Latest Dallas Cowboys offseason news.
Cowboys should consider cutting contracts in 2024 season – Christopher Knox, Bleacher Report
Even with linebacker being one of the Cowboys' most obvious roster needs, Leighton Vander Esch may not factor into any of the team's plans moving forward.
LB Leighton Vander Esch
It would be somewhat surprising to see the Cowboys allow linebacker Leighton Vander Esch to play out the two-year contract he signed last season.
First, Dallas needs to improve its running backs and defense that have been vulnerable over the past few seasons. Second, Vander Esch struggled to stay healthy. He was limited to five games in 2023 due to a neck injury.
Vander Esch has been productive when healthy, recording 30 tackles and a defensive touchdown in his five games, but Dallas simply can't count on him to stay on the field. Given his history of neck injuries, Vander Esch may also have to consider retiring from football.
“The nature of his potential injury here makes me really think long term and beyond what it means for next week or beyond what it means for next month,” franchise owner Jerry Jones told 105.3 The Fan (h/t ESPN's Todd Archer).
Releasing Vander Esch would create a dead cap hit of $2.3 million but also free up $2.1 million in cap space for 2024.
Cowboys need new faces on receiving corps – Richard Paolinelli, inside star
The Cowboys could surround CeeDee Lamb with some new playmakers next season.
I think we can all agree that the Cowboys kept the wrong guy when they extended Michael Gallup and shipped Amari Cooper to Cleveland.
In two years with the Browns, Cooper averaged 55 catches for 1,200 yards and seven touchdowns. All numbers are better than with Dallas.
In the same two years, Gallup had 842 total yards on 73 catches and six touchdowns.
We cannot undo a trade but we can stop losses. Gallup must go.
Continue cooking
In his first year in Dallas, Brandin Cooks had 54 catches for 657 yards and eight touchdowns.
The Cowboys need to move heaven and earth to keep the Cooks in Dallas next year. He and CeeDee Lamb were the most reliable receivers in 2023.
Jalen Tolbert will be in his third year this fall — the year the wide receiver either explodes or fades away.
Jalen Brooks showed flashes of future promise in his limited rookie season. Brooks caught all six passes thrown his way and four of them were on first downs.
It's time for the younger receivers to step up in 2024.
Top LBs in 2024 Senior Bowl: Payton Wilson, Cedric Gray top list – Owen Jones, Pro Football Network
The Cowboys have been keeping a close eye on their Senior Bowl prospects for some time, with plenty of standout players to bolster their defense this season.
Senior Bowl LB Rankings
The 2024 linebacker class needs someone to step up. Right now, a group of players are viewed as late Day 2 to early Day 3 prospects, with none of them cut from the mix.
Who will take their chance in the 2024 Senior Bowl?
1) Payton Wilson, North Carolina State
There is very little left for Payton Wilson to prove on the football field. He's exactly what teams want in a modern linebacker. Wilson has size, instincts and awareness, but he also has mobility. He can cover downs and downhill collisions to stop the run.
The most important thing for Wilson in the pre-draft process is his medical. The NC State linebacker has rarely been healthy, having already suffered a torn ACL and a season-ending shoulder injury in 2021. He will be one of the first linebackers drafted in the NFL Draft 2024 if he is set to get a clean bill of health.
2) Cedric Gray, North Carolina
One of the most impressive aspects of Cedric Gray's game is his power. It allows him to throw blocks and finish tackles in the running game. At the same time, his explosiveness gives him enough short-area speed.
Gray has lingering athletic spots he'll need to clean up, which he'll get a chance to showcase in the Senior Bowl. They appear mostly in coverage, where his lack of fumble can lead him astray. While he can recognize and anticipate, he can be caught on his feet.
3) Tyrone Huber, Missouri
The key to Ty'Ron Hopper's game is speed. An absolute sweater, it's comfortably the Missouri linebacker's most important asset. This speed gives him tremendous range. Combined with his toughness, he is a threat coming downhill to defend the run. His endless motor sees him chasing down runners, and his ability to completely change direction means he can move from sideline to sideline quickly.
The 4 Worst Decisions the Cowboys Made in 2023 – Cyre Bedinger, The Landry Hat
The teams that advanced past the Wild Card weekend and into the Super Bowl had a much more dynamic running game than the Cowboys found for most of the season.
3. Giving away Ezekiel Elliott (and not bringing him back at a reduced price)
I think we have to look at the decision the Dallas Cowboys made to part ways with running back Ezekiel Elliott. Maybe it's time for Zeke to go. Maybe that ship has sailed permanently.
We all understood the financial consequences of this save Zeke last year, especially when the Cowboys had to acquire franchise player Tony Pollard to keep him around. The decision to tag Pollard forced the Cowboys when it came to Ezekiel Elliott, meaning they simply couldn't commit that much of the salary cap pie to two players at running back.
But even though Elliott isn't the 2015 version of himself anymore, I think what he and Pollard were capable of… together 2022 was a much better year than we saw from Dallas' running game overall in 2023. The Cowboys have gone from a top-10 rushing attack with the second-most rushing TDs in the league (24) to being middle-of-the-pack, 14th in yards passing and 15th in passing Rapid decline, in 2023.
As difficult as it was financially, the Cowboys probably should have done more to get Elliott back at a cut price in 2023. He ended up signing with the New England Patriots in a very dry market for just $3 million. One year deal.
It was helpful to see Zeke back in Dallas for at least one more trip.
2024 Senior Bowl: How to watch, time, TV, top NFL Draft storylines featuring Michael Penix Jr., and more – Josh Edwards, CBS Sports
Senior Bowl practices start today in mobile.
How to watch and what to know
date: Saturday 3 February | time: 1 p.m. ET
location: Hancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile, Alabama)
television: NFL Network | flow: fuboTV (Try Free)
A year ago, college football's annual showcase of NFL hopefuls featured more than 100 prospects drafted from the game. A week of pre-game practices and interviews attracted more than 900 NFL personnel from all 32 teams.
We welcome lower class people
The Reese's Senior Bowl has always accepted juniors who have met graduation requirements but the game is now an option for all underclassmen prospects who have declared for the NFL Draft regardless of whether they have completed the degree requirements or not.
There are nearly a dozen players who have been invited and accepted an invitation to the 2024 NFL Draft, including Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson, Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II, Kansas edge rusher Austin Booker, Miami safety Camryn Kinchens and BYU offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataya. Murphy is the highest-rated rookie prospect on CBSSports.com.
Top predictions for this year's game
UCLA's Laiatu Latu is CBSSports.com's top-rated prospect in this week's game. After recording 10-plus sacks for the second straight season, Latu arrives at Mobile as a top-10 sack prospect overall. Other forecasts ranked in the top 50 overall include:
Oregon State offensive tackle Talese Fuaga
Toledo cornerback Quinnyon Mitchell
Penn State cornerback Kalyn King
Missouri cornerback Ennis Raxestro
Missouri cornerback Chris Abrams Drane
Houston offensive tackle Patrick Ball
Texans defensive tackle Byron Murphy II
Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
Oregon quarterback Bo Nix
Washington offensive lineman Troy Votano
Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton
Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton
Ohio State defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr.
TCU cornerback Josh Newton
Tyron Smith Named Free Agent Cowboys Can't Afford to Lose Him – Matthew Holleran, Boys Blogs
How big is the need on the offensive line for Dallas this season?
While the Cowboys have Tyler Smith as an in-house option at left tackle if they don't retain Smith, letting him walk in free agency wouldn't be a smart move. Focus on professional football They agreed with that sentiment when they called Smith's Dallas free agent “least able to afford to lose” this spring.
This is what PFF He had to say why the Cowboys couldn't let Smith go.
Smith is on the back nine of his career, and is expected to miss a game or two in any given season, but he's been a great value for Dallas for a decade at this point. The Cowboys shouldn't let him take a photo in another uniform if he wants to keep playing.
Smith's 847 snaps in 2023 were his most since 2019, and his 3.6% pressure rate allowed was third-lowest among tackles across the league.
It's hard to disagree that if Smith intends to keep playing, the Cowboys should do whatever it takes to keep him in Dallas. When healthy, he's still one of the best tackles in the league, and bringing him back would help eliminate Dallas' need to select a tackle in the draft.
BTB recently conducted a poll on this topic and you guys agreed, Smith was voted the most important free agent To re-sign in a close race with Tyler Biadasz and Stephon Gilmore.
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