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The Dallas Cowboys have been extremely quiet so far during the 2024 NFL free agency period. While some other teams have been making major upgrades to their rosters, Jerry Jones has instead decided to exercise patience. This may seem to conflict with his insistence that he will be going "all-in" to try to win a Super Bowl this year, but it remains consistent with his typical free agency strategy.
While Jones is surely known for making bold moves in an attempt to improve his team, he has built their current roster through the NFL Draft and various trades. Few impact players on their roster, if any at all, were acquired in free agency during any offseason. For example, their biggest additions from last year, Stephon Gilmore and Brandin Cooks, were acquired via trade.
While Cowboys fans may want to see more action from the Cowboys this offseason, it's hard to argue with the results of Jones' strategy. They have won 12 regular-season games in each of the past three seasons under head coach Mike McCarthy, representing every year that he has had a healthy Dak Prescott. They didn't do so because of free agency, so they seem to be sticking to the plan.
Dallas Cowboys' free agency doldrums explained
The Dallas Cowboys aren't the only team to utilize this patient type of free agency strategy. The Kansas City Chiefs, winners of the past two Super Bowls, also typically avoid giving out major contracts to free agents. Like Dallas, they prefer to focus on paying their own players and keeping the core of their roster together, and then adding complimentary pieces around them.
When looking at the other end of the spectrum, sometimes spending big moeny in free agency can be beneficial, but it doesn't always work out. The Jacksonville Jaguars recently went on a spending spree, but didn't even make it to the NFL Playoffs last year.
The Washington Commanders are taking a similar approach this year, as one of the most active teams in 2024 NFL free agency, but are still a long-shot to compete for the postseason this season.
While the Cowboys did sign Eric Kendricks to bring in some much-needed help to their linebackers, recent history siggests that they probably won't be targeting any of the elite free agents this year. It's much more likely that they use their available salary cap space to work on extensions for some of their key players.
Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and Zack Martin are all entering the final year of their current contracts. All of them were drafted by the Cowboys and now serve as part of the core of the team. If Jerry Jones decides to give out a major contract this year, it's much more likely to go to his own players rather than a free agent.
