Mauricio Rodriguez discusses the Dallas Cowboys decisions to restructure both Dak Prescott and Ceedee Lamb and what it might mean for the team in free agency.
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00:00So the Dallas Cowboys opened $56.6 million in salary,
00:05cap space, and based on what Jerry Jones just said, it might not even matter.
00:13Hey, what's up everyone? It's Mauricio Rodriguez here at ADZ Sports Dallas.
00:17Listen, I'm trying to figure out what to make of these Cowboys offseason so far,
00:22because truth be told, they are off to a hot start. They beat the franchise tag deadline
00:28by extending Ozo Digesuwa to a four-year deal, $80 million contract, including a $20 million
00:35signing bonus. Then they restructured CeeDee Lamb's deal, opened up $20 million in the process.
00:42You can add Dak Prescott to the list, because on Wednesday, they also did that with the quarterback.
00:47That opened up another $36.6 million. Plus, they've re-signed many low-tier free agents
00:54like CJ Goodwin, Juan J. Thomas, Brock Hoffman, Kavante Chirpin. They're going to offer him a
01:00second round tender, according to reports. They are making moves. Even with Micah Parsons,
01:05reportedly negotiations have already begun. All of these moves make it seem like the Cowboys
01:11are about to spend some big money in free agency. I'm not talking about going and signing a megastar
01:17or anything like that. I'm talking about signing veteran players who can help out the team in 2024,
01:24especially the restructurers. Because the Cowboys, you blinked your eyes. The Cowboys
01:29suddenly had $56.6 million more in cap space. Now, sure, the Cowboys have all of this salary
01:36cap space lying around. The question now becomes, are they going to use it? Based on recent history,
01:42I cannot expect the Cowboys to be very aggressive in free agency. That's reason number one why I'm
01:48not entirely sure this cap space is going to be maximized. Reason number two is Jerry Jones
01:56talking to reporters on Wednesday after the Zach Martin retirement press conference and giving us
02:01a quote that, let me tell you this right now, it would get 31 NFL general managers fired on the
02:09spot. The only reason why Jerry isn't included on that list is that he owns the team. Here's what
02:14Jerry Jones said. I don't think aggressive is the right word for this free agency. I'm not looking
02:19at free agency as a place to fill voids. I'm going to read that again because you might have missed
02:26it. I'm not looking at free agency as a place to fill voids. Jerry, what are we even talking about?
02:35That's literally what free agency is for. You take a look around at how NFL teams, successful ones,
02:43do business. The approach is pretty simple. You fill voids in free agency where you can find
02:50proven, tested, veteran players that you know are going to make an impact on your team as soon as
02:57they get there. Then once you get into the NFL draft, you figure out what you're going to do
03:02and you're going to take the best player available. Think about it this way. Free agency offers short
03:08term solutions while the draft basically provides you with long-term answers. It is outrageous,
03:14egregious, and preposterous to go out there and say that you're not looking at free agency
03:19as a way to fill voids. That's the exact kind of thinking that got the Cowboys into a spot last
03:24year where they needed their first round left tackle to start even though he was considered
03:29a raw prospect. I'm talking about Tyler Guyton here. You needed Cooper Beebe, a third rounder
03:35who fortunately ended up working out, to learn how to snap the football and be your starting
03:41center. That's why week one after Daron Bland's injury, he had to start a fifth round rookie
03:48cornerback against Amari Cooper and Jerry Judy in Cleveland. You shouldn't attempt to fill voids
03:54through the NFL draft. That's for the long term. Free agency is for filling voids and Jerry Jones
04:00is telling you he doesn't want to do that. Ultimately, this is the kind of stuff that I
04:04can look at $56.6 million being fit up in salary cap space in a single day or in a matter of 24
04:11hours, but I have little faith that they're going to be properly used. Next week, we'll see if the
04:18Cowboys prove us wrong, but so far, even though the Cowboys offseason is off to a very decent start,
04:25I just got to see it to believe it and Jerry Jones saying what he just did is exactly the reason why.