NFC East 2022 free agency grades: Dallas Cowboys edition

There were times during the 2021 season that the Dallas Cowboys looked like Super Bowl contenders. They had one of the most talented offenses in the NFL, and a bunch of playmakers on defense. And then...

Heading into 2022, a number of the Cowboys' most expensive players were going to have ballooning salary cap hits, and the team was going to be forced into some difficult decisions. It was always going to be interesting to see which hard choices they would make. I think it makes the most sense to start with the players Dallas lost.

Noteworthy players they lost

• WR Amari Cooper: In 56 games (3.5 seasons) after the Cowboys traded a first-round pick for him at the 2018 trade deadline, Cooper was a productive receiver for Dallas, catching 292 passes for 3893 yards and 27 TDs.

In addition to the draft capital used to acquire Cooper, Dallas also paid him over $54 million during his Dallas tenure. In the end, while productive for 3.5 seasons, Cooper only lasted, you know, 3.5 seasons, and the return on investment wasn't much, as Dallas traded him to the Browns for a fifth-round pick, and a swap of picks in the sixth round.

The scariest aspect of the Cowboys' offense heading into 2021 was their receiver trio of Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup. They're less scary without Cooper. 

• DE Randy Gregory: The Cowboys selected Gregory in the second round of the 2015 draft, and in the seven seasons since he has missed a staggering 63 games, mostly due to the zillion suspensions he has served. However, the Cowboys stuck by him, kept him around, and were rewarded with a breakout season of sorts in 2021, when Gregory had 6 sacks, 3 FFs, and a highlight reel INT.

In free agency, it seemed like Gregory was poised to return to Dallas, but he objected to language in his contract:

Anyway, after years of waiting for Gregory to have a positive impact on the field for seven years, the Cowboys got a quick taste, and yada yada yada, now he's in Denver. 

• RT La'el Collins: Collins has been a decent starting right tackle for Dallas, but wildly overrated throughout his career. The Cowboys released Collins despite a reasonable $10 million salary after being unable to find any trade partners for him. He then signed for Halapoulivaati Vaitai money in Cincinnati.

Still, while not as good as Pro Football Focus will tell you he is, betting on Terence Steele to be a better starting RT is a pretty big gamble.

• LG Connor Williams: The Cowboys selected Williams one pick after the Eagles took Dallas Goedert in the 2018 draft. He struggled early in his career, but became a competent enough starting LG. The Dolphins signed Williams in free agency.

If the season started tomorrow, the Cowboys' offensive line would probably look like so:

Because McGovern and Steele are now projected starters, the Cowboys' depth has taken a hit, and it's probably worth noting that Tyron Smith has missed at least three games in each of the last six seasons. He has missed 20 games over the last two seasons.

• WR Cedrick Wilson: Wilson was a sixth-round pick of the Cowboys in 2018 who got opportunities to produce in 2021 because of injuries. On the season, he caught 45 passes for 602 yards and 6 TDs. He caught 73.8 percent of the passes that came his way and averaged a hair under 10 yards per target. Wilson is an ascending player and a tough loss for the Cowboys, who likely felt they couldn't afford the three-year, $22 million deal he signed with Miami.

Players they gained

• Edge Dante Fowler: Fowler was a low-cost "Plan B" after the Cowboys lost Gregory. He had one big season in 2019 (11.5 sacks), but has been mostly quiet otherwise over a seven-year career.

• WR James Washington: Washington has some speed, but was a somewhat disappointing former second-round pick of the Steelers' in 2018. 24 catches for 285 yards and 2 TDs in 2021.

Noteworthy players they retained

The Cowboys made some interesting choices in terms who they kept and who they let go. First, here are the noteworthy players they kept:

1. DE Demarcus Lawrence (contract restructure)
2. WR Michael Gallup
3. TE Dalton Schultz (franchise tagged)
4. LB Leighton Vander Esch
5. S Jayron Kearse 
6. S Malik Hooker
7. WR Noah Brown
8. P Bryan Anger

It's worth diving in a bit on Lawrence, Gallup and Schultz.

• DE DeMarcus Lawrence: Lawrence finished the 2017 season with 14.5 sacks, which was tied for second in the NFL. He also had four forced fumbles. The Cowboys then used their franchise tag on him, which he played under in 2018 at $17,143,000. His production dipped that season, as he had 10.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.

The following offseason, in 2019, the Cowboys tagged him again, which would have cost them $20,571,600 for the 2019 season. Lawrence was not happy about getting the tag two straight seasons, and he used his injured shoulder, which required surgery, as leverage. What does that mean? Well, he refused to have shoulder surgery, thus delaying his return to the field, until he and the team agreed to a long-term deal.

Jerry Jones and Co. caved, and Lawrence was rewarded with a five-year contract worth $105 million, making him the second-highest paid edge rusher in the NFL (on an "average per year" basis), behind only Khalil Mack.

In the three seasons since he signed his deal, Lawrence has 14.5 sacks. There are 60 other players with at least 14.5 sacks over that span. Hell, Derek Barnett had 14 sacks over that span. Lawrence is a good player, but has underproduced relative to his pay, to put it mildly.

So there was no way Dallas was going to keep Lawrence around on a scheduled cap hit of $27 million in 2022. The two sides worked out a new agreement, in which his new cap numbers will be as follows over the next three seasons: 

• 2022: $14,000,000

• 2023: $26,000,000

• 2024: $16,000,000

• 2025 (dummy year): $3,000,000

So, the Cowboys got some breathing room this offseason, but the catch is that they guaranteed him $30 million. Lawrence will turn 30 in April, so if his disappointing production continues, the Cowboys will not be unable to get out of that contract until 2024 at the earliest, and even then there will be some financial pain. 

• WR Michael Gallup: The Cowboys signed Gallup to a five-year deal worth $57 million. Compared to some of the other insane contracts being thrown around on wide receivers in free agency, Gallup's deal was a bargain, and the Cowboys were also able to lock him down for five years. (To note, longer contracts in football are usually more team-friendly than in other sports.)

Gallup missed a big chunk of the 2021 season with a calf injury, and he tore an ACL Week 17. In the previous two seasons, however, he produced, with a 59-843-5 line in 2020 and 66-1107-6 in 2019.

• TE Dalton Schultz: Schultz had 78 catches for 808 yards and 8 TDs in 2021, improving on his breakout season in 2020 when he had 63 catches for 615 yards and 4 TDs. The Cowboys franchise tagged him, at $10,931,000. I get the desire to want to keep Schultz, but opposing defensive coordinators will be more than happy to game plan for Schultz as opposed to Amari Cooper.

The tale of the tape

Analysis/Grade

The Cowboys were destined to lose some players this offseason, and sure enough, they did. They now have some potential holes along their offensive line and they lost some juice at wide receiver, all while guys like Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, and Ezekiel Elliott have one more year of wear and tear on their bodies.

Defensively, the loss of Gregory has to sting, and when the dust settles the Cowboys may regret their handling of his contract language.

There's little question that this team got worse this offseason.

Grade: C-.

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