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Cowboys fans are fit to be tied. They have seen Aaron Rodgers return to the Packers, Tom Brady return to the Buccaneers and the Rams add Allen Robinson. Not to mention all the moves several AFC teams have made.
Their team has not made many moves, and, in fact, has lost Randy Gregory and Cedrick Wilson in free agency and Amari Cooper in a trade while cutting La’el Collins. The Cowboys finally signed outside free agents late this week, getting receiver James Washington and edge rusher Dante Fowler.
“We’re still in the first 15 (minutes of the offseason),’’ Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said Saturday, via David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. “The first quarter is not even completed yet. If people are frustrated, well, sometimes games are a little frustrating. We’ve definitely come out with a run the football and take care of your own mindset. Outside of our own roster, we have a mindset where we’re not going to throw the ball deep with every snap.
“How’s that for a football analogy?’’
So are the Cowboys better right now than when they ended the season with a loss to the 49ers in the wild card round? It’s hard to argue they are.
The Cowboys gave up a 2019 first-round choice to obtain Cooper at the trade deadline in 2018. They traded the receiver and a sixth-round choice to Cleveland in return for fifth-round and sixth-round choices. They got nothing for Collins, who started 71 games in seven seasons.
“I mean, Amari Cooper is a fantastic football player,’’ McCarthy said. “He does some things clearly that put him with the best, particularly his quickness at the lateral release is about as good as I’ve ever worked with. That was a difficult, difficult decision.
“Same with La’el. You don’t want to lose those sort of players. But when you talk about competition, there is also competition and a challenge in the financial arena. You have to make business decisions that are in line with the dynamics of your cap.’’
McCarthy’s explanation is not going to make Cowboys fans feel better about how the offseason has started. All that will satisfy Cowboys Nation is the acquisition of some players to make the team better.
