Dallas Cowboys spent summer sleeping

By David Mullen

If Dallas Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones had to write an essay on “how I spent my summer vacation,” he would have submitted a single page with no significant accomplishments, except for increasing the monetary value of the defending division champion. The story might mention that Jones got reacquainted with an old friend and visited a courtroom.

In August, according to Forbes, the Dallas Cowboys became the first sports franchise worth more than $10 billion. Team value does not equate to championships, as the Cowboys have not been to the Super Bowl since 1996. But Jones knows how to make money, if not spend it. His only significant offseason expense was on a player he was already paying. 

Despite saying numerous times that he was “all in” on improving the Cowboys, Jones got schooled in the offseason. He lost key players to free agency on both sides of the ball and didn’t replace them. He did not address a critical need at running back, except to bring back former Cowboy Ezekiel Elliott, 29, whose career is clearly on the decline. He spent much of his time answering questions about wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, whose holdout for a new contract resulted in a lost preseason. 

During the last three seasons, under head coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Dak Prescott, the Cowboys have gone 36-15 in the regular season, but 1-3 in the playoffs. During the same timeframe, the Kansas City Chiefs are just one game better at 37-14, but 9-1 in the playoffs including back-to-back Super Bowl wins.

The Cowboys open the season with five of the first seven games against 2023 playoff teams. As defenses put pressure on Prescott and Lamb, the Cowboys must rely on a running game that seemingly does not exist. Micah Parsons remains among the game’s elite defenders, but the Green Bay Packers showed that he can be neutralized in the Cowboys’ Wild Card Game drubbing on January 14.

The Cowboys needed to improve in 2024, and they did not. It was a sedentary summer.

The NFC East remains a shootout between the Philadelphia Eagles and Cowboys, and a crapshoot to see if the New York Giants and Washington Commanders will be relevant again. The Eagles have a potent offense made better by adding RB Saquon Barkley and WR Jahan Dotson. 

With a stout defense, the Eagles are the NFC East’s best team.

Washington made massive changes to the roster and will start rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Seems to be a team in progress. The Giants added HBO’s “Hard Knocks: Offseason” star WR Malik Nabers but must fill a void left by Barkley. After decades of futility, the Detroit Lions are finally in the Super Bowl conversation. QB Jared Goff, blacklisted in Hollywood by the Rams, has found a home in Motown. 

If the defense improves, the Lions will roar in the NFC North. 

The Packers banked on QB Jordan Love last season and it paid off. The team is very young and will try to repeat last season’s energy. All eyes are on the No. 1 overall draft pick QB Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears. He has a swagger. The Minnesota Vikings lost QB Kirk Cousins, drafted promising QB J.J. McCarthy and then lost him to a knee injury. Journeyman Sam Donald — four teams in four years — will be under center. 

In the NFC South, the Atlanta Falcons have a new QB in Cousins and a new star in former Texas RB Bijan Robinson. Behind Baker Mayfield, the surprising Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the division and rolled into the second round of the playoffs last season but are not expected to do much without a running game and with a questionable defense.

The New Orleans Saints are sticking with QB Derek Carr as they redesign their offensive scheme. The Carolina Panthers didn’t give QB Bryce Young a chance last season with an anemic offensive cast. Young is good, but the rest of the team is woeful. 

In the NFC West, the San Francisco 49ers had a distracted offseason with players failing to report. But with the team now whole, the question will return to whether Brock Purdy is good enough to win a Super Bowl. 

The underrated Rams will get in the way. Highland Park’s Matthew Stafford is still a top NFL QB and injured wideout Cooper Kupp returns. The retirement of super defender Aaron Donald will be a lot to overcome. 

The Seattle Seahawks face the season without head coach Pete Carroll on the sidelines. First year head coach Mike Macdonald, 37, is just four years older than QB Geno Smith. In Arizona, QB Kyler Murray and WR Marvin Harrison Jr. will make the Cardinals fun to watch, but the defense will be agonizing. 

I like Philadelphia, Atlanta, Detroit and San Francisco to win their divisions and the Rams, Packers and, reluctantly, Cowboys as Wild Card teams. Detroit finally makes the Super Bowl. 

Another 12-win season for the Cowboys seems out of reach. A slow start will cost McCarthy his job and provide Cowboys fans with another season of frustration. Blame it on Jones and what he didn’t do during his summer vacation.