The Dallas Cowboys‘ offseason has left their fans disappointed, to say the least.
After another early playoff exit, the Cowboys were extremely quiet in free agency despite proclamations about going “all in” for 2024. Thus far, they’ve added just two new players — LB Eric Kendricks and RB Royce Freeman.
The latest frustration for Dallas fans is the lack of progress on contract extensions for Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons. Other teams around the league, meanwhile, such as their rival Philadelphia Eagles, have been far more proactive in locking up their core players.
According to one former Cowboys player, the fan base has every right to be annoyed with the organization and its poor roster management.
Former Cowboys Star Defends Fans’ Frustrations With the Team
Last week, former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III didn’t hold back in criticizing the Cowboys, saying they’ve had the worst offseason so far.
Then, today, on ESPN’s First Take, former Cowboys star defensive lineman Marcus Spears didn’t go as far as Griffin did, but he did defend the fan base for their frustrations with the franchise.
The Dallas Cowboys are having THE WORST offseason in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/csq75lCALl
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) April 10, 2024
“First of all, Stephen Jones is my guy. When I see Stephen, we talk. He knows how frustrated I am when it comes to the moves they make and how they stand pat…,” Spears starts.
“We’ve known for two and a half years now that you were going to have to re-sign Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb. But only having them two and Dak (Prescott) is not going to win you a damn Super Bowl, and that is what we’re talking about in context.
“The bottom line is, everybody who wins Super Bowls figures out a way to do it.
“As much as we focus on the Cowboys and we get mad about them standing pat, you should be pissed off more as a Dallas Cowboys fan. The fact other people can figure out and manage ways to do this and get the championships or NFC Championships with signing their own players and also bringing in free agents.”
Spears has a point. Dallas operates as if they’re the only ones under a tight salary cap, or the only ones having to pay its own players at contract time despite being a standard operating practice across the league.
Successful teams find a way to do it all, and those who aren’t successful seem to find an excuse for why they can’t.
Any time Jerry or Stephen Jones get pressed on the situation, they use terms that can trick fans into believing they’re doing everything they can. When the reality is that they just are not, and such is the case for Stephen on his latest appearance on 105.3 the Fan, where he talks about his father’s “all-in” comment.
“We spend max, max money year in and year out. All 32 can only spend the same amount of money over a five-year stretch. When we’re all said and done, we max out our salary cap every year. We will have done that. What comes with having a good roster, which we do, we’re also looking towards signing our own guys.”
That sounds good on the surface, but the reality is the Cowboys are last in the NFL in average cash spending this season, sitting at $189 million, while the Cleveland Browns lead the league with $326 million.
You can say what you want about the Browns and if it’s working for them, but the reality is they are trying. Meanwhile, several feel that the Cowboys are not while telling the fan base that they are.
Spears is right, Cowboys fans should be pissed off. Whether it matters or not, seems to be in question.
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