Notable headlines surrounding America’s team.
2024 NFL All-22 roster: Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Sauce Gardner lead way – Bucky Brooks, FOX Sports
There is no shortage of talent on the Cowboys’ roster.
Wide receiver: CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
The All-Pro pass catcher landed a blockbuster deal after posting ridiculous numbers as the Cowboys’ No.1 option. Lamb topped the 1,700-yard mark in 2023, exhibiting the route-running skills and playmaking traits that made it a no-brainer for owner Jerry Jones to break the bank to keep the receiver in the fold for the next five years. With Lamb entrenched as WR1 for the foreseeable future, fantasy geeks and Cowboys fans alike should salivate over No. 88’s potential as a prolific point scorer on the perimeter.
Offensive guard: Tyler Smith, Dallas Cowboys
The All-Pro guard is an athletic freak with exceptional balance and body control. Smith shadowboxes like a heavyweight champ, delivering punishing body blows that stop defenders in their tracks. As a natural tackle playing inside, Smith’s athleticism, balance, and agility make him a nightmare to deal with in the trenches.
Linebacker: Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys
The two-time All-Pro defender is revolutionizing the game as a hybrid pass rusher with a unique ability to rush from anywhere on the frontline or second level. Parson has tallied 40.5 sacks, 51 tackles for loss, and seven forced fumbles in 50 career starts, displaying an explosive combination of speed, power, and pop rushing from a three-point stance or standup position off the edge. With the third-year pro also excelling at whipping interior blockers on A-gap blitzes, the Cowboys’ designated defensive playmaker is a rare find as a traditional inside linebacker with elite pass-rushing skills.
24 intriguing players for the 2024 NFL season – Mike Jones, The Athletic
Three players made the FoxSports list above, two make this list of the most intriguing players.
7. Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
The 31-year-old Prescott is coming off the finest statistical season of his career and consistently ranks among the most effective passers in the NFL. Yet team owner Jerry Jones has yet to reward him accordingly. For now, Prescott is set to enter 2024 playing in the final year of his contract. In Dallas, the expectations always center on a Super Bowl hunt, and until Prescott delivers, he’ll be viewed as lacking. Is this the year he finally satisfies his owner and his critics, or is this his Dallas farewell tour?
20. Micah Parsons, OLB, Dallas Cowboys
Parsons has dominated in his three NFL seasons, lining up all over the Cowboys’ defensive front and averaging 13.5 sacks per year. He’s in the discussion as the most dominant defensive player in the league, yet the three-time Pro Bowl linebacker remains in search of a long-term contract extension. It’s only a matter of time before Jerry Jones has to finally open up the checkbook and make Parsons the highest-paid defensive player in the league. Meanwhile, Parsons will work to ensure the Cowboys don’t miss a beat without former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn (now coach of the Commanders) and help Dallas finally get over the postseason hump and to the Super Bowl.
Jerry and Stephen very specific when hiring McCarthy that it was done with Super Bowl expectations. You have to get in the playoffs to do that. He’s done the playoffs routinely but too many postseason failures – especially at home. https://t.co/cKmPgKmwQm
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) August 31, 2024
Mike McCarthy is miffed about this detail during his tenure with the Dallas Cowboys – Mac Engel, Star-Telegram
Too much talk about the postseason for McCarthy, not enough talk about the regular season?
On a conference call with the local media on Monday, I asked McCarthy a question about developing young receivers so they would not have to rely so heavily on the newly signed CeeDee Lamb “into December and January.”
“We keep talking about playoffs and things like that, but I don’t know when the hell it became easy to win 12 games in a season. So we really got to get back to winning week in and week out,” he said.
He was waiting to say that. It’s a completely fair response. The fan base, and some of us media horde that covers this team, too, has overlooked those 12 wins in a season.
[…]
The Cowboys are 42-25 in his tenure. They have finished 12-5 with playoff appearances in each of the last three years. We have not seen stats like this since the days of Jimmy Johnson.
These records should be worth something, but around here they are worth nothing because we have no memory of the Dave Campo era. This is also symptomatic of North America pro sports, where regular season accomplishments are degraded, and usually mocked.
Under McCarthy, the Cowboys look increasingly like his teams with the Green Bay Packers. He is certainly guilty of some in-game decisions that make you want to throw your remote control into the Trinity River, but overall this is a well coached team that wins.
We have now arrived to the point in the McCarthy discussion about the playoffs; 1-3 with two of the losses coming at home doesn’t look great on the LinkedIn profile. That playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers in January left a lasting impression on the front office.
It’s one thing to lose, and it is quite another to get historically embarrassed in your own building.
Insider gives Cowboys fans PTSD with possible Mike McCarthy outcome- Austen Bundy, FanSided
How successful does McCarthy need to be to keep his job in 2025?
Fans of the Dallas Cowboys have been asking themselves if things will ever get better under head coach Mike McCarthy — or if a change at the helm will finally come.
NFL insider Ed Werder suggested to a fan on X/Twitter that history could repeat itself in Jerry World this season.
Citing the fate of the previous regime, Werder suggests that even if McCarthy doesn’t bring the Lombardi back to Dallas, his time as head coach may not be over just yet.
Mike McCarthy could be next Jason Garrett for Cowboys, which pleases zero fans
Before McCarthy was hired in 2020, then-head coach Jason Garrett went through a similar tenure where he needed to deliver some semblance of progression and results in his final season.
In 2014, Garrett delivered a 12-4 record and the NFC East crown to owner Jerry Jones. Despite a heartbreaking playoff exit in the Divisional round, Jones had seen enough to hand Garrett an extension.
Garrett again had to deliver results to save his career in 2019 but an 8-8 record and no playoff appearance was the last straw for Jones this time. McCarthy was hired two days after Garrett was let go.
4 teams lurking in the shadows to steal Dak Prescott from Cowboys in 2025 – Jerry Trotta, The Landry Hat
Will they have a shot at making Dak an offer is the question.
2. NY Giants
Daniel Jones almost certainly won’t be back in New York next year. He has zero guaranteed money left on his $160 million extension after this season. It’s pretty easy to read between the lines that head coach Brian Daboll is ready to transition to a different quarterback.
Even though New York is already paying left tackle Andrew Thomas, edge rusher Brian Burns and defensive tackle DeMarcus Lawrence big money, they have the wiggle room to make Prescott the highest-paid QB.
Did the Cowboys find their next All-Pro in Tyler Guyton?- Mark Heaney, Inside The Star
Don’t doubt Will McClay when it comes to drafting offensive linemen.
Based on preseason performance, Guyton was one of the best offensive lineman in the entire league.
All the traits from the Oklahoma days popped up, like athleticism, strength, and freak size, but man did we see a turnaround in what were the college negatives for him. He was much more polished and made fewer mistakes across the board.
3 reasons why Prescott signing before Week 1 make sense for Cowboys QB- K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire
Let’s get this done, Jerry.
But there are certainly reasons why he’d want to get the deal done now before they take on the Cleveland Browns.
Prescott is immensely integrated with the city of Dallas. Also, the perks if he can win in Dallas are unfathomable. He’d be a king in the state for ending the drought of 30 years and there simply isn’t a better way to forge lifelong opportunities than being an NFL champion from Dallas.
Also on the table, he’s the big dog at said table. The Cowboys have been approaching Prescott with unacceptable contract offers for half a decade now, and he’s never caved. In fact, most would say that after being franchise tagged when they didn’t give him an acceptable offer through three and four career seasons, he’s owned owner Jerry Jones in negotiations. A no-trade clause is one thing, but forcing the second tag before signing (meaning any future tag would be the third at 140% prior salary) AND getting a no-tag clause for this negotiation was a masterpiece. He’s given no quarter to the man who believes he’s the best in the business at GMing.
Finally, Prescott’s rapport with teammates is certainly a thought to consider. Prescott is the true leader of the team and when a player is beloved in the locker room (not always synonymous with leadership) like he is, there’s an emotional tie. The quest to finish what was started in 2016, to complete the mission, is something that is certainly weighing into Prescott’s thought process as he surveys the landscape across the league.
