DALLAS — Free agency in the NFL has officially opened with the legal tampering period beginning on Monday. No movement was expected from the Dallas Cowboys and, as usual, they stood pat through the initial stages.
While the team didn’t sign anyone early on, there was some Cowboys news that will impact the roster going forward. Dallas lost one of their 19 free agents when interior offensive lineman Connor McGovern bolted for the Buffalo Bills by signing a three-year, $23 million deal. McGovern started 29 games over his four years with the Cowboys, including 15 last season at left guard, but has experience at right guard and center as well.
While McGovern wasn’t one of the bigger free agents that the Cowboys had hoped to retain, they likely would have preferred to keep him but the cost became too rich for their blood. The team just wasn’t going to pay what the Bills offered, but McGovern’s departure leaves a hole in the offensive line.
With better health expected, McGovern might not have been penciled in to start in 2023 but he did serve a valuable role as the team’s best backup interior offensive lineman. Injuries have often forced the Cowboys to shuffle their tackles in the last few seasons, which made it easy to slide McGovern in at left guard. The job currently belongs to second year lineman Tyler Smith, but any injury to LT Tyron Smith means the younger Smith will kick outside.
If that happens now, the team doesn’t have a quality option. Third year lineman Matt Farniok is the current leader for the job, but he’s only played in 19 games over his first two seasons, starting in just two. The team does like Farniok, but he doesn’t have the experience that McGovern had.
There was no other player movement for the Cowboys, but the team does continue to talk with impending free agents while straightening up their accounting. According to thoughts around the league, the team would like safety Donovan Wilson and pass rusher Dante Fowler back, but no deals have been signed. Dallas also continues to be linked to free agent linebacker Bobby Wagner, as they additionally work on re-signing fellow LB Leighton Vander Esch.
To open some cap space to hopefully sign some free agents, the Cowboys restructured the contract of wide receiver Michael Gallup. Pulling the trigger on that contract maneuver saves the team over $7 million against the cap this season.
The reconfiguration is a risky move as it puts more money into the future of Gallup’s deal after seeing the WR limited in his return season following a torn ACL. The team must feel confident Gallup can get back to being the perennial 1,000-yard receiver that he was prior to the injury. Clearing out money under the cap can also help the Cowboys potentially add a solid free agent so Dalas felt that it was a risk worth taking.
As always with the Cowboys when free agency starts, it’s a slow and steady pace with very little movement. Expect to see Dallas wait for the second and third-tier players to plug any holes on their roster. While they do that, fans of the team will become increasingly frustrated with the lack of aggression from the Cowboys. It’s become an annual rite of spring.
Settle in, Cowboys fans. There’s only one day in the books.
Do you think the Cowboys should be more agressive in free agency? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.
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Note: The following video was uploaded on March 8.
