Blogging The Boys
The Dallas Cowboys have a recent history of poor behavior in the offseason. Each of the last two years has featured offseasons that dealt with contract drama, a lack of interest in free agency, leaving Mike McCarthy in a contract year, saddling Brian Schottenheimer with a defensive coordinator who the front office had a history with… there are few people who would defend all of 2024 and 2025.
This offseason has been different, though. Relative to recent trends, the Cowboys have been moving and operating in an objectively different way. It would appear that different is not always enough, though.
Recently the folks at the worldwide leader handed out offseason grades to each and every NFL team. They noted that their analysis came from the perspective of the decisions that each team made, and while clearing the recent bar is something the Cowboys did, it appears that ESPN believes they could/should have done more.
Dallas Cowboys: C+
Biggest move: Keeping WR George Pickens on the franchise tag — and only the franchise tag
Move I liked: Keeping Pickens on the franchise tag
Move I disliked: Trading DT Osa OdighizuwaThe ripple effects of Dallas’ decision to trade Micah Parsons ahead of the 2025 season were still being felt this offseason. That was most apparent when the Cowboys were among the teams vying for Maxx Crosby. They didn’t get the Pro Bowl edge rusher, who landed back in Las Vegas.
But losing Parsons was also likely a factor in the Cowboys’ decision to trade a fourth-round pick for edge rusher Rashan Gary — an overpay considering Gary is a vastly diminished relative to his pre-torn-ACL self and still will make $16 million per year.
The Parsons effect was also felt at defensive tackle. The Cowboys had used some of their extra draft capital from the deal to trade for Quinnen Williams in midseason, creating a bit of a surplus at interior lineman with Kenny Clark and Odighizuwa. Dallas’ solution was to trade Odighizuwa to San Francisco for a third-round pick. The Cowboys chose the wrong D-tackle to deal, as Odighizuwa is younger and makes less than Clark, plus is arguably better than the veteran at this stage of their respective careers. The Cowboys would have gotten less draft capital for Clark, but I don’t think they fared particularly well with the Odighizuwa deal and wonder if they didn’t trade Clark, who was part of the Parsons deal, due to the optics.
Dallas’ other major player decision was related to Pickens. After the wide receiver’s exceptional 2025 season, the Cowboys applied the franchise tag but said they wouldn’t negotiate a long-term deal with him. This was the right move. Handing him a new contract right now would be paying Pickens at the peak of his worth. And I can’t help but think about Pickens falling out of favor in Pittsburgh —...
