Mailbag: Can Eberflus avoid a slow start? – Mickey Spagnola & Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com
Can the former Cowboys assistant coach hit the ground running?
Last year during OTAs, minicamp and training camp, the coaches kept praising how everyone was buying into coordinator Mike Zimmer’s defensive philosophy. Based on the defense’s performance early in the season and Zimmer himself admitting he should have done things differently, how does Matt Eberflus and his staff prevent a repeat of the slow start everyone suffered through last year? – Gary Hemming/Blackshear, GA
Mickey: Indeed, the Cowboys defense got off to a slow start last year, within the first seven games giving up 44 points to the Saints, 28 to Baltimore, 47 to Detroit and 30 to San Francisco, in the end giving up an average of 27.5 points a game. Not good. This defense will be challenged early, Matt Eberflus having sort out the cornerback position until Trevon Diggs is ready to play – at least he’s off PUP. The other challenge will be the defensive tackle position, key to stopping the run. They are good with Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas but will need more from Mazi Smith and rookie Jay Toia in the middle against the run. Now also would help if the offense is dynamic, and that side of the ball got off to a slow start, too, last year. After scoring 33 points in the opener, only once in the next nine games did the Cowboys score more than 24 points, and that was 25 in a 28-25 loss to the Ravens and remember Dak Prescott having gone down for the season in Game 8. Some of that goes hand in hand.
Tommy: Well, having your best player on defense back on the field would definitely help. Brian Schottenheimer’s confident that’ll be the case with Micah Parsons, but with how this saga has unfolded so far who knows? Aside from that, I think Eberflus has a lot of guys on this staff that are familiar with how he does thing and his system. That wasn’t necessarily as much of the case with Mike Zimmer. Familiarity with the scheme and how Eberflus will call the defense in general helps avoid some of the things early from last season that Mike Zimmer regretted not doing earlier.
Agent’s Take: Putting Jerry Jones’ ‘handshake’ agreement with Cowboys star Micah Parsons into context – Joel Corry, CBS Sports
The outcome remains ambiguous regarding Parsons and his contract.
It’s already been an eventful week for hold-ins. Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin signed a three-year contract extension reportedly worth up to $96 million. Edge rusher Trey Hendrickson reached a compromise with the Cincinnati Bengals where he gets a $14 million raise to bring his 2025 pay to $30 million.
The most high-profile contract dispute remaining is between edge rusher Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys. All of the attention turns to the Cowboys. That’s exactly how Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wants it.
Jones is adamant that Parsons reneged on a “handshake” agreement they made sometime in March about a contract extension. His repeated insistence that he thought he had a deal contradicts his statements at the NFL annual meeting held March 30 to April 2.
“I know that I’ve spent five, six hours with him (Parsons) myself and had a lot of discussions. Most of the issues are in agreement, and I’ve discussed it all,” Jones said. “We obviously don’t have an agreement relative to a new contract. Micah is under contract. So we’ll see how that goes. It’s not uncommon for me to visit directly with players, and in this particular case, that’s what I’m doing.”
It’s understandable why Mulugheta wasn’t interested in validating anything Jones discussed with his client given Dallas’ contract preferences. Jones was likely speaking figuratively not literally about [David] Mulugheta supposedly telling the Cowboys to stick the details of the contract with Parsons up their ass.
There’s good reason for Jones wanting to keep Mulugheta out of the process. Parsons becoming the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback is probably a necessity for Mulugheta. Jones surely recognizes that Mulugheta will balk at a longer-term extension. Mulugheta will likely be adamant that Parsons’ extension should be four years, just like in Lamb’s and Prescott’s cases, with a favorable guarantee vesting and player-friendly cash flow.
Cowboys land reinforcements in an attempt to solve major problem on 53-man roster, including player with ‘unbelievable’ trait – Mauricio Rodriguez, et al., AtoZSports.com
Roster cuts and waivers led to some new players being added in Dallas.
Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer teased waiver wire reinforcements on Tuesday and on Wednesday, he delivered.
The Cowboys claimed two defensive backs, Trikweze Bridges (from Los Angeles Chargers) and Reddy Stewart (from Minnesota Vikings). Though fans and media members expected help at defensive tackle, bolstering the defensive backfield also makes sense as the Cowboys navigate injuries.
The latest additions to the 53-man roster means the Cowboys will need to open two spots.
In the meantime, to get familiar with the newest members of the Cowboys, I reached out to A to Z Sports’ Vikings expert Tyler Forness and Chargers expert Adam Holt for insight. What they shared is encouraging, as Dallas is getting versatility and promising traits. Let’s dive in.
On Reddy Steward: Aggressive playstyle
Reddy Steward nearly made the Vikings’ roster and was a player they likely wanted to make the practice squad. He was an aggressive player on the outside and always seemed to be around the ball. His PBU on fourth down against the Tennessee Titans in the final preseason game really stood out as a positive play that could propel him to the 53-man roster. He can play multiple spots on the backend, and will be a solid special teams contributor. – Tyler Forness
On Trikweze Bridges: Unbelievable length
Bridges is a really intriguing player. Why’s that? His length is unbelievable, and it doesn’t shock me that the Cowboys valued adding a cornerback with his size. Bridges looms at 6’2 with 33-inch arms. There were highs and lows from the young defender in camp, but he did show off his ball skills with multiple interceptions. Bridges struggled in the preseason at times against downfield routes and against top-end speed. A position swap to safety could be in his future at some point, but Dallas clearly liked the tools he possesses enough to scoop him up. It’ll be interesting to see if they find a spot on him somewhere on their depth chart now to begin the season. – Adam Holt
The final roster and practice squad is coming into shape.
The Dallas Cowboys have re-signed quarterback Will Grier to their practice squad, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic. Grier was released by the Cowboys on Tuesday, which was the deadline for teams for make 53-man roster cuts.
Although Grier won’t be on the 53-man roster to start the season, it appears the team still sees value in him and wants to keep him as a backup option just in case. Only two quarterbacks made Dallas’ 53-man roster, Dak Prescott and Joe Milton.
This preseason, Grier was 7-of-14 passing for 87 yards. He did not throw any touchdowns or interceptions.
Grier first arrived in Dallas in 2021 after being cut from the Carolina Panthers.
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