Oh boy Cowboys fans, get ready, this is going to be a tough one.
How often has it happened that Jerry Jones the general manager has screwed over Jerry Jones the owner? What we are watching right now is a slow motion disaster. Right now Dak, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons are all waiting for contract extensions. These three might be the most talented players on the team. No General Manager should ever let all three contracts come up at the same time. All it takes is a little planning and forethought to stagger these contracts and not have to worry about this mess that is threatening their season.
But Jerry Jones the owner refuses to go through a rebuild. No matter how mediocre the team performs, he won’t let the front office tear it down and start over. He’s reached the age where he just doesn’t have the patience to wait for three to five years to maybe build a team that can reasonably challenge for a title.
And so it goes, Jerry Jones the owner and Jerry Jones the general manager in a constant battle.
So what needs to happen? Well signing these three to massive contracts will not make the Cowboys better. Talent wise, it keeps them the same, but it will kill the cap for the foreseeable future and prevent the team from signing other free agents. One of the reasons these contracts are dragging out has to be that the Cowboys management team understands that at some level.
Letting any of these three walk in free agency is out of the question. There’s no way you can let assets this valuable go without getting something in return. There’s no Herschel Walker deals in the NFL anymore. But there’s a path to a very quick rebuild if the Cowboys have the fortitude to make a deal.
So the question fans should be asking Jerry Jones, what are you going to do?
Here’s my plan:
Trade em! All three, and right now.
Send Dak to the Raiders. Get a 1st Round pick in 2025 and 2027 with a package of middle round picks throughout the next three years. The Raiders are built with mature offensive talent and an up and coming defense. They just need the QB, and drafting a young guy next year just lengthens the time before they can truly be competitive. Getting Dak now gives them a Super Bowl window in the next couple of years.
Send CeeDee Lamb to Buffalo for a 2nd Round pick in 2025 and a 1st Round pick in 2026. Josh Allen needs help in the passing game. He has a lot of young talent, but he needs that big dog getting downfield if he wants to compete with Kansas City and Baltimore this year. Adding CeeDee could be the difference between a Wild Card berth and a Super Bowl appearance this year for the Bills.
Send Micah Parsons to Miami for a 1st Round pick in 2025 and a package of middle round picks over the next couple of years. Miami faltered down the stretch last year and a big part of it was injuries to their pass rushers. They failed to improve that area of the defense much in the off season. Miami’s high powered offense will force opponents to throw the ball a lot this season, which will give Parsons the chance to pin his ears back and challenge for the single season sack record.
In the end, three AFC teams get these pieces from Dallas. Jerry Jones and the Cowboys end up with multiple 1st round picks in the next three drafts along with several day two and day three picks to revamp the roster.
It will be a painful ride in 2024, but at least there will be hope. Sign these guys to the contracts they are asking for and watch the Cowboys lose in the Wild Card round again – and say goodbye to any hope that the Jerry vs Jerry battle will ever deliver a winner.