Cowboys officially kick off 2024 NFL free agency with highly questionable strategy
The 2024 NFL free agency period has kicked off as the legal tampering period has opened and the Dallas Cowboys have officially kicked it off with a highly questionable strategy. As of Monday at noon ET, teams are "are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will […]
The 2024 NFL free agency period has kicked off as the legal tampering period has opened and the Dallas Cowboys have officially kicked it off with a highly questionable strategy.
As of Monday at noon ET, teams are "are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their 2023 player contracts at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 13," per the NFL.
In other words, Monday is essentially the day free agency gets started as players can start talking to other teams. That's why the decision the Cowboys made on each of their 16 free agents is noteworthy:
They re-signed none of the 16 players whose contracts will expire on Wednesday and they'll all go to the free market.
Most notably, the Cowboys are reportedly unlikely to bring back All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith. But beyond that, the front office is also letting Tony Pollard, Tyler Biadasz, Stephon Gilmore, Jayron Kearse, Jourdan Lewis, and Johnathan Hankins taste the market. That's seven starters in total from a 12-win team.
While it's unrealistic to expect them to re-sign all of them, it's tough to argue that letting all of them get to free agency where the Cowboys will need to outbid other teams to bring them back is the right route to take.
Keep in mind, the Cowboys claimed they were going all in back at the Senior Bowl. With little expectations that they'll so by signing outside free agents as that would go against all they've done in recent years, taking such a risk is quite a questionable strategy.
Cowboys' 2024 free agents
- RB Tony Pollard (starter)
- CB Stephon Gilmore (starter)
- LT Tyron Smith (starter)
- DE Dorance Armstrong
- S Jayron Kearse (starter)
- CB Jourdan Lewis (starter)
- DE Dante Fowler Jr.
- CB Noah Igbinoghene
- DT Neville Gallimore
- DT Johnathan Hankins (starter)
- CB C.J. Goodwin
- LS Trent Sieg
- OT Chuma Edoga
- RB Rico Dowdle
- TE Sean McKeon
- C Tyler Biadasz (starter)
Cowboys’ 2024 NFL free agency tracker: Updated news, signings, cuts, and trades
All you need to know about the Cowboys’ free agency.
