Dallas Cowboys’ loss to Bengals shows why they need to sign Tee Higgins this offseason | Opinion
As much as the Cowboys can be a frustrating mess of an NFL franchise to support, there is another level beneath them, starting with the Cincinnati Bengals, for whom retaining top talent is a major annoyance.
The Cowboys game on Monday night against the Bengals should have effectively doubled as a recruiting visit for one of the top wide receivers in the game. Sorry, it’s not Ja’Marr Chase.
Tee Higgins will soon be free from “The Jungle,” available to sign with the team he desires as an unrestricted free agent. It would take considerable creative maneuvering, and a major shift in free agent philosophy, but the Cowboys adding Higgins is possible. Not likely. Possible.
Nothing the Cowboys offense did on Monday night in their comical 27-20 loss against the Bengals should alter a single mind of how badly they need real toys around their quarterback, whether that player is Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush, Trey Lance, or Krusty the Clown.
The only thing the Cowboys did on Monday night was prove was they have the “It” factor when it comes to all-time screwups. They blocked a punt late in the game, which should have led to a potential game-winning field goal.
Instead, recently activated Amani Oruwariye touched the ball after the block which allowed the Bengals to keep possession. Somewhere, Leon Lett was smiling.
The Cowboys success moving the football was more proof the Bengals defense is atrocious, and the franchise is content on wasting MVP candidate Joe Burrow’s generational talent by letting good players go in free agency, which includes current Atlanta Falcons second-team All-Pro safety Jessie Bates, and will soon feature Higgins.
Do not let the score of Monday night’s game lull you into any belief that what the Cowboys have at the skill position is remotely close to “enough.” As long as they are committed to Prescott as their starting quarterback, which they are, they need to find him real help at running back and wide receiver.
The way they handled the running back position last offseason was an insult to coach Mike McCarthy. Rico Dowdle, who ran for 131 yards on Monday night, has played his way into another NFL contract.
Why the Cowboys ever thought putting Dowdle behind Zeke Elliott, whom they should never have brought back, was the first of many signs during the offseason that this offense’s best running play was, “We Are Screwed, on two.”
They didn’t address the wide receiver spot much better.
CeeDee Lamb is their No. 1, but their efforts to find and develop a competent complement have been inadequate. The midseason trade for Jonathan Mingo may yield something next season, but the early work isn’t encouraging.
Watching Jalen Tolbert drop a pass from Rush to start the second half on Monday night isn’t exactly the kind of “tape” the Cowboys want to see from their 2022 third round pick. It was a routine pass-and-catch an NFL receiver must convert.
KaVontae Turpin was a big find for the Cowboys, and he’s added an element of cheetah-type speed. But he’s 5-foot-7, and that feels about 2 inches too high. Veteran Brandin Cooks is not coming back next season.
They need a wide receiver. A real one.
Targeting Tee Higgins
A second round draft pick from Clemson in 2020, Higgins came to the Bengals in the same class with Burrow.
Higgins is 6-foot-4, and has all of the necessary physical skills to thrive on the outside. He’s fast, physical, can win 1-on-1 matchups, and “go get it.”
He didn’t do a lot on Monday night, because Chase crushed the Cowboys. Chase caught 14 passes for 177 yards, and scored two touchdowns.
Higgins is not Chase. Higgins is not an elite No. 1 receiver, but he could make a good quarterback look better. He’s also going to get paid. Paid in the gated-community of $30 million-ish per season.
After the game, Burrow made a point to say that he believes the Bengals can keep Higgins. Burrow saying this also means he believes in Santa Claus, UFOs, the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Big Foot, Atlantis and that Alabama deserves to be in the college football playoff over SMU.
The New England Patriots are reportedly ready to throw multiple ATMs at Higgins this offseason in an attempt to upgrade their offense from utterly awful to just awful.
If the Cowboys have any interest in adding Higgins, it will require moving on from a few players to clear the necessary cap space. Think defensive back Trevon Diggs. Think offensive lineman Terence Steele. Think defensive end Tank Lawrence.
Before then, however, they have to embrace “it’s going to be different” this time.
A change in Cowboys’ free agent philosophy
Before you blame Jerry Jones, Stephen Jones and Will McClay, point your fingers, toes and eyelashes at Brandon Carr.
And Nate Livings. But, really, it’s Brandon Carr.
He is the defensive back the Dallas Cowboys signed that made them re-think how they evaluate, and handle, free agency. The five-year, $50 million deal they handed Carr in the spring of 2012 left a mark, and there is no sign that bruise has faded.
Carr was a reliable pro, great guy and a decent player, but the Cowboys felt they over-paid and never got the ROI. They didn’t want to go the route of high priced free agents again, and they haven’t.
As evidenced by what happened on Monday night, and all season, something has to change.
This story was originally published December 9, 2024 at 10:35 PM.
