Talkin' Cowboys: Work Left To Do

Talking Cowboys. Knell Yeoman's here alongside well, I guess alongside heck my hair us and as he would be, to my left, I've got Rob Phillips below me, and then in the caddy corner from where I am, the Great Danny Serett joins Talking Cowboys. How are we doing, guys? What an intro? That's cow for you? Man? I'm doing good about I'm doing good. Rob. How's it hanging down there in quarantine? I know you've got a new baby in the house, so it must be a little bit

nice to stay home. I'm getting notifications on my phone as we speak that her crib is detecting movement, but I think she's asleep, so I think we're good. I'm glad everybody is properly social distanced and doing well, and I hope that this next hour can be a nice

distraction for Cowboy fans for sure. Absolutely, and there's plenty to talk about as well, because there's some new additions to the Dallas Cowboys, definitely some moves that could be made over the next couple of weeks as we're closing in Thursday marks three weeks from the NFL AFT and then following that, who knows how this roster is going to shape out before we head into training camp. But it is a new group here here for Talking Cowboys.

We're excited about it, and I want to wish the best to Mickey's Pagnola, as we love having Mickey around to keep us all in check, for sure, but we're excited about his new show, mix Shots coming up in the next couple of days. I believe, I think they're going to try and get that started this week, and I know he and Bill Jones are going to do a magnificent job on mix Shots. But with that being said, let's go ahead and dive into this free agency update.

A trio of players that have been signed by the Cowboys as free agents that have made some noise at least since we last convened here on Talking Cowboys. We're gonna start with the defensive tackle position. Don Terry pos signed by the Cowboys two years, two and a half million dollars, and this is an individual who had four sacks last year. He's pretty solid in the past rush and thirty second rated interior defensive lineman on Pro Football Focus and just for reference for Pro Football Focus and

where that kind of lies is thirty second. That means he's one of the top at least starting guys. He's listed as a starter on Pro Football Focus. But also MALIEK Collins was a sixty five and that's probably who he would be replacing, So that's just kind of a reference there. But Rob will start with you, what do you think about this post signing and what does it do to beef up that defensive line. Well, first off, the football reference I use it. I know the head

coach uses it, Mike McCarthy. He kind of collaborated collaborated with those guys last year while he was taking a year off, so there is validity to it. I like the move because I do think at some point they needed to address the size up front. And it requires a philosophy change for this team. You know, Rod Marinelli wanted those quicker, more athletic defensive linemen to get up the field and penetrate trying to make plays in the backfield.

And obviously that's still a part of it no matter what size you are at the NFL level, But I think some of the problems they've had in the run defense has been attributed to their size upfront. And you know, you're not going to find many defensive tackles, as you said, Kyle, with the productivity of Don Terry Poe and including the size that he brings up at three hundred and forty

five pounds. And you know, when you go back and you look at this Cowboys defense and where they've struggled, they've been pretty good overall the last couple of years, and they have good young players, They have good young linebackers, but they this stat just really jumped out of me. I did it right before we went on the show. There are three and fourteen the last two years when they've given up a hundred yards rushing or more. That

has been their calling card, stopping the run. And when they haven't done that, they have really struggled, so I like the move up front. I think Gerald McCoy as well, who's agreed to a deal, gives them some more size, some more versatility. And I think that's other part of poles game maybe people don't know, is that he came from a three four scheme in the past, but he's also played a fourth three front, which is kind of

in line with Mike Nolan's history too. Is a guy that's coached multiple schemes and I think that's kind of what they're going for here with this defense. Ama, Yeah, I mean, I man, I'm extremely excited about Don Terry Poe. He's a guy that coming out of Memphis was a dog and definitely the production that he had in Kansas City, also in Atlanta and also in Carolina after well obviously before the injury. But man, Don Terry Pole is big

for a person man three hundred and forty pounds. I mean, he is all of that and what he's able to do at the point of attack in the running game. He's a person that he's a guy that doesn't give up his chest, so you don't have to worry about

him getting pushed off of the line of scrimmage. But he's able to do a lot of things for a guy his size that you wouldn't necessarily accept, being able to rip and sit and anchor himself down in the running game, but also coming after quarterbacks, he pushes that pocket in the middle and makes it literally impossible. He's gonna that's what he's gonna create for the Cowboys and

making that pocket not so clean for four quarterbacks. And look, guys, that football has changed so much now where most of the quarterbacks are in a shotgun anyway, and so getting to the quarterback and be having someone that can be effective and also stopping the run. As as Rob alluded to, the Cowboys were just dreadful in the in the running game.

I mean we got slashed a lot, and it was on those delayed draws and screens where we were really liable because we had those smaller guys that were just trying to get up the field to create that rush. And so now with the girth movement as I'm calling it, with McCoy and Dune Terry Pole, you have guys that are consummate professionals that also have that size to bring on a delayed rush. But also, like I said, it's just the size and athleticism of the dune Terry Pole.

That's really that excitement. He has that ability to dip swim. And also you said four sacks last year, and again that was all about a guy like him collapse in the pocket and getting those that getting those pressures. Danny Robin Hack might have touched on all the techniques that Poe brings. But I think something that's interesting too for Poe and the other defensive tackle Jeremy McCoy, which I

know we'll get to Kyle, is the leadership. These guys are long time veterans, and I think that's gonna be really important on this defensive line because right now, the only other starter that we know about is DeMarcus Lawrence really because we don't know about Tyrone Crawford coming off those hip surgeries and or what's going to happen with Randy Gregory if he's going to be reinstated. So I think this veteran leadership is going to be really important

for the defensive line, especially with younger players. I mean, think about Tristan Hill. I would hope that these veterans will be able to help him and other young players progress and really bring that fire that I feel like the defensive line was missing this last year, and to touch Bay. When I think about the poor run defense, all I can think about are all those quarterback runs and it's pretty pretty miserable to think back on that. So I'm excited to have these two bigger defensive tackles

out on the line. Well, I think one of the biggest winners with those with those Gaby runs, I think one of the biggest winners though, out of these two signings, both Don Terry Po and Gerald McCoury, and the linebackers also because it really does free them up to have two big, beefy bodies in the middle to that are able to stop the run, that are able to even present a little bit of pass rush. That kind of lets the pressure off of those linebackers like a Jalen

Smith or a Shan Lee. And we'll see if Laton Vanderesh and his health comes back into plain later on. But this kind of brings up the question of now, with these two signings Poe McCoy, who's gonna be the three technique and who's gonna be the one technique. I know they played a little bit of both last year in Carolina. I know that we've kind of talked about it before with this this Mike Nolan led defense that

that's going to be a little bit of a hybrid. Look, nobody's gonna be pigeonholed into a four three or three four. It's gonna be a little bit different back and forth

than you're gonna see some multiple in there. Defensively, But if we were going to try and pigeonhole these guys, who's gonna be the one technique and who's gonna be the three because they could really play both, Yeah, I'd say Poe is gonna be your one and McCoy is gonna be your three, just because some size alone, he's gonna line up in that a gap between the center and the guard. That's just his specialty. That's what he does.

But he's also versa little I mean, he has a lot in his tool belt that allows him to move on the outside as well. And the Cowboys in the past have done a lot of those stunts. We don't know exactly what Mike Nolan's gonna do to that regard, but it would appear to me that done Terry Poe is going to be your one in McCoy the three. Yeah, and if you go to a three man line, you know Poe can play, definitely play that zero technique, can just be that true nose guard for you. Yeah. I've

agreed with Ecmo on that one. And I think and I think McCoy's verstal enough too in a four man line to kick out and play some some edge rusher as well. I think that's one reason they like him too. One thing though, I want to you know what, before I would get to that, Danny made a good point about Tristan Hill and how you know, he fit Rod Marinelli's scheme on paper and it didn't work out last year. But it's interesting what Mike McCarthy said when he got

hired about it. If you're getting rid of good players or not looking at good players because of your scheme alone, then you got to look at your scheme. And I think that's what they're doing in the Cowboys front office and coaching staff this past year, and trying to just get good players and see how they how they fit and then kind of adapt the scheme to that. And I think maybe the Cowboys felt like they've been a little too rigid in their scheme and maybe these guys

can bring a little bit more versatility. And again as we watching the size upfront as well, Yeah, Danny d was a great point also Danny again, Tristan Hill is a guy that's become enigma attic in a very short period of time for the Cowboys because of his draft you know how how he was as a draft pick and his lack of production. We didn't get to see a lot of him on film, but you know that there's talent there. He's gonna be a guy that I

believe that we'll back up Jerald McCoy. We don't know again with Crawford what's going to happen as far as next season this season because of the hip surgeries, but he's a guy that was a big part of the leadership on the defensive line, and you saw that was missing as far as the leadership that he bought to that group. So I'm hoping that with the combination of all of these veterans, Crawford, McCoy, and Pole, that that's going to make the difference for a young guy like

Hell because you saw last year he had some maturity issues. Yeah, now I think go for Danny Good. I will say too I do feel like it was a very unique scenario for how we are all evaluating pill because he was a second round draft pick, but the Cowboys traded their first round draft pick for Amari Cooper to Oakland so and the Cowboys I see was the first round pick, but of course he would have liked to have seen a little more from him in his rookie year last year.

I will say about the defensive tackle signing, something that excites me is at the beginning of the off season, the entire new coaching staff was available to the media, and when I was talking with a defensive line coach, Jim Tomsula, something that stood out to meet was he had said, you know, I want players where like they're not going to look to me ready to come out

and take a break. So when I see that we're getting these defensive lineman sign and I know that they're doing the research, I get excited because I know these are going to be players who are going to want to fight and they're not going to want to come off the field. I like that that's the count of player you need. You need some dogs up front that are going to plow the line, free up those linebackers

and potentially win some battles in the trenches. We're going to talk about the edge of that defensive line a little bit later on with some scenarios, maybe even scenarios, but also some draft prospects as well that could fill that edge rusher spot. Moving on to the next signing from last week, tight end Blake Bell. And this is a guy that brings back bad memories for me because

I grew up a fan of the Baylor Bears. I grew up in Waco, and back in twenty thirteen, he was the quarterback for Oklahoma and they called him the Belldoz or one of my favorite nicknames in college football history. The Belldozer just did everything that you couldn't stop. I guess for OU, he just kind of plowed through the line. Now he's a tight end, though he was a quarterback in college. He's been a tight end in the league really since he entered. But this is a guy who

can do a lot of things. And Rob I saw yesterday on one of the pieces on Dallas Cowboys dot Com somebody asked if this could be our Taysom Hill, of course, referring to the Saints quarterback. But I don't know if that's necessarily a great comparison, but it's a guy who can do a lot of things for you, and it really kind of clears up exactly where the Cowboys are going at that tight in spot. Right. Yeah, I kind of I don't know if I snapped at that mail back question, but I just didn't want I

don't I don't want Taysom Hill. I don't want Blake Bell to take Dak Prescott off the field. And that's what the question was getting at, you know, because obviously we've seen with Hill in New Orleans they found ways to put him in at quarterback and take Drew Brees off the field even in the playoffs. I think with Dak he's versatile enough as and mobile enough where I don't and especially given the amount of money they're eventually going to pay him long term, that's just not a

viable scenario for me. Maybe if you're in the red zone, he can do some of that belldozer stuff, that Tim Tebow lights stuff that he did in college. But I do think, and you know, Bucky Brooks had a really nice scout he's our new resident scout essentially had a really nice scouting report on him. This week or the past couple of days. And basically he's a capable tight end. Number two, he's a capable blocker. That's probably gonna be line one for him, and especially in the run blocking

game because losing Jason Witten. That's something that he brought to the table even late in his career. And obviously he had a catch in the Super Bowl. He is a capable receiver and a pass catcher. So I think they feel like he can be a compliment, a nice compliment to Blake Jarwin and what he's able to do stretching the field vertically for them. Yeah, we got the we got the Blake brothers, Blake and Blake and uh, we gotta come up with we gotta coin a really

good nickname for these guys. Man. But I was I'm really excited about Blake Bell, and the reason being is that you know that NFL defensive coordinators they spend all of their time scheming and studying tendencies, and so anytime the Cowboys tipped their hand on something that they're doing through personnel packages, they're gonna be able to you know, anytime. I mean, you're basically dead in the water if they

can if there's any prediction to your offense. And that's what we had when you saw the year when Jason Witten was out, we just didn't have that quintessential blocking tight end. And that's where Blake Bell does provide as well. I mean, he's not a dominating bulldoz or blocker, but he does give you enough where he can ship guys. He can hold that one on one, win that battle.

But also as far as in the passing game, he's a tight end that can find you know, get skinny and find that soft bubble and sit down and you know, make catches. Now there has been I guess the only knock on him is just catching. He had three drops last year, but man, he was playing behind an all world tight end last you know, in Kansas City. So look, he probably didn't get the opportunities that he'll get here

in Dallas. But I think that's a that's a quality pick up with Blake Bell because of all the things that he can do. But I don't think that that is you know, again for Schultz, that's going to be pushing him. But I don't know if the Cowboys are finished looking at tight ends either through draft off free agency as well. Heck, but you brought up the point that really excites me about Bell was playing behind Kelsey, but Jarwin was playing behind Witten. And right now Blake

Jarwin is going to be the starter. But what excites me the most about this is to finally see some tight end competition. We loved what we saw from Blake jar when he was explosive last year. He had great yards after the catch, but Jason Winton was still the guy because Jason Winn was here for sixteen years, and while Winton was great in his own aspects, I am excited to see some tight end competition. And I think that Blake Bell, he's a big guy. He's like six

six six five. I mean, I'm excited to see, at least in training camp, some competition in the tight ends and see what he brings and how he elevates Darwin's game. Well, I think absolutely he ends those Yeah. I think Schulzon, I think Jarwin. I think all of those guys are in play here. Because if you think back to how Mike McCarthy handled things in Green Bay, he used two

tight end sets quite a bit. I mean that was really one of his staples up in Green Bay was using a couple of tight ends, and right now you've got two very capable ones. One's more of a receiving threat in Blake Jarwin, and the other one's a great pass blocker in Blake Bell. Now, Blake Bell still has some holes in his game. He's of course going to be a backup tight end for a reason. But I think this is an underrating, underrated signing for the Cowboys overall.

I think this is a guy who's going to do a lot of things for you. And like Danny said, I think that's a magnificent point. Is it brings in some competition because right now, or at least before the signing, it was clear number one is going to be Blake Jarwin. Number two is going to be Dalton Schultzen. There's a clear separation between the two. Now you have Blake Bell that's going to kind of challenge up toward Blake Jarwin and see exactly how things work out with those two

kind of going at it. But talking about positional battles, we've got one more signing to hit before we take our first break, and it's a kicker battle. We've got Greg's airline from the Los Angeles Rams now coming in on a three year, seven and a half million dollars and I say it's a kicker battle, but guys, this is a lot of money for a guy who is going to get signed by the Cowboys and being a

quote unquote battle with Kai for Bath. For Bath of course being signed last year on the heels of the release of Brett Maher, but he ended up going ten for ten in terms of his field goals last year. And then you turn around you have Greg Zerline, who was a bit hurt, only played three games last year, but it's still at least before then was one of the top five kickers in the league. Kicker battle, Oh, Rob, what's a guy? I want a kicker battle. I think

that's great. I think I think this team needs it now. You know, if Kyle makes a good point, the reports are it's it's two point two five guaranteed a million for zero won to come here. And obviously he's got a history of a John Fossil, the new special teams coordinator, and that's important. I think it's important for your new

coaching staff to have guys to they're comfortable with. However, I would keep for Bath on the roster and go to training camp and see how this thing shakes out, because what you know, that's how Cowboys fans on Twitter shap, you know, scratching their head on this. And I think it's I think it's great right now to have two kickers on the roster. You go to camp and see

how things play out. Because the biggest complaints are one of the biggest complaints we got all of last preseason and into the season, especially all the way into December, was there's no contingency plan for Bred Maher And it took ten misses on field goal attempts in the regular season to finally make a change. And for Bath, of course, came in and went ten for ten in the final two games. They have a potential contingency plan here and it wouldn't cost them a lot and guaranteed money if

they acide. You know, Okay, yeah, zero line's the guy and we move on from Kai for Bath. But they have options, and that was the thing we kept hearing, you know, internally last year, was well, they just wouldn't a lot out there in terms of alternatives for Rett Bahr, and they just reached a point where you're about to miss the playoffs and you've got to do something, and now they've got a couple options here, Danny, what's the guy?

I just don't This doesn't really surprise me because we didn't see enough of for Bath to have him to have Cowboys fans know that he was going to be the kicker this year, so this doesn't really surprise me. I think it's exciting. This is something like Rab was saying, Cowboys fans were nagging about all year, and so now there's options. The Cowboys were thin on options last year when they signed for Bat to replaced Brett Maher. So I think this is also important because, like Rob was saying,

this is John Fossil's guy. They were with the Rams together, and so I think that's important too. And I know special teams is obviously a big area the Cowboys really struggled in last year or so, it doesn't surprise me that John Fossil is starting to get some guys he's

already comfortable with. So Kyle's yeah, sorry, I do think that zero Line, based on the money, is probably going to be the guy, and based on his history with Assile, but you know, it is worth pointing out heck that you know, I think he was seventy three percent last year, kicking had nine misses and that's the that was the knock on bred Maher too. So right up there, he's right up there. Yeah, he's got he's got a big leg and he's made a lot of big kicks. You know,

he's been a proven guy. So, um, that's so that's different than Maha in terms of resume. Heck yeah, man, I mean, look, I think it should be competition in every position. I mean, obviously you can't there's a certain ze he's fine, and you know our offensive line in the positions that you won't touch, But there are a lot of positions on the Dallas Cowboys roster that need

to have some competition in the kicking game. If I'm Mike mccarthur, that's one of the things that I want to be able to lay my head on my pillow at night, not having to worry about who my kicker is on Sundays. And man, it just got to the point last year where every time Maha took the field,

you just didn't know. And if you go back and look at the games that we lost, those closed games that we lost, it was the difference between some of those kicks make the difference between a ten and six season or the eight and eight season that we've finished that, And so I mean, for for Bath, I'm ticked off. You know, they gave this guy all this money and here I you know, I came in. I was your saving grace. I did a really good job. And so yeah, if I'm for Bath, I want a blood bath, you

know I want. I wanted to. We're gonna kick for this. We're gonna kick for our meals at the Star. So I'm look, I'm looking forward to it. I think it was the right decision to make as far as bringing in another veteran kicker or kicker that's gonna bring some competition. So I don't mind it at all. And I think that you can't do anything but set yourself up for success by having guys compete. Yeah, definitely competing between the

three signings from last week. And there's still plenty to go until we see exactly how this roster is gonna pan out heading into training camp, whenever that may be. We do have some new news at least over the past week over Dak Prescott. We're gonna hit that when we come back, see how those contract negotiations are going. You're watching and listening to talking Cowboys here on Dallas Cowboys dot com. I'm Jay Novachek, former tight end for

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Come into an AT and T store to find out how to get one of our popular smartphones for zero dollars down Based on GWS one s cour September twenty nineteen. To Talk in Cowboys, Rolling into segment number two here on Talking Cowboys. Glad you're with us Rob Phillips below me. Then you've got a heck Ma Harrison to my left and the great Danny Sirect down in the bottom right hand corner of your screen on Kyle Yeoman's. As we move on, let's talk about some of Dak Prescott's contract negotiations.

Him and the Cowboys still in conversation about the long term deal despite the franchise tag already being placed. News came out last night that those talks have continued all the way up until now, and some of the offers that have been on the table, at least reported by Edwarder of ESPN, said that it would be more money on average per year apy than any other player in the NFL. Now they're trying to figure out year and

contract structure. Of course, the deadlines July fifteenth for this deal, but it kind of sets things up as what could potentially be a long term deal well before that deadline. Kind of encouraging for those who want to get a deal done and want to see Dak Prescott asked the quarterback for the Cowboys moving forward, Heck, but we're gonna

start with you. Does this make you more confident in the fact that a deal is going to get done that there's still negotiation, there's more encouraging momentum heading that way. Oh absolutely, it's you know, we didn't want for this to last as long. I mean for Cowboy Nation anybody. We want to make sure that you know that Dak was going to be here for OTAs, and obviously with COVID nineteen that changes everything. As far as the offseason, we didn't know what it was essentially that Dak was

asking for. Was it the years, was it the money. We understand now that it's not the money, it's the years and being able to have a four year contract and just having that business mind that Dak has for saying that, look, I want less years to be able to come back to the table again and you know, twenty or thirty years old, thirty one years old to renegotiate this thing. And you see guys getting a lot smarter with this after the CBA and every all that leverage that they have, And so I don't have a

problem with Dak exercising his leverage. What I want really for me as a fan is for Dak to get in get with Mike McCarthy and figure this thing out. And I'm one of those people men that I've seen guys get a payday and they just fall off the cliff. I don't want the rich Dak poor Dak comparison, you know. I want to make sure that Dak Prescott, I want the same Dak and twenty three that came in for after Romo was got hurt in Seattle. I want that

same guy. I want that same intensity. So that's the only thing that I have that I worry about what Dak Prescott is man, is that it is hunger going to be there because Ben he is gonna go I'm gonna say rags to riches, But in comparison, I mean, it's gonna be a lot more zeros in that bank account once he signs his name on the dotted line. Yeah. I don't worry about his motivation. I just feel like just being around him the last few years, I mean, he can name every guy that was drafted at the

quarterback position ahead of him in twenty sixteen. I don't know if that goes away even with money, And that's just kind of his nature, the way he's wired. Heckno brought up some great points in terms of the CBA, and I'm sorry the OTAs and whether those are going to happen because of COVID nineteen, and that was obviously a question mark in terms of the franchise tag and

would dak show up. I think I've never really been concerned about this getting done, certainly before July fifteenth, and you know, we're not sure the timeline too getting it done. Obviously the years are and you're seeing this in the NBA too, with guys being more aware of Okay, well, the salary caps are supposed to spike after this year. I'm going to sign a two year deal. That's not how the Cowboys have really operated in the past. If you think about some of the contracts they've done in

the past. Tyrann Smith, I think signed an eight year deal, an eight year deal at one point. So but from a business standpoint, you understand if that's if that is the case, then it would allow dak On a shorter deal to come back to the table, as Heckma mentioned. But I've always felt confident that it would ultimately get done because I do think the Cowboys value him long term.

I really do believe that, even though it hasn't gotten done, and you know, I wonder and I don't know this, but given the highly uncertain economic climate right now because of COVID nineteen, you know, would it would it make Dak think about, Okay, I want to get this finished. I want to get this deal done. Maybe that's a factor. I don't know, but I do think we'll see it an agreement at some point, Rob, I agree with everything you said. Every player has the highest regard for Prescott

in that locker room. I don't necessarily think his motivation is going to change, and I don't have a problem

with him fighting for how many years he wants. This isn't something we see as much with quarterbacks as something like running backs, And something we've seen really recently, as recently as with Todd Gurley and the Rams cutting him, is that players are understanding that there is this a business, you know, just as much as the team seat as a business for them, they need to see it as a business for themselves and looking after their own future.

So I don't have a problem with Dak asking for maybe one less year than the Cowboys want to give him. And I'm so confident this is going to get done. Jerry Jones has said from the very beginning that Dak Prescott is their guy. So I think they're gonna do whatever it takes to get Prescott's signs so that he can he can help take this team to the playoffs. And they still think he's the guy to take him to the super Bowl. Hey, Kyle, I wanted to throw

this out at you as well. I mean, you think about the new the new place that we're in with this at nineteen and not having well we don't know if we're not gonna have ots, but just say we did not have or we had OTAs and Dad didn't

show up for OTAs. Can you imagine the media win fall because again, a lot of his leverage goes away with that now that you know players are not going to be required are volunteer voluntarily told to come into the facilities for OTAs, and so he's avoiding a lot of that backlash or bad press if OTAs will be canceled and he's able to get a deal done in between. Now in July fifteen, Yeah, that's a good point because

you think about all the holdouts that have happened. If there's nothing to hold out, then where does that leverage July now, Because at that point you're starting to get into game checks. If you're trying to hold out into games, you're losing money. And for Dad Prescott, of course, on the deal that he has, at least with a franchise tag, that's a good chunk of change that he would be leaving on the table if would be a holdout or something of that sort. I don't think that's even going

to come to that. I don't think there's a holdout in store at all. I think a deal will get done.

And kind of going back to something that that Danny said just or kind of alluded to just a moment ago, but the fact that Dak Prescott knows his value and these players know their value, it kind of reminds me of there was a Sports Illustrated article that was saying the value of being the Dallas or the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, and I think Dak understands that better than anybody else, especially in a climate and an economic

side of things then we've seen in the past. I mean, you look, you turn on the TV and he's on Pepsi commercial sleep number, he's on Albertsons. It doesn't matter all of these different sponsors, in these different endorsement deals, have already been under his tutelage at least since he's become the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. Now it's a chance for him to kind of push forward and say, I've done my job. I've kept up my end of the bargain ever since I was drafted back twenty sixteen.

Let's pay up. Then let's go try and win a championship with me at the helm. And I think that's something that's going to get done coming up over the next couple of years. Now. We talked about the money and where the money is gonna lie, and it's been a topic of conversation all offseason long. When these next quarterback deals get done, like a Deshaun Watson and a Patrick Mahomes, you're gonna see contracts start getting up into the forty millions. What would this money potentially look like?

And Rob, I'm kind of turned into you as one of the insiders on this group, But is this something I know we've heard thirty three, thirty four, thirty five, but with a shorter deal, is it gonna be even kind of knocking on the door of forty yet or is that a little bit too far ahead? That's a

good question. I'm not sure financially how the structure will ultimately look, but if you do have a longer term deal, you're able to spread out some of that money, and I think that's probably what the Cowboys are thinking in terms of, you know, if you're getting it upwards of thirty five million, what tho what those capets are going to look like in year three, year four, year five.

So that's part of it. But you know, the other side of it too, and I think we've discussed this on previous show, is the new money that has to come from the deal because these deals that we've seen from wins and Golf with the Rams and Eagles, those guys had larger salaries because they were first round draft picks, and so Dak being such a steal the last few years in terms of fourth round status makes this a

little bit more complicated. But again I think Heckma, Danny, I mean, I think ultimately that's something they can work through, and I think the reports are probably right that it does come down to how long does Dak want to be tied to this deal before he can try to cash it again? Because you're right, Kyle, the market's going to get reset certainly when Pat Mahomes signs his extension with the Chiefs. Yeah, of course, man Mahome's agent, they're

they're just waiting. They're waiting on Dak's deal to get done, because Dak may be the highest paid quarterback in the NFL for all of two weeks after he signs his deal, because you know that there's another contract looming. Not only with that, the market is going to get reset with Watson also, and you got to think about Lamar Jackson if he's able to continue on the course that he's he's on in Baltimore. All of these things are going to be, you know, markets setting contracts while all of

these quarterbacks and I mean we're talking about forty million dollars. Man. We may look up here a year or two from now and a guy may be at the fifty fifty million dollar mark. Nothing is out of bounds anymore as far as quarterback salaries. I think both both sides, Prescott his agent, and you know the Cowboys front office are

aware of that. I would I find a heartily that's on something they're thinking about in terms of how quickly they do want to get this deal done, because they know pretty much every year for the next couple of years. It seems this quarterback if the market's just going to keep going out, you know it's gonna be reset with every new quarterback signing. So you might as well get this deal done now so that you're not happy to continue to up the price of how much she's going

to be asking for. It is amazing and made though. Go ahead, Rob, go ahead, Well I was going to move on. It's amazing his salaries. I mean, four hundred thousand I think early on in two million last year. He's getting those endorsements from those those places like you're talking about Kyle, But there's nothing like one hundred plus million dollars guaranteed on a new contract, right whatever, whatever it's going to be. If he's when he signs, it's

gonna be like hitting the lottery. Whenever he finally gets that first paycheck. I remember when Deshaun Watson opened up his first one. He said he like setting alarm for three am, and then he woke up and was like, oh man, that's when that paycheck hit. And that was still a rookie deal. So it's going to be even bigger for Dak Prescott whenever that day actually does come around. But still kind of talking through the quarterback situation and

the contract situations around Dak Prescott. It's never a quiet offseason whenever you're around the Dallas Cowboys, no doubt about it. I'm gonna throw in some scenarios for you guys coming up next. We're gonna take a quick break right here. But when we come back, one of the biggest needs for the Cowboys this offseason our edge rushers. I've got a couple guys that potentially could be on the market that I think the Cowboys should at least make some

phone calls about. And we're gonna tell you about that next when we come back. You're on Talking Cowboys. Since eighteen sixty five, Stetson hats are American maid with pride right here in Texas, and Stetson is proud to be on the field with America's team. Want to show your Texas and team pride too, You can by purchasing your own stetson. You can look just like how the flag guys do on field at every home game. Stetson heads the official crown of all self respecting Cowboys and your

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to be treated doctor Pepper? So nice to treat you? To talk in Cowboys final segment here on Talking Cowboys a cloudy it's starting to look like more of a beautiful Tuesday afternoon. Hope everybody is staying safe out there and sheltering in place like we are in our remote studios. I guess this is the remote SWBC Mortgage studios at

MA Harrison, Rob Phillips, Danny Siak. I'm Kyle Yeomans, And as we go into this final segment, first I want to kind of allude to exactly how cap spaces there for the Dallas Cowboys right now and kind of what they could do to fill some of those spots. And then I'm going to get into some edge rush spots there as well right now, including what it's going to

take to sign this Dallas Cowboys draft class. There's about fifteen and a half million dollars left in cap space, which means that there could be some more additions on the way, whether that's to sign a Dak Prescott to a long term deal or to kind of maybe clear up even some more space and get a bigger name in here. I don't think the Cowboys are done making deals, whether that be through the draft, whether that be through trades.

We saw last year Robert Quinn was a late trade in the off season between Miami and the Cowboys, and Robert Quinn ended up being your best pass rusher. Now he's gone. There's a couple guys at edge that I think could see a Robert Quinn type of deal, and I'm going to rely on you guys to tell me if this is stupid or not, so I'm gonna go for it. And first guy that I really like overall actually had some news come around today, and I like

this idea just because he's an incredible football player. I don't know if it would necessarily work, especially with the money situation with the Cowboys, but let's go to Jacksonville, Yannick and Guackway, one of the top pass rushers, exactly an edge rushers overall in the league, still just twenty four years old. He's a guy you're gonna have to turn around and pay pretty quickly. I believe he's on

the franchise tag right now in Jacksonville. I don't know what it would take to get this guy, but it would be maybe less of a Robert Quinn type of deal and more of a blockbuster type of deal. But I don't know exactly, like I said, how much it would take to get him. But I think this is an opportunity for the Cowboys to at least get him on the phone and have some conversations with the Cowboys about or excuse me, with the Jaguars about trying to acquire a guy of his caliber. And I wanted to

see We'll start with you. Heckma, what do you look at whenever you're trying to find a guy like Yannick and Walkway out of jack Villa and maybe try and make a deal there. Yeah, and Doc Way gives me

the willies. I mean, he's I mean, you know, I understand the franchise tag, but again, man, he is the beneficiary of a really good defensive front with Klais Campbell, and you know, anytime you're having that like we talked about in the first segment, and anytime you got guys that collapse that pocket and make it really simple for a guy like in Doc Way to get those numbers up and get pressures m You know again, you talked about the deal that he's that he's expecting, and he's

going to be upward in the twenty million dollar range as well. We already got that guy in the tank, Lauren, So you know, look, we want a guy that's gonna come in and fill in and be that piece on the other side of the tank that is serviceable and and we don't have to break the bank to try to get You know again, I understand the athletic ability and the upside for in Doc Way as far as

his age, but I'd pass on him. I'm with you, Hackmed worried me to bring in a player where you know you're gonna have to pay him a lot that next year. I you know, you're right. We just played paid to Marcus Lawrence a ton of money. The Cowboys had to let Robert Quinn go, and so I think they're not looking for someone where you're going to have

to break the bank on them after one season. It was a different position, but I think that was when the Cowboys, you know, there were talks about maybe making a trade for Jamal Adams, but you know, he's gonna need a new deal soon. I just those kind of things kind of worry me about what kind of player are you going to get for one year and having them integrating and then all of a sudden, you're you know,

they want all this money. Yeah. I tend to agree, just in terms of the resources you have to give up, and the Cowboys didn't want to. They don't like giving up high draft picks. You know, Mary Cooper was an exception because they were desperate basically mid season in twenty eighteen to turn it around and try to make the playoffs. It's not something they want to do a lot. I don't know what it would cost in this situation, but certainly more than a six round pick that she gave

up for Robert Quinn last year. And then the money comes in as well. And there's a reason the Cowboys have been pretty as usual, been pretty selective in what they're doing in free agency because to your point, Kyle, they've you know, they've got to pay Dak eventually long time, even though that I guess that's slotted at a pretty high level right now with the franchise tag being around

twenty six something million. But you've also got to save a little money on your cap for your draft picks, and and so they you know, they've got seven picks this year, and I think, you know, the preference would be to try to hit something big there and then you know, have a player under relatively low cost control for a while, as opposed to haven't turn around and pay another big money deal soon. Yeah, I think Kyle's

computer frowze up. But if I know Kyle like I think I do, I'm gonna do a little bit of a noster damas here for Kyle. He would probably be someone that would be interested in Cincinnati defensive being Carlos Dunlap that's been in the league fourteen years, coming off of a believe he's two years into his contract, and so that's a guy that the Cowboys could definitely sign as well. Carlos Dunlap has been a pro, a good

ten year pro guy out of Florida. Rob you may know a little bit about Carlos Dunlap played in the Marvin Lewis system six six two d seventy pounds or so, a guy that would fit in nicely, and we definitely wouldn't have to break the bank for a Carlos Dunlap. Yeah, that's that probably seems a little more palatable. I mean, at some point they've got to do They're gonna have to do something to help address that edge rusher spot. I alluded to it earlier with Gerald McCoy can play

a little bit on the edge. Tyrold Crawford certainly can when he's healthy. Well, Randy Gregory, I guess, is still out there. They still have his rights. If they can figure out something with him and get him back off of suspension, that all remains to be seen. That's that's a lot to ask. I don't think you can count

on that. But you know, I think this discussion is well founded because when you look at what the Cowboys have done in the last three weeks or so, based on what's left, I think, you know, quarter and edge rusher to find find somebody to replace Robert Quinn. Have we got Kyle back? Do we know? I don't know, he's frozen. He's just sitting there. It's like Mexican Joe. It's just pretty weird. Danny, what's you got? Oh man, this is great. Poor Kyle. I know he had some

really good questions too. I would hope that the Cowboys. I think there's some good enough options for draft picks looking at that edge rusher, but it's it's a tough call. I think that will probably be one of their top picks they use because we've seen in the past Cowboys don't typically use those early picks for defensive backs, although that's a major area that Cowboys have a need for.

But honestly, the thing the thoughts I had, you know, if you would have asked me a week out, ilud have said, you know, you know, you know, defensive ends probably their first pick, I would think. But then I'm thinking, well, you have Joe Looney. But but Travis Frederick ret hired. I'm like, what are they going to do for a center? Like we you know, I mean, like we have a Hawk Clinton Dix now, but what are we going to

do for a defensive back? So I still think defensive end is one of their top picks they're going to have to address in the draft. But I mean Honestly, guys, I think anything is a go at this point. Now, all right, guys, I'm back. I've I've made it back. The computer froze up on me in the middle of that last question, so I couldn't hear anything of what

you guys have been talking about. But I just heard what you said at the end, Danny, and kind of heard about exactly you were talking about how there are some draft picks there are there is a need at edge rusher for the Dallas Cowboys. And if you look right right on that right defensive end spot, you talk about Tyrone Crawford being there, if Randy Gregory he's even going to be available, and then Jalen Jelks there maybe

as well. I mean, there's there's a couple options, but you would think maybe a guy like a Carlos Dunlap could be a particular Why are you guys laughing? Is this? Did you guys talk about this? I'm gonna go wow, did heck mccallege. Look at being a boss, he goes be better than anybody. But yeah, I think Carlos Dunlap is a guy that you could potentially get for a

fourth or fifth round pick. This is a guy who was one of the top top twenty rated pass rushers in the league last year, and he was right behind Robert Quinn and DeMarcus Lawrence on Pro Football Focus. Lawrence was seventeenth, Quinn was eighteenth, and then Carlos Dunlap was nineteenth. He was higher than Jannick and Walkway. He was higher than Jadavian Clowney. He has even as a veteran, he has a lot of presents on that edge. He's a guy that if they wanted to have a draft target,

I'm all over the Carlos Dunlap trade train. At least let's give up a fourth or a fifth round pick and try and go get the guy. But I also think it's awesome to look at some of these edge rushers. And the Draft show last Thursday brought up at edge rusher and Klavan Chase, and that was the pick that the Cowboys actually had at pick seventeen. He's at edge

rusher out of LSU, just a freakish athlete. And there are a couple options there, whether it's a Chase on or maybe a guy out of Penn State like Yedder Gross matos aj Epiness is another name out of Iowa. There are edge rushers there to Danny's point in the draft that can make you excited at pick seventeen about filling that spot. And then all of a sudden you've got DeMarcus Lawrence, Gerald McCoy, don Terry Poe and then insert draft pick name here, and all of a sudden

your defensive line is cooking. Yeah, Chase and I like I like him a lot, But again, all of that's gonna be contingent on where c J. Henderson falls. I mean, if CJ. Henderson is CJ from from Florida, is that we got to take that guy and there are a lot of other picks and guys that may be raided ahead with the first pick. I am really and this is something the philosophy that I just have not like, you know, being a part of and that's best player

available because we have so many deficiencies on defense. But I wouldn't mind being a part the best player available because I because I feel like, man, when you have a need, when you have a need on defense, like when everyone start having the CJ. Lamb conversation, if cjla if CD excuse me, CD Lamb, Yeah, if Cede Lamb is there, we take CD Lamb And I'm like, no, how do we take CD Lamb when our cornerback. You know, we're gonna start the season with Brown and Woozier and

Louise Lewis we need a cornerback right now. But I understand, I completely get it. Best player available, and if Chason is a guy that's there for us and he is the best player available, I wouldn't have a problem with getting them. I'm with that on this. You've always got to have need on some level in the draft. I mean, you can't take a quarterback in the first round just because you might be the best guy on your board. But I think it would work out fine. Either edge

rusher or corner. It's got to be it's gotta be one of those two in my opinion, based on what's out there. To answer Danny's question, because we touched on it last week. With Travis Frederick retiring, I still think they've got enough internally where they feel good about, you know, trying to replace him, whether it's Joe Looney just stepping back in, or Connor McGovern as an option, even Connor Williams,

who they think can play off five positions. They've got enough flexibility, I think on the line where they don't have to spend a high draft pick there. Yeah, I don't think a high draft pick will be the offensive line. It was just something where I was like, it feels

like it's changing every week. I think maybe they'll use that first pick maybe for an edge rusher because as the run defense was just so poor last year, and I think if you can really secure this defensive line, that will in terms trickle down and help the rest of the defense. Yes, and so that I just I think that's where they're going to end up making that first pick at seventeen. And I think kind of going off of that, you look at some of the veteran

additions in that secondary. I mean, you resign guys like Anthony Brown, You've got a couple guys in Jordan Lewis and Shadobe a Woozier that could be solid corners. And then at the safety position you've got woods in Haha, Clinton Dix now back there. What's a better way to make them better is make your defensive line rutter. And they're beefing up the defensive line. That's exactly what they've been doing all offseason long. And if they find an edge rusher, which I still think is one of the

better needs of this Cowboys defense. To your point, Danny, if you go out and get a guy that's going to find a way to stop the run defensively, it also makes your linebackers better, which in turn makes your defense just as a whole better. I think that's an underrated look at how they could really improve. I know a lot of emphasis and trust me, draft Twitter has been all over this. There's a lot of emphasis on

the corners and the safeties. But one way to make everyone on your team better with one pick is finding a good edge rusher. And I think, yeah, looking for Kyle You're right, But at the same time, you know, in the back half of our defense, we're even With the signing of of Clinton Dix. I like him, I think, and and a lot has been made about him being a bridge player, not a guy is gonna be a mainstay, but a guy that's gonna get us through the season till we get to the guy that we really want.

You've talked a lot about Antoine Winfield Jr. Being a guy that could come in and impact this defense immediately, you know, being even if he's a strong safety. I know last year, Cowboy Nation, we wanted Thomas. We know we were crying for Jamal Adams players like that because we understand that we need a ball hawk. And with the secondary coach and Al Harris, that's exactly what he's been preaching, saying that I want guys that touch the

ball every play, one way or another. And I'm just not sold on what we're gonna do with Brown and Woozy A. Lewis and even Kennedy, And I believe the Kennedy signing was just special teams. I'm not saying that he won't be a viable option for us, but again, we need those guys that, look, we don't have to

worry about him. He can be that lockdown corner. I believe, I believe honestly that Jones he was a beneficiary of the fact that everyone knew that the guy on the other side of him was a little bit more susceptible and weaker, and so they attacked him. And with all that being said, I mean, byer Jones cash out based off of that, but yeah he did. I mean, but we gotta we have to, we have to, and I mean we talked of there's so much being made about Amari Cooper and the fact that you know he had

where he was at at at and T Stadium. He loved that home cook and he played his butt off. But then when you went on the road, he was it was horrible. Is a different and not horrible, but it's had different numbers. That was the same for our

defense man. They did not pack the defense with them when they landed as stadiums on the road, and it consequently you go game by game by game where the defense was just completely letting us down and giving up those drives, and you know, at the end of the second half, beginning of the third quarter, things like that were just demoralizing and just killed the momentum where Dak Prescott was having to play a lot from behind and just make miraculous throws and make plays to get us

back on the board. So we have got to finish this off because our defense last year, no matter what the numbers say, our defense played poorly. Here's the other thing too, about the cornerback position. I know this can't be the only factor when you're drafting, but you gotta look long term to a certain degree, and I believe Anthony Brown's getting a new three year deal, but Cheeto, Jordan Lewis, and I believe Kennedy one year deals essentially

last year their deal. So you gotta look at what your cornerback position is gonna look like pass this season and need is I think they need another talented guy there anyway, But you got to start looking at what your roster is going to look back look like back

there in twenty twenty one too. I will say, here's the most exciting part is that for the first time in a decade, we have the new coaching staff, which means that everything that has been a trend for the last couple of draft years could be out the window. So the back of the Cowboys haven't really prioritized defensive back to the last couple of years. Early on in the draft that could be their first pick. That's a great point, and you could talk about even coaching in general.

I mean, look at the way that we're going to attack the fifty three man roster. It's going to be completely different. It's breaking all of those norms that you're used to seeing for the Cowboys, and I think a lot of people forget about that because they've been so concentrated on certain ways that the Cowboys operate, whether it be with the new or the old coaching staff now moving in the new one, things are going to change,

whether you like it or not. Moving forward here for the Dallas Cowboys, but I think that's gonna do it here for Talking Cowboys. As we're running up on our time, a lot is that is today? I think that's it, which is crazy went buying a blink of an eye. But hopefully over the past hour we were able to entertain you enough during your respective quarantine and shelter in place viewing, I guess, and listening here on this podcast. But guys, it's been a whole lot of fun and

look forward to doing again next week. For heck Ma Harrison, for Danny Serek, and for Rod Phillips, I'm Kyle Yeoman's thanks for listening to Talking Cowboys. Wash your hands. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.