Dallas Cowboys have an obvious decision to make ahead of upcoming 2024 NFL franchise tag window
Next Tuesday, the window opens for all NFL teams to franchise tag players ahead of the 2024 offseason. Last year, the Dallas Cowboys tagged Tony Pollard for $10.09 million but things aren't looking as straightforward a year removed from such a decision. The Cowboys have 16 pending free agents ahead of March but the biggest […]
Next Tuesday, the window opens for all NFL teams to franchise tag players ahead of the 2024 offseason. Last year, the Dallas Cowboys tagged Tony Pollard for $10.09 million but things aren't looking as straightforward a year removed from such a decision.
The Cowboys have 16 pending free agents ahead of March but the biggest financial decisions to be made this year likely revolve around players whose contracts won't expire until 2025 as those include Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons, Zack Martin, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Brandin Cooks. Getting some early work done ahead of time will be critical for such a brutal free agency class next year.
The Cowboys, however, have some concerns in 2024, too. Specially since they're claiming this is an for them. If they're to use the tag, the biggest pending free agents on the team are Tony Pollard, Stephon Gilmore and Tyron Smith.
Who's the likeliest franchise tag candidate?
Among the three mentioned above, the only one who could have an argument going for him is running back Tony Pollard, and even that is questionable.
Pollard was tagged last year and the Cowboys could consider going down the same path if they still think he's worth the investment. However, as pointed out in our A to Z Sports' contract projection, Pollard "struggled to amass 1,000 yards despite seeing the highest number of snaps and carries of his career. He also saw a significant drop in his yards per carry, yards after contact and yards per reception."
Per our projections, Pollard is set to sign for a three-year deal worth, $22.5M, $7.50M per year, with $13M fully guaranteed.
Tagging Pollard would cost the Cowboys $12.4 million per Over The Cap's projection. That would take up approximately 5% of the salary cap, when Super Bowl-winning teams have allocated an average of 0.65% of their cap for their RB1, per Marcus Mosher.
The Cowboys are likely better off not spending big money on Pollard and instead aiming for a seocond-tier deal for him or maybe even moving on entirely in what's expected to be a market with excessive demand factoring in a deep group of rookie running backs.
An obvious decision is in store for Dallas
Tyron Smith and Stephon Gilmore aren't going to be easy to keep for the Cowboys as they both played at a very high level despite them being past their respective primes. However, they're highly unlikely to get deals comparable to franchise tags at their respective positions:
- CB, $18.4M
- OL $21.7M
The Cowboys have a simply decision to make between February 20th and March 5th: Pass on the tag in 2024. There are bigger priorities and no player is worth the
Cowboys need to learn a huge lesson from Super Bowl LVIII
They better take note.
