Dallas Cowboys fans got excited when owner Jerry Jones said earlier this offseason he planned to go ‘all-in.’ That plan, however, apparently didn't entail a flurry of free-agent moves.
The Cowboys have been mostly silent since the new league year opened. They re-signed a couple of players, including nickel cornerback Jourdan Lewis, and made a single outside addition, veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks. Otherwise, the Cowboys have passed and passed and passed. Derrick Henry told Adam Schein of Mad Dog Sports Radio that the Cowboys didn’t even reach out to gauge interest.
The inactivity has Cowboys fans frustrated, particularly after Jones' comments, which he subsequently walked back.
Speaking Thursday during a promotional event, Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones noted that the front office is "very aware" of those frustrations.
"Everybody certainly has that right," he said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. "I know where the frustration is, it's the fact that we haven't had success in the playoffs to their satisfaction. Until we do that, then the criticism is certainly something that's going to be there. We know that's going to be there, but we're going to stick with what we believe will ultimately get us a championship here for our fans. We don't define 'all in' by what you spend in free agency. It's keeping the core (together)."
The Cowboys watched the likes of running back Tony Pollard, center Tyler Biadasz, defensive ends Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler and defensive tackle Neville Gallimore leave Dallas while their club has done little to combat the attrition.
With Dak Prescott's future contract extension still hanging overhead, the lack of inactivity was predictable. Dallas has little cap space to make big offers. The club also hasn't made splash moves in free agency for more than a decade, during the Brandon Carr splurge of 2012.
Part of the arithmetic for the Joneses is the need to re-sign their own. Aside from Prescott's expected extension, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons are in line for big deals. The success of the Cowboys' homegrown talent makes spending in free agency harder, but it signals to Jones that the club is on the right path in its team-building.
"It's not frustrating because it means we've done a good job with the draft," Jones said when asked about missing out on big-name free agents. "That's just a sign, in my mind, that our organization, Will (McClay) and the scouting department, the coaches, we've done our job in terms of developing players. It's a great thing when you have Micah and CeeDee and the Dak (contract) challenge ahead of us, in terms of getting them under the cap. We're certainly all in on getting that done.
"When you want to keep your players that you've developed and worked so hard to get … then you're not going to be able to go out and chase those (high-dollar free agent) guys. … The way I look at things, I've always said it, player acquisition is 365 days a year. It's not just the first or second or third day of free agency."
Perhaps the Cowboys will become bargain shoppers once the fifth wave of free agency kicks in.
