The latest news surrounding the Dallas Cowboys.
Osa Odighizuwa on Cowboys’ attack front, impressions of new teammates – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com
The Cowboys defender spoke to the ferocity of the defensive unit in the trenches.
“Osa’s been great. I love his work ethic, I love the way he brings guys together,” Eberflus said. “He’s been working with the young guys, the young d-tackles that we have with Tommy [Akingbesote] and Jay [Toia], really doing a good job with Mazi, then having Solly in there has been wonderful as well.”
Eberflus’ defensive approach has an emphasis on the attack front, making his defensive line push up the field and get after the ball carrier. It’s a similar approach to what Dan Quinn did when he was the Cowboys defensive coordinator, but at the same time it’s very different.
How does Eberflus’ approach help in run defense?
“Makes it a lot more simple for everyone involved.” Odighizuwa said.
On the outside of the defensive line, Odighizuwa is excited about what the Cowboys have in the pass rushing department. He’s not as excited as Sam Williams is, though, to be back on the field after missing last year with an ACL tear.
“Sam’s bringing that energy every day, you know?” Odighizuwa said. “You can tell he’s been itching to get back out here, so I love having him back out there, just having the energy and having him be able to help us too.”
Rookie second round pick Donovan Ezeiruaku has caught the eye of onlookers during practice, and Odighizuwa is getting the same impression with a front row view.
“Eze’s nice, I’m not gonna lie,” Odighizuwa said with a big smile. “He’s very athletic, got good strength to him too despite what you might about his size, he’s very sneaky strong. I feel like he’s a good addition, he’s smart as well and very disciplined. I think he’s someone who is going to be able to come in and help us a lot.”
Micah Parsons projected trade price would be massive haul for Cowboys – Randy Gurzi, Sports Illustrated
He won’t be traded, but if he were, Dallas would make a killing on draft capital.
We’re nearly in August and the Dallas Cowboys have yet to come to terms with superstar pass rusher Micah Parsons.
Dragging out negotiations has become an annual event, which also leads to plenty of trade speculation. While Dallas has been able to come to terms with their star players before the start of the regular season, there’s always an outside chance they could decide against paying top market money.
The players could also get fed up with the media games and decide they would rather go elsewhere.
It’s highly unlikely this round of negotiations ends with anything other than Parsons signing a mega-deal that resets the market for pass rushers. Still, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell discussed what a potential trade would bring for Dallas, and begins with the Khalil Mack trade in 2018.
”I expect that to occur with the Cowboys before Week 1, but if they did decide they couldn’t justify paying three players market-setting deals at the league’s three most expensive positions, he would attract a massive trade haul,” Barnwell wrote.
“The closest comp is Khalil Mack, who in 2018 was traded before his fifth season with a second-round pick for two first-round picks, a third-rounder, and a sixth-rounder.”
Barnwell, who also said Parsons will likely stay in Dallas, would net more than Mack. He’s younger than Mack was when traded and has more sacks over his first four seasons. That’s why Barnwell says Parsons would cost another team “two first-round picks and more.”
Again, the smart play is to pay Parsons and keep the leader of the defense around. Even though it would be a historic haul.
Why the Jake Ferguson extension is another reason for a deal with WR George Pickens – Sean Martin, BloggingTheBoys.com
Let’s talk about other players’ contracts for a change.
It feels crazy and borderline depressing to say this as a fact, but the Cowboys are living in a reality where their franchise quarterback in Prescott has more years behind him as a starter then he does ahead. For a team that has talked a big game but hardly backed it up when it comes to a sense of urgency to win around Prescott, the time is simply now or never to show it. One area they have fallen short around Prescott is with fluctuations in both talent and continuity at wide receiver.
They’ve gone into a season pushing Allen Hurns as a legitimate threat, and they’ve also built trios like Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb. For an array of reasons on both ends of this spectrum, nothing has worked when it comes to Prescott backing up some of the best passing numbers in the league to these targets with a deeper run in the playoffs. The term “Dak friendly” (started all the way back under Jason Garrett) has been thrown around, debated, and more recently twisted into the latest reason to discredit Prescott’s legitimacy as a starter. To outside fans looking in, the “friendliest” the Cowboys offense could possibly ever get around Dak was that trio of Cooper, Gallup, and Lamb, with a strong offensive line and run game also in place during this time. Those same fans may be finally eating their words a bit with Lamb and Pickens now the top dogs at WR for the Cowboys.
In order for these things to be the first seeds of the Cowboys showing real urgency and a desire to keep star players happy and focused on winning long term, extending Pickens is a very logical next step. The Cowboys simply don’t have the time ahead of them on these other big contracts offensively to make 2025, and each subsequent year with Prescott and Schottenheimer specifically, a year they aren’t “going for it”. Being right back in this position at this time next year talking about how the Cowboys can continue tweaking wide receiver and tight end to make things work around Prescott would be a major disappointment. The pressure is on now to make this thing work from the jump, but so too is a trio talented enough to properly align the depth charts elsewhere thanks to Lamb, Pickens, and Ferguson.
The Dallas Cowboys are taking a surprising and exciting approach to replacing injured starter ahead of the 2025 NFL season – Mauricio Rodriguez, AtoZSports.com
The injuries on the offensive line will certainly make for some interesting shuffling upfront.
What difference a year makes. Nate Thomas is going from being a seventh-round rookie spending his first year in the NFL on Injured Reserve to being the projected Dallas Cowboys starting left tackle for Week 1.
Following Tyler Guyton’s bone fracture—which is expected to knock him out for four to six weeks—most fans and media members pointed to Asim Richards as the likely “next man up.” Richards rotated with Guyton late last season.
However, it’s been Thomas stealing the show at practice so far. And according to Cowboys VP Stephen Jones, he’ll get the first look.
“One guy I’ll point out—and he’s probably going to run with the ones until we get Tyler back—is Nate Thomas,” Stephen Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. “He’s having a really good camp for us. He’s exceeded expectations. He’s serious-minded about what he’s doing out there, and the coaches are really liking what they’re seeing from him.”
Thomas was seen as a mauler in the run game coming out of Louisiana-Lafayette, where he started two full seasons at left tackle. As a big-sized, powerful lineman specializing in run blocking, he’s a great fit for offensive coordinator Klayton Adam’s scheme.
If I had to guess what the coaching staff is thinking right now, it’s all about Thomas proving it in pass pro. With pads on in training camp, it’s the perfect time to look into it. Adams said the Cowboys would look at several players ahead of the regular season.
Whoever gets the nod—assuming Guyton can’t go Week 1—will be tested against the talented and deep Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive line. For now, it’s all about competing and getting ready for the season at training camp. The Cowboys will play their first preseason game on Aug. 9 against the Los Angeles Rams.
