The Cowboys have the three big players who are looking for contract extensions – Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons. That’s contributed to them not doing much of anything in the offseason. Dallas were the lightest shoppers in free agency.
Below see the most expensive offseason acquisition for each team (mostly free agents, but for five teams I instead used players obtained in trades – as indicated by asterisks).
The Cowboys are the only team that didn’t sign a player who’ll make at least $4 million. Their most notable purchase was 36-year-old linebacker Eddie Kendricks at $3 million for one year. All but two other teams signed a player who’ll make over twice as much.
| HIGHEST-PRICED OFFSEASON ACQUISITIONS FOR EACH TEAM | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Player | Contract | Average |
| Atlanta | QB Kirk Cousins (Min.) | 4 yrs, $180 M | $45,000,000 |
| NY Giants | * OLB Brian Burns (Car.) | 5 yrs, $141 M | $28,200,000 |
| Las Vegas | DT Christian Wilkins (Mia.) | 4 yrs, $110 M | $27,500,000 |
| Houston | DE Danielle Hunter (Min.) | 2 yrs, $49.5 M | $24,500,000 |
| Chicago | * WR Keenan Allen (LAC) | 1 yr, $23.1 M | $23,100,000 |
| Carolina | G Robert Hunt (Mia.) | 5 yrs, $100 M | $20,000,000 |
| Tennessee | * CB L'Jarius Sneed (K.C.) | 4 yrs, $76.4 M | $19,100,000 |
| Minnesota | DE Jonathan Greenard (Hou.) | 4 yrs, $76 M | $19,000,000 |
| Cleveland | * WR Jerry Jeudy (Den.) | 3 yrs, $52.5 M | $17,500,000 |
| LA Rams | G Jonah Jackson (Det.) | 3 yrs, $51 M | $17,000,000 |
| Philadelphia | DE Bryce Huff (NYJ) | 3 yrs, $51 M | $17,000,000 |
| Green Bay | S Xavier McKinney (NYG) | 4 yrs, $67 M | $16,750,000 |
| Arizona | OT Jonah Williams (Cin.) | 2 yrs, $30 M | $15,000,000 |
| NY Jets | * LB Haason Reddick (Phi.) | 1 yr, $15 M | $15,000,000 |
| Jacksonville | DE Arik Armstead (S.F.) | 3 yrs, $43.5 M | $14,500,000 |
| Pittsburgh | LB Patrick Queen (Balt.) | 3 yrs, $41 M | $13,666,667 |
| New Orleans | DE Chase Young (S.F.) | 1 yr, $13 M | $13,000,000 |
| Cincinnati | DT Shelton Rankins (Hou.) | 2 yrs, $24.5 M | $12,250,000 |
| Detroit | DT D.J. Reader (Cin.) | 2 yrs, $22 M | $11,000,000 |
| Washington | DE Dorance Armstrong (Dall.) | 3 yrs, $33 M | $11,000,000 |
| San Francisco | DL Leonard Floyd (Buff.) | 2 yrs, $20 M | $10,000,000 |
| Miami | LB Jordyn Brooks (Sea.) | 3 yrs, $26.25 M | $8,750,000 |
| Baltimore | RB Derrick Henry (Ten.) | 2 yrs, $16 M | $8,000,000 |
| Buffalo | WR Curtis Samuel (Was.) | 3 yrs, $24 M | $8,000,000 |
| New England | QB Jacoby Brissett (Was.) | 1 yr, $8 M | $8,000,000 |
| Indianapolis | DT Raekwon Davis (Mia.) | 2 yrs, $14 M | $7,000,000 |
| Kansas City | WR Marquise Brown (Ari.) | 1 yr, $7 M | $7,000,000 |
| Seattle | LB Jerome Baker (Mia.) | 1 yr, $7 M | $7,000,000 |
| Denver | S Brandon Jones (Mia.) | 3 yrs, $20 M | $6,666,667 |
| LA Chargers | TE Will Dissly (Sea.) | 3 yrs, $14 M | $4,666,667 |
| Tampa Bay | S Jordan Whitehead (NYJ) | 2 yrs, $9 M | $4,500,000 |
| Dallas | LB Eddie Kendricks (LAC) | 1 yr, $3 M | $3,000,000 |
Prescott, Lamb, Parsons. These are great players, but the Cowboys are fighting an uphill battle as they try to both retain them and also add talent to keep pace with the 49ers, Packers, Lions and Eagles.
Prescott and Lamb are entering the final years of their contracts. Parsons is entering the final season of his four-year rookie contract, but the Cowboys will be able to keep him around for an additional season by exercising his fifth-year option. All three are looking for extensions.
But without any notable new talent coming in to help things along, it creates the impression that the Cowboys will remain stuck where they are – a good team, but one that’s unlikely to make much of an impact in the playoffs. And if there’s not some postseason success, I would think it will be time to make some dramatic changes. Mike McCarthy is on the hot seat, and I would think the Cowboys have at least given some thought to the possibility of going the Minnesota route, dumping Prescott to get a lot cheaper at quarterback.
—Ian Allan