Dallas has already resigned 32 year old RT Doug Free to a 3 year deal. They signed Buffalo OLB Keith Rivers. They also resigned slot receiver cole Beasley for 4 years and have franchised Dez Bryant. Their actions suggest that is more or less where they draw the line on irreplaceable Dallas free agents (although I think Rolando McClain will be taken care of soon.)
They have lost starting SOLB Justin Durant and backup swing tackle Jeremey Parnell.
I would resign "marginal prospects" CB Sterling Moore, OLB Bruce Carter, DE Anthony Spencer, and DE George Selvie.
I think all of these guys would provide great, quality depth at worst and can be acceptable starters if push came to shove. I'd resign them if the price is not too high so I can draft real need areas (like RT) --- instead of letting them go... a situation that would create more need areas.
I would also sign Phildelphia Eagles RB Chris Polk, former Lions RB Mikel Leshoure, and former Dolphin RB Daniel Thomas to compete with our holdovers to replace DeMarco Murray. All of those guys have feature back size, some ability to block, and were not in good situations to succeed.
Polk has done well in Philly, but was buried behind LaShawn McCoy. Not getting drafted appears to have grounded him. Leshoure had his moments in Detroit, but was lost behind Reggie Bush's brief resurgence and then churned in the coaching change. Thomas was trapped on a Miami team with a god awful offensive line and a ton of running backs. You cannot fairly evaluate a pro RB behind a crap offensive line.
I would also take a hard look at Miami Dolphins RB LaMichael James to compete with Lance Dunbar if for no other reason than to ensure he doesn't end up in Philly as a scary return specialist.
I would strongly look into Washington 3rd string QB Colt McCoy or Miami backup QB Matt Moore. Both are very effective players when on the field. Unlike current backup Branden Weeden, both can handle an opposing defense that spent a week preparing for them without melting down (See the Jacksonville tape).
Both are more than capable of delivering wins when Romo misses 2-3 games in a row each year. Both are too brittle to be season long starters but play at a quality starter level. Both would likely welcome an offer.
McCoy grew up a Cowboys fan and is effectively more of a curiosity in Washington than anything else. Moore signed with the Cowboys as a rookie free agent and one would suspect that making the team would do a lot to erase some demons for him. He has had a Steve DeBerg-like career playing fairly well but getting replaced by top talents Cam Newton and Ryan Tannehill.
Both would get the job done in Dallas, be popular with the fans, and not be a threat to unnerve Romo or create a QB controversy. I think signing one of the two and dumping Weeden would be a fairly minimal outlay.
Finally as a somewhat high dollar acquisition, I would look at 49er WR Michael Crabtree. Crabtree is a poor #1/ exceptional #2 with sure hands and good size who's pricetag is currently artificially low. He is still a weapon at the goal line and in short yardage. His value is in the dirt now. He is seen as a "me guy" who has lost explosion. He is considered valued in about the $5 M range now. I think a 4 year $24 M deal would land him and provide exceptional value when Dez goes down with an injury. I would have to be sure that Crabtree is mostly "the right kind of guy" who just lost his way in SF though. I would also structure the deal where I could cut bait at any time if he turns out to be a defeatist, mopey ass or his quickness is permanently gone.
While I think very highly of Terrance Williams' attributes, he seems to be a guy who isn't the "reliable-type" at WR that QBs like Romo throw the ball to. A friend of a friend who covers the Cowboys advised that Williams does a lot of that desperate cry for attention acting up in the locker room as the media interview the longtime stars. As a result the media avoids him even after big games. I was shocked to hear that, but I can't recall the media EVER reaching out to Terrance Williams and it does make sense of what I see. I can buy it. It frankly sounds like a guy with some maturity issues that are holding his great talent back.
QBs do not like throwing to players who are not at the right spot and may create interception opportunities. Williams's only plays seem to be on broken plays where he is undeniably absolutely dynamite. You might yield a much better net passing game with a more reliable #2 and Williams coming in on 4 receiver downs where he has an easier corner to beat.
I would finance this by a "renegotiate or get cut" come to jesus talk with CB Brandon Carr. While he is clearly getting better as the ill-conceived implementation of Monte Kiffin's cover two moves further and further from his memory, he is playing at a decent #2 CB level only. He seems like a down to earth guy who works, but he just isn't what Dallas thought they were getting.
With Dallas' success driving up salaries, you can't pay him like a near elite corner anymore without really hurting your depth. If you cut him, he won't ever recoup the total money ($27.1 M over 3 years) still owed on his Cowboy deal.
I would offer him a deal along the lines of that signed by Arizona WR Larry Fitzgerald in that it would be a price cut, but it would guarantee a lot of the money. To my way of thinking Dallas would be able to spread most of his total salary (say $20M) over 5 years instead, with the first 4 years guaranteed, making for a tolerable price.
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