The future is now for the Cowboys; It’s time to start sifting through the bag | Opinion
With their season record now at 3-7 after yet another home loss on Monday night to the Houston Texans, acceptance has set in with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and the players.
What was once confidence from Jones and the team, despite a rough losing streak, has turned to realism for an organization that is heading nowhere fast ... unless you’re looking at a potential top-five pick in April’s draft.
“That’s 10 games, and certainly the numbers are coming to us,” Jones said after Monday’s 34-10 loss. “We have to be realistic about how we’re playing.”
The reality is that any playoff hope has evaporated. And the Cowboys still have seven games to play. What can be accomplished in the time being?
Despite the off-the-rails season, Dallas is gifted with an opportunity down the stretch to figure out what they have. With 53 players (70, including the practice squad) carefully assorted in the team’s bag, the opportunity to figure out what you have for the future is right in front of you.
Of those 53 pieces, 17 of them are playing on expiring contracts including defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, wide receiver Brandin Cooks, defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, cornerback Jourdan Lewis, quarterbacks Cooper Rush and Trey Lance, running backs Rico Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliott and others.
The question that Dallas must ask itself in March, when decisions must be made on bringing those players back, is if the front office and/or coaching staff at that time sees the need to bring back any specific free agent or let the youth on the team fill those responsibilities.
They have seven games to figure that out.
“I look at this as an opportunity for growth,” wide receiver CeeDee Lamb said. “Like my rookie season, we went 6-10. I know every year after that, it was pressure for everybody. With that, I know that the world doesn’t end this year. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen the way that we wanted to but we’ve got to learn from these things.”
Growth begins with accepting the reality in front of the Cowboys as it sits today. It seems that has happened. Next, it’s about getting all 53 pieces in your bag in real-game situations to figure out which pieces you want back next season.
Whether it’s rookie wide receiver Ryan Flournoy getting his first career start on Monday night, cornerback Josh Butler being signed to the active roster and also making his first career start or seeing Trey Lance in some quarterback packages last week against the Eagles, the experimenting has already begun.
Now, it’s about leaning into it.
“We’re trying a lot of things out there to move the needle,” Jones said. “We have to be realistic about what we’re dealing with at quarterback and we have to calculate that in the look ahead. We have help on the way on defense. The guys that were out there tonight did some good things, but they made some mistakes.”
Moving forward, it could benefit the team to work with more youth. Left tackle Asim Richards has shown improvement in his limited time. When Juanyeh Thomas has filled in for Donovan Wilson at safety, more instinctual play from the backend of the defense has been the result. Israel Mukuamu’s start at the nickel cornerback spot in place of the injured Jourdan Lewis saw him allow just three receptions on five targets.
In the seven remaining games, every player on the 53-man roster and even a handful of players from the practice squad need to see legitimate time on the field. The case could be made that every single position group should rotate bodies the rest of the way so that the team has a full evaluation of its assets going into the offseason.
Can Deuce Vaughn or Dalvin Cook provide a spark to the running game? Does Brevyn Spann-Ford or Luke Schoonmaker move the needle at tight end? When Marshawn Kneeland returns, can the team figure out if he’s ready to be a starter in 2025? Is there reliable depth in the secondary? Is Cooper Rush, Trey Lance or an outside body the best backup option for Dallas under Dak Prescott’s third contract?
These are all questions that you would maybe have to ask in the offseason, but the benefit of a lost season with seven games remaining gives you the opportunity to ask and answer those questions now. If done correctly, it will give the front office the answers it needs to make calculated decisions in the offseason.
If acceptance has truly set it, then experimenting has to come next.
