Between now and the start of the new league year in March, TGS is providing brief summaries looking ahead at the offseason from the perspective of each NFL team. In this edition, we look at the Dallas Cowboys.
2016 record: 13-3 — 1st place, NFC East
What’s new? For the first time in a decade, Tony Romo is not the starting quarterback entering the offseason.
Projected salary cap space: Minus-$13 million — Yeah, they’ve got some work to do.
Key in-house free agents: CB Brandon Carr, CB Morris Claiborne, S Barry Church, S J.J. Wilcox, WR Terrance Williams, G Ronald Leary, LB Justin Durant, DE Jack Crawford, DT Terrell McClain
They can afford to lose a lot of these guys, but that’s a lot of bodies on defense. The secondary would be in trouble without Carr, Claiborne, Church and Wilcox, so look for them to find a way to bring one or two of those guys back to team up with Orlando Scandrick, Byron Jones and Anthony Brown. They’ll be pretty thin up front without Durant, Crawford and McClain, and they could struggle to bring those guys back. They’ll need to have another strong draft and hope to get a big redshirt rookie year from Jaylon Smith.
Key needs: Defensive tackle, cornerback, safety, defensive end, wide receiver if they lose Williams.
Draft breakdown: They hold the No. 28 overall pick, they’re without a fifth-round pick and they have an extra seventh-rounder.
Other potential priorities: They’ll clear up some space by cutting or trading Romo, which could happen very soon. Problem is if he’s a post-June 1 cut, he’ll save them money overall but they won’t benefit from that during free agency.
Outlook: Tight for cash and not a great draft situation. Better hope Dak Prescott and/or Ezekiel Elliott don’t suffer from sophomore slumps.
