Cowboys’ slow free agency isn’t surprising, but it puts major pressure on their draft

Another year, another slow round of free agency for the Dallas Cowboys.

Jerry Jones got fans of the Dallas Cowboys, and even those in the media, buzzing when he said that the organization was “all-in” for the 2024 season. Naturally, they thought that meant Dallas was going to make a splash or two in free agency, something they have shied away from for the longest time. However, once free agency kicked off, that quickly went away.

It’s a different year but the same approach for the Cowboys. While every other team in the NFL made a transaction on the first day of the free agency, especially their bitter NFC East rivals, the Cowboys were as active as a statue. It was nothing but tumbleweeds in Dallas, and this has been the norm for them as far back as anyone can remember. The Cowboys got rolling by re-signing long snapper Trent Sieg on Tuesday and have done the same with cornerback Jourdan Lewis and special teams ace C.J. Goodwin, which was to be expected at this time in the free agency process, they prioritize in-house guys.

Wednesday was when the Cowboys got on the board as far as an outside free agent when they swooped in and stole veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks from the San Francisco 49ers, so they finally beat them at something. This was a nice move by the Cowboys that will pay some immediate dividends, and they have also brought back running back Rico Dowdle.

But the typical frugal spending habits by the Cowboys in free agency means one thing – they have to have some hits on picks in the draft.

The Cowboys have the ability to open up some cap space with extensions and restructures, so it’s not like they couldn’t have made a play for one of the bigger free agents. Now, instead of the Cowboys being in a position to take more of a BPA (best player available) approach to the draft, they’ll be looking to fill needs, as in guys to come in and contribute immediately. Dallas has been one of the better drafting teams in the NFL for a while now, and five of their seven Pro Bowl selections in 2023 were drafted by the organization. However, the sitting on your hands’ style of acquiring talent makes it too much of a necessity.

Adding to the roster with established guys that can immediately help your team is the way the Cowboys should be operating, and it’s something fans and the media have been stressing for over a decade. In spite of that, they choose to look for bargain type deals on the market and focus more on retaining talent that’s already on the roster. There’s something to be said about keeping key players, but to not even attempt to take a swing at impact players that will allow your draft process even more flexibility just isn’t a smart way to go about things.

Stephen Jones spoke about understanding the frustrations of the fans base and that the organization feels the same way. But it appears they will remain comfortable with this particular process, so the draft is basically the only source of competitive team building in Dallas, and that’s frustrating.