Dallas Cowboys Trade and Roster Rumors: In Good Shape Despite Free Agency Exodus
After losing so many players in free agency, the Dallas Cowboys team next season is definitely going to feature a lot of new faces.
Gone are Ronald Leary, Barry Church, Jack Crawford, J.J. Wilcox, Ryan Davis and Terrell McClain. And that's not all. Doug Free has decided to retire, and Morris Claiborne, Lance Dunbar and Brandon Carr also left the team to sign elsewhere recently. It's a mass exodus.
Don't forget that Tony Romo is good as gone as well. The Cowboys are holding him hostage right now, but they will have to trade or release him eventually. He's definitely not staying for long.
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It may look like everybody is leaving, but DallasCowboys.com columnist Mickey Spagnola actually has a very interesting take on things. He said the team knew it was impossible to keep all their free agents, so they have to set their priorities for spending. The Cowboys need to keep their offense intact and they did just that in the offseason.
"The Cowboys managed to survive at wide receiver, re-signing Terrance Williams to a reasonable contract while retaining Brice Butler on a one-year, prove-it contract ($1.1 million) for barely more than his fifth-year minimum ($775,000)," Spagnola said in his piece.
"As for the defense, I'd say they lost five guys they would have been glad to retain for the right price — Church, McClain, Claiborne, Carr and Wilcox. But the prices haven't been close to their 'right.' Remember that darn budget?" he continued.
Michael Sisemore of Blogging The Boys also agreed that the Cowboys didn't really lose anyone that important, aside from Church, of course.
The Cowboys still have standouts like Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Dez Bryant, Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, Travis Frederick, Sean Lee and Dan Bailey on their roster, so they are still going to be in good shape next season. Right now, they do have to fill a lot of holes. Anyway, if the Cowboys are looking for a cornerback they should give the Seattle Seahawks a call and ask if Richard Sherman is available.
