The latest Cowboys offseason news is here.
Role Call: Why Cooper Beebe could start right now – Nick Eatman, DallasCowboys.com
Replacing Tyron Smith with first-round pick Tyler Guyton was the headline for the Cowboys in the draft, but they deserve credit for potentially finding a new starting center in Cooper Beebe too.
What’s Next: Despite his lack of game reps in college, the Cowboys are going to try him at center, likely battling both Brock Hoffman and maybe T.J. Bass. The Cowboys have some young prospects at center that should make for a fun competition at training camp and maybe even into the season. The lack of game reps at center could be an issue, but then again, players like Zack Martin have moved from tackle to guard without any real reps and made a seamless transition. Not that Beebe deserves any comparisons to Martin right away, but many teams, including the Cowboys projected Beebe to eventually move to center. That could be happening sooner than later if he can win the job.
Did You Know: While Beebe earned a pair of All-Big 12 selections as a player, he was a four-time All-Big 12 first-team pick on the academic side.
Quotable: “He has the flexibility and versatility, but we want him to focus on the center position. Great job by our draft department. You see his initial quickness and his ability to sustain the blocks, and the type of competitor he is. He’s a smart football player and … he’s another guy that has versatility, but we want him to lock into the center spot.” O-line coach Mike Solari on Beebe’s position flex.
Cowboys’ Top Trade Candidates Ahead of 2024 Training Camp – Kristopher Knox, Bleacher Report
Is now the time for the Cowboys to sell high on backup QB Trey Lance?
QB Trey Lance
If the Cowboys are looking to cash in on draft pedigree, backup quarterback Trey Lance is the perfect trade candidate. The 2021 third overall selection has shown little at the pro level with Dallas and the San Francisco 49ers—the team that traded up to get him—but former first-round picks do tend to generate interest.
Lance isn’t likely to play a significant role behind Prescott and No. 2 QB Cooper Rush in 2024, and he’s set to be a free agent next offseason. Therefore, he could be viewed as expendable if the right offer comes along.
The right offer would probably require an injury to another team’s starter before the start of the regular season, of course. However, given the litany of QB injuries we saw last season, that’s entirely possible.
The big question here is whether the Cowboys believe they can develop Lance themselves and keep him as insurance in 2025—when Prescott could depart for another franchise. According to NFL Media’s Bucky Brooks, Dallas has “thrown around” the idea of Lance being a long-term successor to Prescott.
If the Cowboys don’t trust Lance in that role or manage to lock up Prescott in the coming weeks, however, moving Lance could potentially help them strengthen another position via a trade.
Dak Prescott’s final chance to be Cowboys’ greatest QB – Richard Paolinelli, Inside The Star
The list of players and coaches with a ton of pressure on them this season is long, but it always starts and ends with QB Dak Prescott.
It’s The Playoffs, Baby
Like it or not – and the Dak Pack clearly doesn’t – it comes down to the playoffs, especially for the quarterbacks.
You can light up the league all year, but if you don’t get it done in the playoffs, who cares? And neither Romo nor Prescott have gotten it done when it matters.
Romo ended his career 2-4 in the postseason. He was 0-4 in the divisional round and never even sniffed a conference title game or a Super Bowl.
Prescott is 2-5 and is 0-3 in the Divisional round. He too hasn’t played for a championship of any kind.
At least Tony Romo can say he lost his last two playoff games to Aaron Rodgers. Prescott has been beaten by Brock Purdy and Jordan Love.
Aikman won three Super Bowls. At one point he was 11-1 in the playoffs before finishing 11-5.
Staubach won two Super Bowls – and likely would have also won Super Bowl V if Tom Landry had played him instead of Craig Morton.
Staubach was 11-6 in his playoff career. And remember, Staubach missed five seasons serving his military commitment. He also didn’t become the starter until his third season.
Just imagine Staubach’s numbers if he had started as early in his career as Dak Prescott did.
White finished 10-8 in the postseason but at least he got Dallas to three straight NFC Championship games. Like Staubach, he didn’t become the starter right away. White had to wait until his fifth season.
Don Meredith finished 1-3 in the playoffs, but at least he played in two NFL Championship games. And he lost to Bart Starr, Vince Lombardi, and the Green Bay Packers – arguably the best team of the 20th Century.
Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb expected to skip training camp without new contract, per report – Cody Benjamin, CBS Sports
The Cowboys are still in no rush to pay any of their stars this offseason, with the implications of training camp availability looming for WR1 CeeDee Lamb.
Lamb, 25, has “been engaged” with the team this offseason, coach Mike McCarthy revealed recently. Still, the former first-round draft pick skipped all of Dallas’ mandatory minicamp, absorbing more than $100,000 in fines after also forgoing the Cowboys’ voluntary spring workouts. The three-time Pro Bowler is seeking a pay raise after a slew of fellow wideouts cashed in with lucrative long-term contracts this offseason.
Lamb is due close to $18 million in 2024 under the fifth-year option on his rookie deal, but he’s scheduled to hit free agency following the season. He could conceivably command at least $30 million per year on a new deal, with three other pass catchers — the Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson ($35 million), Philadelphia Eagles’ A.J. Brown ($32 million) and Detroit Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown ($30 million) — eclipsing that mark.
A two-time All-Pro honoree, Lamb logged a career-high 135 catches for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2024, serving as a centerpiece of the Cowboys’ offense.
Cowboys over/under: 7 interceptions for DaRon Bland – Tony Catalina, Blogging The Boys
The tandem of Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland will be looking to stay on the field together in 2024, and pick up where the Cowboys left off in the turnover department.
What should be the expectation for DaRon Bland in 2024?
Bland and the rest of his cornerback teammates were thrust into a tough situation last season when Trevon Diggs went down with a torn ACL. Bland was playing the nickel spot at the time with Stephon Gilmore and Diggs manning the outside. However, that all changed in the blink of an eye, as did the future for Bland.
Bland kicked outside to alleviate the Diggs situation, while Gilmore became CB1, and veteran Jourdan Lewis was once again a starter at Bland’s old spot. Quickly as that all unfolded, it became clear that Bland was unafraid of the circumstances, and before long, that CB1 title shifted over to Bland, with defenses fearing his side of the field.
Fast-forward to the present day. With the pick-six record under his belt, Bland will be welcoming his running mate and fellow ball-hawk Trevon Diggs back. The combination of the two makes for one of the most lethal secondary duos who can torment wide receivers and quarterbacks for years to come.
Who will QBs throw to? How do you attack these two? These questions need answers, and they won’t come easily. The burden of expectation has been set, and with Bland’s career arc rising at an increasing rate, he will be burdened with the “what have you done for me lately” side of the fanbase who will be expecting an encore in 2024.
Based on the first two seasons and everything he has overcome and been able to do in such a short time, Bland won’t run from the pressure, he’ll embrace it. Bland looks to be another young cornerstone to this Cowboys franchise, but what does that mean for his total this season? Is putting the number right down the middle fair?
Cowboys 53-man roster projection before training camp – KD Drummond, The Cowboys Wire
Both UFL signees LB Willie Harvey and CB Gareon Conley making the roster along with UDFA TE Brevyn Spann-Ford stand out as early surprises here.
Tight Ends (4 + 1 Practice Squad)
No. 87 TE Jake Ferguson
No. 86 TE Luke Schoonmaker
No. 81 TE John Stephens, Jr.
No. 47 TE Brevyn Spann-Ford
Linebackers (6 + 2 Practice Squad)
No. 50 Linebacker Erick Kendricks
No. 13 (defense) LB DeMarvion Overshown
No. 35 LB Marist Liufau
No. 18 (defense) LB Damone Clark
No. 18 (defense) LB Damone Clark
No. 45 LB Damien Wilson
Cornerbacks (6 + 1 Practice Squad)
No. 7 CB Trevon Diggs
No. 26 CB DaRon Bland
No. 2 CB Jourdan Lewis
No. 41 CB Caelen Carson
No. 43 CB Gareon Conley
No. 37 CB Eric Scott, Jr.
4 Cowboys whose stock has plummeted after OTAs and minicamp – Sayre Bedinger, The Landry Hat
Availability is the best trait any player can have in this league, and unfortunately for second year TE Luke Schoonmaker, his injuries have gotten in the way.
2. Luke Schoonmaker, TE
Not to bring this up again, but the Cowboys could have just drafted Sam LaPorta last year. Moving on from that, Luke Schoonmaker is in the headlines for the wrong reasons again as of OTAs/minicamp, this time due to injury.
Schoonmaker is dealing with a hamstring issue, which can be extremely tricky, especially for big guys like this. From our own Jerry Trotta:
“Schoonmaker’s absence allowed more opportunities for promising second-year man Princeton Fant, who took a ton of first-team reps, and touted undrafted free agent Brevyn Spann-Ford.”
– Jerry Trotta
You have to keep hope alive for someone like Schoonmaker, who was a 2nd-round pick last year. At the same time, the emergence of Jake Ferguson and a strong camp from Princeton Fant makes you wonder just how long the leash actually is for someone like Schoonmaker. How much is his draft status going to matter if other guys are playing well?
You obviously want to see him get out on the field, but don’t be shocked if he’s buried on the depth chart at the beginning of training camp.
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