In 2025, the Dallas Cowboys will celebrate their 30th anniversary of their 1995 Super Bowl season. Since then, they have had winning seasons and losing seasons, 7 different coaches, 15 different QBs,1 zero conference championship appearances, and one constant, GM/Owner Jerry Jones. That’s not much to hang your Tom Landry hat on. Things are not going to get better this season as you could probably imagine after last week’s Micah Parsons trade.
When looking at the 2025 team, I can’t help but think of last year’s Cowboys Eagles game where CeeDee Lamb lost a ball in the Dallas sun and didn’t score a TD. Dallas plays indoors but Jerry likes that the sun shines into his football cathedral, so no curtains. They are deliberately putting aesthetics over winning football games! That’s how unserious this team is, the same team that just traded its best player because the owner was mad at his agent.
Management
The Cowboys and Jerry Jones are intertwined. What used to be a competitive organization that drafted well is now a clown show that is more interested in entertaining than winning. They’d rather revel in Netflix documentaries and spite than doing the right thing. The Micah Parsons situation was not the first or the last bit of evidence, just the first time the volcano spewed above the surface. This has been brewing and it will get worse.
For two off-seasons now, Parsons has been eligible for a contract extension. There was nothing to negotiate. Everyone in the NFL knew that as soon as Parsons signed his next contract, he would be the highest paid non-QB in football. Everyone except Jerry Jones apparently. By waiting it seemed that he would only cost the team around $20m-$30m. Unfortunately, they waited so long that they lost the player. Why am I relitigating the Parsons contract that I have already beat into the ground? Because it was bad process. By trading Parsons right before the start of the season, he lost the value of known draft picks and the opportunity of free agency. Apparently, Jones even refused to speak with Parsons’s agent. That’s insane. This was a deal made from anger and for show, not to improve the team.
After making the Parsons deal, Jerry made sure to give a huge extension to DaRon Bland. It’s also been reported that he has every intention of extending Tyler Smith and Sam Williams. Couple these moves with getting back Kenny Clark and his $20m+ cap hit next season and it’s clear that the team does not plan to rebuild. They are just going to do it without their best player.
On the bright side for Dallas, they have an estimated $52m in cap space left this year plus 4 first round picks in the next two drafts. You could do some damage with that kind of ammo…well they could have a few months ago. What team is going to give you a star right now? Sorry Jerry, but you’re the only one. Another problem is that those Packers picks will be from the Packers, you know, the team they just traded one of the best defensive players in the league to. They should regularly be pretty good so those draft picks probably are not lottery tickets.
The Offseason
Ok, enough about Jerry. Let’s talk about their other big move, getting rid of Mike McCarthy. McCarthy was a self-sabotager who couldn’t get out of his own way when it mattered. He held on to his job for 5 years because he was incapable of sticking up to his boss. Of course he didn’t outlast the 10 years of previous Yes-Man Jason Garrett but he made a valiant effort. Too bad. In comes Brian Schottenheimer after almost no search process. His big claims to fame are leading the mediocre offenses of the Jeff Fisher Rams, Russell Wilson’s bad years in Seattle, and the Mark Sanchez Jets. Oh, and his dad is Marty. No way nepotism had anything to do with it though. Any time you can hire mediocrity, with an accomplished father, you have to do it!
Let’s talk about the last two drafts. Last year the Cowboys brought in OT Tyler Guyton with the 29th pick. PFF graded him the 115th best tackle out of 140 in the league. He stinks but Dallas is projecting him to protect their regularly injured QB. This year, they used the 12th pick to select a guard, Tyler Booker out of Alabama. Normally I would be all for an offensive lineman from the SEC, but Booker isn’t athletic and was a borderline first round talent. Thank the good lord they passed on Tyler Warren and any number of better prospects. Apparently, they are only allowed to draft Tylers if they are offensive linemen, that’s 3 in 4 years.
This isn’t the Cowboy offensive line of yesteryear. Zack Martin retired and probably can’t be replaced effectively. Terence Steele at left tackle was…okay? Tyler Smith profiles as their only good lineman. Add in Booker and Guyton and this could be a total dumpster fire of a unit. It’s a good thing the Eagles and Giants aren’t loaded with first round defensive line talent. Whoops!
Where they did improve was wide receiver. George Pickens came from Pittsburgh for a 3rd and 5th round pick. While CeeDee Lamb mans the slot, Pickens will be the deep threat on the outside. While Pickens is talented, he was also so volatile that the Steelers didn’t want anything more to do with him. Assuming Dak Prescott isn’t constantly running for his life and doesn’t get hurt, the Cowboys should be able to throw the ball.
As for defending it, that’s another story. Bland joins Trevon Diggs in the most expensive CB room in the league. Are they good though? Both are total ballhawks who can get their hands on the ball given the opportunity. When they don’t though, both are giving up big yardage. It’s a feast or famine situation in coverage.
Without Parsons getting to the QB, who will be doing that in Dallas? They drafted Donovan Ezeiruaku in the 2nd round and brought in free agent Dante Fowler, but neither profiles as more than a 3rd down pass rusher right now. Add that to a completely barren linebacking corps and opposing teams should be looking at a lot of 3rd and short.
Prediction
I think Dallas is probably better than they are being given credit for right now, but they have problems in all the wrong areas. They can’t get to the opposing QB and they can’t protect their own. That’s not a recipe for success. Sure, they will get some interceptions and will catch some highlight TDs, but they will be few and far between with teams running all over them and crushing Dak’s will to live. This is a 7-10 team at best, but probably 6-11.
- Only counting the ones who started more than 2 games: Troy Aikman, Randall Cunningham :(, Anthony Wright, Quincy Carter, Ryan Leaf (lol), Chad Hutchinson, Vinny Testaverde, Drew Bledsoe, Tony Romo, Brad Johnson, Jon Kitna, Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel, Dak Prescott, Andy Dalton, and Cooper Rush THANK YOU ↩︎
Philly Front Office 
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