FRISCO, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys’ Twitter mailbag is ready.
In it we discuss:
** Free agency
** Chaz Green
** Mark Sanchez or Kellen Moore
Away we go:
@toddarcher @toddarcher #cowboysmail is JPP is a possibility for the cowboys?
— Ed saldana (@azulforte) January 19, 2017
@toddarcher: It happens every year. Cowboys fans want to know if their team will go after the biggest and brightest names on the free-agent market. For this question, it’s Jason Pierre-Paul. Others ask about Eric Berry. Recent history doesn’t seem to matter, but I’ll say it again: No, I don’t see the Cowboys jumping into the deep end of the free-agent pool.
Over and over executive vice president Stephen Jones has said the reward is not worth the money required. The best way to go about things is to draft well and re-sign your own players. This doesn’t mean the Cowboys will be inactive in free agency. It means they won’t pay over-the-top prices. The Cowboys have taken a prudent approach to free agency in recent years. I’d go so far as to say they have changed their ways. Nobody wants to believe it, but it’s true.
Now, I do believe the Cowboys can do more than sign the Cedric Thorntons or Benson Mayowas, but if a player like Pierre-Paul ends up with the Cowboys it will be on a deal the team wants, not at an inflated market price.
@toddarcher #cowboysmail From the time you have seen Chaz Green on the field, do you think he has what it takes to be a starter at RT?
— Max DeFilippis (@DefilippisMax) January 19, 2017
@toddarcher: This is a little tricky because, yes, from what you saw on the field, you would think Chaz Green can be the starting right tackle. But he’s not played enough. He missed his rookie season with a hip injury. He missed most of his second season with a foot injury and then back surgery. It’s a shame. The kid has some talent, but I don’t know how the Cowboys can go into 2017 relying on Green. He was injured a lot at Florida and he has been injured his first two years.
And here’s where the cards and letters will be flying: Don’t be so quick to push Doug Free out the door. He has been a dependable player over the years. Perfect? No. But he brings a lot to that offensive line room. He plays hurt. He is a team-first player. I feel like too often he gets penalized by fans and media because he’s not Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick or Zack Martin. But Free is a 10-year pro. You don’t last that long by accident.
Free is entering the final year of his contract, so I think the Cowboys could look for his replacement (and cover for Green) early in the draft. I don’t see them making a play in free agency. And if you want to start the La’el Collins-to-right-tackle talk, I’m OK with that as long as they start the move in the offseason and not in training camp.
@toddarcher #cowboysmail Resign Moore or Sanchez as backup QB? (Assume late round draft for development/PS)
— Alec Shane (@thealecshane) January 19, 2017
@toddarcher: This is a great question, but I’m not sure it needs to be an either/or on Kellen Moore or Mark Sanchez. We all know of Scott Linehan’s affinity for Moore, who missed the season with a broken ankle. He’s healthy now. He won’t cost a lot, obviously. Sanchez and Dak Prescott developed a close bond during the year. Neither quarterback would be a threat to Prescott, much the same way Brad Johnson wasn’t a threat to Tony Romo in 2007 as he entered his first full season as the Cowboys’ starter.
As for the late-round developmental pick, I don’t see that happening unless somebody falls in their lap. I think they should use their late-round picks on other spots that could help now. I’ll admit it might be narrow-minded of me, but I’d be willing to take a chance on a receiver or pass-rusher late more than a quarterback.
