The Dallas Cowboys have one last chance to get it together. Their well-documented double decade drought has taken its toll on the fan base. Jerry Jones has every intention of getting it right, just as he did at the turn of the millennium after his dynasty had been dismantled. As luck would have it, they actually struck gold in the form of Tony Romo just a few years later. The undrafted Romo was almost released by the Cowboys in August of 2004. In order to avoid carrying four quarterbacks on the roster, the team instead cut Quincy Carter. It was at that point in time that the dynamic of the franchise would change. The trajectory of the team as a whole has been on an uptick ever since. Any given year, with Romo healthy combined with a decent defense, this team could “make a run” in the playoffs according to their owner. In fact, in 2014 his team proved him right. The following year, after controversially letting the NFL’s leading rusher (DeMarco Murray) leave town to play for a division rival, he was still proven right with an injured Romo and a patchwork defense.
Chalk it up to a bad year full of unfortunate circumstances.
After one of the most efficient and productive seasons in NFL history for a quarterback in 2014, the 2015 version of Tony Romo brought the Cowboys fan base crashing back down to reality when he was plagued by injury all year. He never even had a chance to get going, but his injury opened the door for journeymen Brandon Weeden and Matt Cassel to prove themselves. Neither was given a long leash, and both proved to be in over their heads. To say the team needs depth at the quarterback position would be an understatement. They could very well use a rookie to develop and a seasoned vet to come in and be “clipboard guy” until Romo goes down again (the clipboard always looks better in someone else’s hands or on the ground from a Greg Hardy slap). Needless to say, the Dallas Cowboys go as far as Tony Romo’s health takes them.
Most people around the NFL will tell you that avoiding injury and avoiding big money contracts are crucial to building a competitive team every year. Dallas has a problem very few teams have had to deal with. Romo is barely halfway through his 6-year, $108 million contract, and the team has chosen to re-negotiate and load most of the money to the back end of the deal not once but twice. Although, this is a rather common procedure for teams trying to work their budgets in the off-season to add talented free-agents, the Cowboys have done so without getting the right guy. Brandon Carr’s contract is a perfect example of how easily a team can be burned by going after the big fish every summer. Rumors have surfaced that seem to point at the Cowboys threatening to release Carr if he doesn’t restructure his deal to take less money. Nonetheless, Dallas seems poised for a ‘quick’ reload year after netting the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft and a little extra breathing room on their salary cap if they choose to re-work a couple contracts.
Dez Bryant needs the football. He needs it badly. He’s itching to get back on the field at 100%. The season Dez had to endure in 2015-2016 was painful to watch. He got hurt in the first game and basically looked lost in any other game he appeared in the rest of the way. All this after signing his very own 5-year, $70 million deal ($32 million fully guaranteed) last off-season. The lack of depth on the Cowboys roster was exposed early and often last year, and they don’t have much time to fix it. Along with the fact that Greg Hardy is probably gone, Randy Gregory will now miss the first four games of the upcoming season. So, not only is there a glaring hole on the depth chart behind the starters on the offensive side of the ball, but they’re probably going to be without their two most threatening pass rushers for at least the first quarter of next season. These are all reasons why the fans would love to see the Cowboys trade down in the first round of this year’s draft. If they can slide down to pick nine or ten and add a couple of picks later in the draft, they will only be adding to their chances to bolster the holes in their roster. Also, by sliding down you would likely be taking yourself out of position to select a quarterback, which wouldn’t necessarily help the team this year anyway if Romo stays healthy. If you land at pick nine or ten the team could then set themselves up to select a dynamic pass rusher, play-making receiver, or a stud defensive back; all of which would greatly help the “win now” cause.
2011: 8-8
2012: 8-8
2013: 8-8
2014: 12-4
2015: 4-12
2016: ?
The recent hype links the Cowboys to Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott with the 4th overall pick. Oh, what a move that would be. It would showcase Jerry Jones’ ego, front and center; as well as boost the offense back up to speeds they previously only felt in 2014. Whether they choose this route, or go a with a defensive plan in round one, they need to hit on whichever player they pick.
The bottom line is the city of Dallas needs the Cowboys to win now. With the Rangers having a couple appearances in the MLB World Series recently, and the Mavericks winning the NBA Finals in 2011, The Cowboys find themselves in a weird spot trying to satisfy a city of spoiled sports fans. After being the only source of championships for so long, the NFL doesn’t pity their predicament. With New England’s dynasty still very well intact, the title of “America’s Team” is just that…merely a label given, not earned. Hopefully, they will work their way out of it; but if America’s Team can’t get it together this year, the following years will truly be a series of unfortunate events. An aging/broken Romo combined with a paid-but-still-unhappy Dez doesn’t sound like a recipe for success. But a Romo with something to prove and a Dez who just needs the ball in his hands could mean magic in Dallas.
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