FRISCO – The Dallas Cowboys enter the 2024 offseason with 14 free agents. The knee-jerk reaction? There are two of ‘em.
One is “angry”: “Dallas isn’t good enough! Who needs ‘em?”
Two is similarly reactionary: “Gotta sign our guys!”
The truth – especially accented with owner Jerry Jones claiming he’s “all in” for building a champion in 2024 – is somewhere in the middle as the Fish Podcast and the Fish Report works to prioritize the guys …
Tyron Smith – An All-Pro who could retire.
Tony Pollard – We don’t see Dallas paying big money for a back, as we note here.
Tyler Biadasz – A good, replaceable piece.
Stephon Gilmore – Can you bring him back on the cheap? Teaming him with Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland is an appealing idea, as we write here.
Jayron Kearse – We wonder if the “position flex” thing has run its course.
Jourdan Lewis – Does Dallas want to get younger here?
Johnathan Hankins – Dallas doesn’t usually prioritize the run-stuffer. That might be about to change.
Dorance Armstrong – Somebody is about to pay him twice Dallas’ price.
Dante Fowler – Would he go where Dan Quinn goes?
Neville Gallimore – Just a JAG?
OL Chuma Edoga – A functional multi-purpose guy you wish you didn’t have to play.
Trent Sieg – Good enough to never notice.
Noah Igbinhoghene – Made one play all year.
Rico Dowdle – Could be a starter … or could be ignored.
The truth: The list of “must-signs” might be shorter than most of us think. And the evidence of “all in” is not, for the most part, going to come from this list. And why not? “Re-signing our guys,” important as it may be, doesn’t make the roster better. All it does is keep it the same.