Cowboys are eager to move up in the draft to get a quarterback to replace Tyron Smith, but this is why it might be challenging.
The Dallas Cowboys enter the 2024 offseason with the tension and unease that comes with an early playoff exit. Another 12-win regular season ended in bitter disappointment when the Packers stunned them in the opening round.
It sets up a fascinating offseason for the Cowboys. They elected to keep head coach Mike McCarthy after another early playoff exit, but they face a season where the stakes feel even higher than they usually are at The Star.
Last offseason, we saw the Cowboys get aggressive to push this roster to be championship-worthy. They made trades for Stephon Gilmore and Brandin Cooks to fill two of their biggest needs. Then they made a surprising trade for Trey Lance.
It’ll be even tougher to pull off aggressive moves this time around. The Cowboys are currently $14.3 million over the cap and their internal free-agent crop includes Tyron Smith, Tony Pollard and Gilmore.
If they decide they want to keep any combination of that trio, it’s going to mean they have a limited budget.
However, they could also look to the trade market to replace any of them. Here’s a look at three targets they could have in mind if they do so.
The decision on Tyron Smith’s future is going to be a complicated one. When healthy, Smith is still an absolute mauler who earned a second-team All-Pro nod this past season.
The problem is he’s struggled with so many injuries throughout his career that it’s hard to come up with a fair contract for the 33-year-old. Smith played two games in 2020 and four games in 2022. If the pattern of suffering a major injury every other year continues, the Cowboys could be paying top dollar for a veteran tackle who won’t be on the field.
Smith has spent all 13 seasons of his NFL career in Dallas, but sometimes the hard decision has to be made. If there’s a trade that could bring back a younger, functional starter at left tackle, then it should be considered.
That scenario could play out if the Cowboys find the Jaguars are open to trading Cam Robinson. The 28-year-old was suspended for the first four games of the season for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
The suspension voided some of the guarantees in his contract, so the Jags could save $16.1 million in cap space if they were to trade him. That’s a lot of flexibility to consider, especially when Walker Little played well in his absence.
With just one year left on his deal, Robinson would be a prime candidate for an extension if the Cowboys trade for him. That would allow them to push a lot of his salary to future years.
