Blogging The Boys
What has been the most surprising thing about the Cowboys offseason in your opinion?
We’re still only in March in this 2025 offseason, but that hasn’t left us without news to discuss. Today we’re going to look at the five most surprising decisions that the Dallas Cowboys have made and the likelihood that those moves, or non-moves, could change between now and the start of the season.
There was a lot of speculation that the veteran safety would be a salary cap casualty. Dallas could clear about $5 million in space by cutting Wilson outright. But instead, they’ve created ample cap relief by restructuring contracts for QB Dak Prescott and WR CeeDee Lamb. With still close to $40 million available, it’s unlikely that the Cowboys still have enough moves coming that they would need to sacrifice Wilson.
What made it especially surprising is that Dallas also re-signed Markquese Bell to a three-year, $9 million deal. Going into the offseason, it felt like either Bell would be allowed to walk or Wilson would be released to allow Bell and Juanyeh Thomas to compete for a starting job. But now all of them, plus Malik Hooker, are currently set to return in 2025.
Granted, we’re still early in the process and Wilson could yet be cut. If the Cowboys come out of the draft with a safety who’s guaranteed to make the team, Wilson may suddenly feel more expendable. But barring that, he should be back to try to fight off the young prospects in training camp.
Mike McCarthy’s exit was not the surprising part. It was speculated even before 2024 and the front office almost manufactured it by how they handled the roster in his lame duck season. But nobody had Brian Schottenheimer taking over when it all started, and yet he became the 10th head coach in Cowboys history.
From the wild ideas like Deion Sanders, Jason Witten, or Bill Belichick to more realistic, predictable options like Kellen Moore or Robert Saleh, plenty of names were being discussed before Schottenheimer entered the chat. If anyone was going to be promoted from the previous coaching staff, Mike Zimmer seemed like the guy.
There’s plenty of debate over what prompted Schottenheimer’s promotion. Was it merit or was he the only guy who didn’t turn the Jones family down? We may never know. But it’s clear that he has the support of the players, particularly Dak Prescott, so that no doubt played a major factor in the decision. The onus is now on Schottenheimer to show he’s not all talk but can truly bring about schematic, strategic changes which maximize the team’s talent.
Just a few days after the Cowboys signed RB Javonte Williams, they added another veteran in Sanders. While Williams presents some intrigue as part of the backfield rotation, the older Sanders feels like an odd move and unlikely to even make the roster.
Certainly, Dallas was still expected...
