back at other big contracts and learn from them. I’m not breaking the bank for Murray. I will for Dez, but not Murray. The downside is depth at running back. Outside of Randle, we don’t have a true RB for depth. Ryan Williams is a free agent, and Lance Dunbar is a situational running back, he can’t run worth a crap from the backfield.
— Cole Beasley will get an offer sheet and there could be a slight chance some other teams offers him a contract, at which point the Cowboys could let him go and match the offer. The Cowboys could assign him a 2nd round tender to ward off any interested suitors.
— Lance Dunbar, Chris Jones, and Sterling Moore will sign their restricted tender offers. Of those three, I’d consider Moore a priority. The secondary has a whole lot of question marks for next season. Mainly, that of Brandon Carr, there’s no way we keep him at the current price tag. Morris Claiborne is coming off an ACL injury and knowing him he won’t practice at all and will miss all of the preseason, so you can count him out as a starter. We need depth and gritty starters like Scandrick back there.
— Ron Leary is an exclusive rights free agent, which basically means the Cowboys just have to say they want him and they will have him for the 2015 season with no interference from outside offers. He’ll then be in a contract year and could get extended during the season.
— Henry Melton was the big-ticket free agent signing last season, but failed to return to his Pro Bowl form and he was supplanted by Tyrone Crawford. Melton will not be retained with the club option. The Cowboys will let him test free agency unless they offer him a restructured deal at a lower pay scale. Melton is a Dallas native, so this is a slight possibility.
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