Trade Block: ESPN predicts Kyle Pitts, Breece Hall available, Cowboys should consider both K.D. Drummond Sooner or later, the Dallas Cowboys are going to settle on a head coach. Whether that’s Mike McCarthy returning for Year 6 or someone from the outside, there will be a direction forged for the 2025 offseason. Once that shell is outlined, the front office will then turn their attention to veteran additions to the 2025 roster. Dallas has a ton of internal free agents to consider, but they also have positions where upgrades to the roster must be considered. Many will look at the season as a whole and point to a team decimated by injuries, but things were off from the beginning. This is especially true on offense, where after years atop the league, things plummeted in 2024. Dallas lacked explosiveness from the offense, and that was especially true at running back and tight end. While Rico Dowdle enjoyed the limelight down the back stretch of the season and ended up with over 1,000 yards on the ground, he didn’t have any breakaway runs. Meanwhile tight end Jake Ferguson regressed from his breakout 2023 campaign, and once again leaves the position as a huge question mark. And while Dallas has been hesitant to spend in free agency, they have shown a willingness to trade draft picks for young, unrealized talent. If that’s the case this year, there may be prime targets at each position. ESPN+ (paywall recently put out their offseason predictions for each NFL team that has been eliminated. For the Atlanta Falcons, they predicted trading TE Kyle Pitts. For the New York Jets, they predicted trading RB Breece Hall. The Cowboys should absolutely be in on both. New York Jets Big prediction for the offseason: While receiver Garrett Wilson is the buzzy trade candidate these days, the Jets will end up trading their other young offensive star, Breece Hall. It’s a bad year for free agent running backs, but some teams will be looking for a similar veteran boost to those the Eagles, Ravens and Packers found on the veteran market last offseason. Hall’s injuries are starting to catch up to him, and the Jets would be wise to move on from him early, while he still has some value leaguewide — especially with young backs Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis showing promise. — Solak The NFL has seen running backs with high draft pedigree take a few years to get passed their injury-prone ways. Christian McCaffrey was somewhat this guy in Carolina and Saquon Barkley was this guy in New York. Hall had the big injury his rookie season, but he’s played through the smaller injuries for the most part his last two seasons. If the Jets are looking to offload the former second-round pick, Dallas should find out the asking price. The 2025 draft is seen as one deep in running backs, but Dallas will likely have four fifth-round picks. Hall has just one year remaining on his rookie deal before free agency, and may not command much in return. Atlanta Falcons Big prediction for the offseason: Tight end Kyle Pitts is due $10.8 million on the final year of his deal in 2025. Can the Falcons get more for him in a trade than they would in a compensatory pick after he leaves in free agency? I think they could, as he has a rosier future on an offense that actually fits his skill set. My prediction: Pitts will get dealt to the Bengals for a Day 3 pick. — Solak Pitts is set to play on the fifth-year option in 2025 as a former first-round pick. His rookie season was sensational, catching over 1,000 yards and making the Pro Bowl, but he hasn’t approached that level since. The 6-foot-6 Florida product was seen as a unicorn entering the 2021 draft but hasn’t been a great fit for the Falcons. What he could bring to Dallas and Dak Prescott, who adores passing to the tight end down the seams, could be incredible.
The best of both worlds: Why Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey is now the best in the NFL
Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images The Cowboys have the best kicker in the NFL and it’s really not even close. It wasn’t that long ago when the Dallas Cowboys had what some might call (using your Matt Foley voice) a “kicking problem.” For years we were spoiled by the great accuracy of Dan Bailey, but then things got a little shaky toward the end of his career. In a shocking final roster cut move back in 2018, the Cowboys replaced Bailey with a 29-year-old rookie named Brett Maher. The team’s new kicker was known for having a big leg and during his time in Dallas. He set new franchise records for the longest (63 yards), second-longest (62 yards, twice), and third-longest (60 yards) in team history. The Maher experiment was fun at times, but also frustrating because he struggled to make the easy ones. When John Fassel took over as special teams coach, he brought with him his former kicker from the Rams, Greg Zuerlein. Greg “the leg” was an improvement but had his own accuracy issues. He played two seasons in Dallas. In another shocker, the team opted for a second helping of Maher in 2022 where he was surprisingly accurate this time around, making over 90% of his field goals. But in a strange plot twist, he had a case of the yips and missed several extra points in the Cowboys playoff win over Tampa Bay. The Cowboys entered 2023 with so much uncertainty. The fanbase wanted them to go after free agent Robbie Gould, but the team had other plans. They liked what they had in former pro soccer player/turned USFL kicker, Brandon Aubrey. While training camp misses brought about some uneasiness, Aubrey was the leg the Cowboys decided to roll with, and little did we know what was coming. Here is the Cowboys kicker timeline for the last 14 seasons… Aubrey has been with the team for two seasons and each time he’s earned All-Pro honors. That is pretty good. It’s incredible what Aubrey has done. We talk about his accomplishments, but it’s easy to lose sight of some of them because he’s achieved so much in such a short time. Having a kicker who is so accurate and with remarkable range is a great luxury and that is why we are taking a moment to capture some of Aubrey’s feats. What a great start It didn’t take long for fans to warm up to him as all he did was knock down field goals. Literally. Through the first 16 games of his NFL career, he made every field goal he attempted. He started a perfect 35/35, which is an NFL record. Crazily, his first official miss came when a defender snuck through the line unattended and blocked the attempt in the 2023 regular-season finale against the Washington Commanders. He then proceeded to miss his very next kick when the ball doinked off the upright, but as we learned fast, those misses are few and far between. The kid’s got a leg Speaking of far, Aubrey wasted no time racking up the distance records. Let’s have a look at what he’s accomplished already. Most field goals of 50 yards or more in a season (14), an NFL record Only kicker in NFL history to have two seasons with at least 10 field goals of 50+ yards Only kicker in NFL history to kick two field goals of at least 59 yards in a single game Second longest field goal in NFL history (65 yards) That’s a career’s worth of records in just two seasons. It’s pretty amazing. Honestly, many of us were expecting Justin Tucker’s record of 66 yards to fall to Aubrey this past season because of what we saw early in the year. Aubrey knocked down a 66-yarder in the preseason and again in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, but neither counted because one was in the preseason and the other was negated by a delay-of-game penalty. It feels like it’s only a matter of time before Aubrey also holds the record for longest field goal. He’s on the money Some kickers are deadly accurate, a la Dan Bailey. And some have a powerful leg, i.e. Brett Maher. However, it’s super rare to find a kicker who is both. Justin Tucker has been that unicorn for most of his career and will eventually wear a gold jacket because of it. Aubrey is another guy who gives you the best of both worlds. Tucker has a career kicking percentage of 89.1% which makes him the most accurate kicker in NFL history. Aubrey is off to a good start. His success rate is actually a smidge higher than Tuckers at 89.4%, but you must have at least 100 attempts to qualify and Aubrey only has 85. If Aubrey keeps it up, it’s quite possible we could have a new “most accurate kicker” by the middle of next season. The great thing about Aubrey’s accuracy is not just his high field goal percentage, but just how consistent his kicks are. When you look at his body of work, the dude is drilling them right down the middle. He rarely gives us anything to sweat and it’s pretty evident that this guy has got this kicking thing dialed in. See for yourself. Brandon Aubrey is the best kicker in the NFL. We know about his booming leg, but he is on the money. Here is every single make this past season and look how so many kicks are right down the middle. The Cowboys are so lucky to have him. pic.twitter.com/vb0oymUrgy — Dan Rogers (@DannyPhantom24) January 11, 2025
Cowboys predicted to award $175 million contract in 2025, highest ever to non-QB
Cowboys predicted to award $175 million contract in 2025, highest ever to non-QB K.D. Drummond Here things go again. It has now been a full calendar year since the Dallas Cowboys were eliminated from the 2023 playoffs in inglorious fashion. Wild-card weekend was not kind to Dallas last January, as the Green Bay Packers dumped them out of the playoffs and ruined the vibe for all of 2024. Following the loss, the number one topic was whether or not the Cowboys would bring back head coach Mike McCarthy for another season and one of their biggest stars were one season away from first-time free agency. January 2025 is looking back like, “Samesies.” Dallas is once again wondering about McCarthy’s future, and once again they have a superstar who is entering the final year of his rookie contract. It took Dallas all offseason and most of training camp to succumb to WR CeeDee Lamb’s contract demands, and now they are gearing up for negotiations with edge rusher extraordinaire, Micah Parsons. While Parsons has said publicly he’d be willing to take a hometown discount if, and only if, the club was going to use the savings to bring in outside talent, it’s expected he will be paid handsomely. How handsomely? Most-money-ever-for-a-non-quarterback type money. ESPN+’s recent look at the offseason for all eliminated clubs, and in their section on the Cowboys, predict that Parsons will surpass Nick Bosa’s contract from 2023, and clock in at $175 million total new money. Big prediction for the offseason: Despite some public consternation between edge rusher Micah Parsons and the Cowboys’ brass, an extension will get done this offseason, and it’ll be the biggest one a defensive player has ever seen. Nick Bosa got $170 million over five years; Parsons will get $175 million over the same length, along with $125 million in total guaranteed money to exceed Bosa’s $122.5 million figure. Parsons has been the league’s best defender when on the field this season. He deserves every penny. — Solak Parsons is of course off to a sensational start to his career. He’s the first player since Reggie White with 12 sacks or more in his first four seasons in the league, and as White started in the USFL, is the first to do so starting in his rookie season. Parsons is recession proof; even in a season where he missed four contests, he still ended up with 12.5 sacks. He’s dominated and looks to be getting better every season, commanding double and triple teams at alarming rates and still ranking among league leaders in pass rush win rate.
Dallas Cowboys remain only franchise in NFL history to lose Wild Card playoff game as #2 seed
Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK The Dallas Cowboys remain the only #2 seed to ever lose to a Wild Card opponent. The Philadelphia Eagles wrapped up their Wild Card Round playoff win on Sunday afternoon and did so against the Green Bay Packers. It was horrible to watch as a Dallas Cowboys fan. Part of what makes the result so frustrating for Cowboys faithful is that Philadelphia did what Dallas could not a year ago. The Eagles were the NFC East winners this season and wound up with the #2 seed in the NFC playoff picture. Their prize for this was a home date against the Packers which they obviously capitalized on. It was the exact same situation that the Cowboys were in last year, and they blew it so badly it still hangs over the franchise. You obviously knew that, but what you might not know is that this year’s playoffs marked the fifth in which a game like this was even possible. Prior to the 2020 season the #2 seed received a bye in the first round and ever since then has had to host the #7 seed with only the top seed getting the week off. The Cowboys became the first #2 seed to ever lose in the Wild Card Round last year. With the Eagles win on Sunday and the Buffalo Bills taking care of business shortly before, Dallas remains alone in this stat. #2 Seed Playoff Teams To Win Their Wild Card Game 2020 Buffalo Bills 2020 New Orleans Saints 2021 Kansas City Chiefs 2021 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2022 Buffalo Bills 2022 San Francisco 49ers 2023 Buffalo Bills 2024 Buffalo Bills 2024 Philadelphia Eagles #2 Seed Playoff Teams To Lose Their Wild Card Game 2023 Dallas Cowboys This is still only a five-year sample size so it’s not like the Cowboys are one out of 500 or something; however, it is obviously not a fun thing for Dallas to be the only outlier in such a horrible way. It stands to reason that it is not too challenging of a thing for the #2 seed to take care of business and advance to the Divisional Round where they used to get to automatically. Sigh.
Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty: ‘I would love to play for the Cowboys’
Marco Garcia-Imagn Images Ashton Jeanty has said he would love to play for the Dallas Cowboys. The Dallas Cowboys hold the 12th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and we could argue between now and then (we will) as to what the best thing to do with that pick is. This year’s draft will mark the highest pick that Dallas has had since 2021 when they originally held the 10th selection but traded back to 12 of all places. They “settled” for Micah Parsons out of Penn State, something that has worked out rather nicely. If many Cowboys fans get their wish then Dallas will use that 12th pick on someone who played their final game against Penn State this season in Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. Throughout all of this past college football season Jeanty was ripping off insane performance after insane performance and as a result he finds himself firmly in the mix of the top names entering the draft. Speaking at an event this past weekend, Jeanty was asked by NBC5’s Pat Doney about playing for a team he grew up with extreme proximity to. He, shocker here, wants that. Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty wants the #DallasCowboys to draft him… The former Frisco Lone Star HS standout signed with Disruptive Sports at an event in Dallas tonight… pic.twitter.com/y0V59JF5NO — Pat Doney (@PatDoneyNBC5) January 12, 2025 “I would love to play for the Cowboys. It’d be like a dream come true.” It is not a new thing for high-profile draft prospects to connect themselves to the Cowboys. They know that doing so invites a lot of attention, something that is good for their name relative to the overall process. This is just the way that the game is played. Over the last decade we have seen players like Myles Garrett, Deshaun Watson, Parsons himself, or even Ezekiel Elliott all make similar claims. It is normal. Nevertheless, Jeanty has stated his intentions. We will see what the Cowboys have to say about that soon enough.
Roster Sabotage: 6 Major takeaways of what doomed the Cowboys in 2024
An undeniable takeaway from 2024 is that the Cowboys took too many gambles and lost. Rolling the dice here or there is often unavoidable but the Cowboys took that to a whole new level last season. They rolled the dice that one or two of their receivers would step up into the WR2 and WR3 roles. It didn’t look like anyone did. They rolled the dice Mazi Smith would go from arguably the worst defensive tackle in the NFL to starting quality player in one offseason. That didn’t happen. They rolled the dice a project player could hold his own at LT when the player over at right tackle was already a liability in pass protection. They gambled the QB position could survive poor pass protection, no running game through the first half of the season, and no separation from WRs downfield. It couldn’t. They gambled one of the most undisciplined run defenses could get better over the offseason without injecting new proven run defenders. It could not. They gambled players would be good enough on their own to win one-on one-battles and they didn’t need sophisticated play design to create opportunities for them. They weren’t. There were too many gambles and not enough contingency plans for the Cowboys in 2024.
2 Dallas Cowboys offensive players who underperformed in 2024
Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images 2024 was a down year for a handful of Cowboys. With the NFL officially in playoff season, the Dallas Cowboys will not be apart of it. A disappointing 7-10 record had them finishing third in the NFC East. While many things factored in to the disappointing season, there were several players who underperformed. Here are two players who underperformed this season for the Cowboys. TE Jake Ferguson In 2023, tight end Jake Ferguson impressed fans in his first season as the team’s starter. He amassed 761 receiving yards and five touchdowns, making himself a reliable target for QB Dak Prescott. However, this season was a different story for the tight end. When the team lost Prescott due to injury this season, the whole offense took a hit. Backup Cooper Rush has earned his flowers as a reliable backup in the league, but going from Prescott to Rush is a recipe for a less explosive offense. Ferguson finished the season with a miniscule 494 receiving yards and zero touchdowns. He only averaged 8.4 yards per reception, and his longest catch of the year only went for 27 yards. While his stats likely would have been better if Prescott had played all year, Cowboys fans were hopeful Ferguson was on the cusp of becoming a top 10 tight end in the league. He often felt like an afterthought in the offense this season and didn’t contribute to explosive plays. Ferguson is on a contract year next season, and will need to have a bounce-back performance if he hopes to secure a big contract in free agency. He will also need to be more impactful if the team hopes to get some help outside of WR CeeDee Lamb in the offense. LT Tyler Guyton When the front office selected offensive tackle Tyler Guyton in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, it was no secret he would need time to develop. Playing right tackle throughout his time in college, he would have to learn how to play on the left side of the line after the Cowboys lost veteran Tyron Smith in free agency last offseason. Even if he didn’t have to change sides on the offensive line, Guyton never had elite fundamentals and technique as a blocker in college. Similarly to Tyler Smith, the Cowboys selected Guyton because of his strength, athleticism, and size. Guyton had a difficult rookie season to say the least. He finished with a 49.4 PFF grade, with ranks 116th in the NFL. He had a 60.2 pass blocking grade and a 51.3 run blocking grade. He was a flag machine for the Cowboys this season, committing 14 infractions. It’s far too early to consider him a bust, as he was thrown in a difficult situation in his rookie year. But there are serious concerns if Guyton is the team’s future at the left tackle position. The Cowboys have a lot that they will need to address if they want to get back to competing for the NFC East next season, but getting more consistent play from these two in 2025 would do wonders for the offense becoming more consistent.
NFL Wild Card playoffs football live discussion: Sunday triple-header
Mark Konezny-Imagn Images Enjoy a Sunday Wild Card playoff triple-header from the NFL The NFL playoffs continue with three Wild Card games. The Broncos play the Bills, the Eagles host the Packers, and the Commanders face the Buccaneers. This is an open thread for game chat.
2025 Free Agency: Former Longhorns star, UDFA, projected as great fit for Cowboys defense
2025 Free Agency: Former Longhorns star, UDFA, projected as great fit for Cowboys defense K.D. Drummond The Dallas Cowboys aren’t known to be big spenders in free agency, and there’s little reason to think the 2025 offseason will be much different. The Cowboys don’t trust outsiders, a vibe that has seeped into their head coaching search as they have an opportunity to interview some of the league’s creative young minds, but instead seem content to run things back with head coach Mike McCarthy. Once the dust settles on whom the club will have leading the team, the next focus will be on free agency. While other clubs will be looking for big-ticket items to fill their holes first, the Cowboys are likely going to again bargain shop for players who could make an impact for far lower costs. Dallas will check for solutions internally first, among their pending free agents, but they will eventually look externally for budget fits. One such player could be an interior defensive presence who spent his collegiate years in state, at the University of Texas. Pro Football Focus recently suggested DT Poona Ford should be the top free agent target for the Cowboys. With the Cowboys finishing the regular season 29th in defensive EPA per play, 21st in success rate and 30th in team PFF run-defense grade, it’s clear that Dallas needs to invest more on that side of the ball. The team’s defensive line could get a makeover with DeMarcus Lawrence and Osa Odighizuwa set to hit the market, plus Mazi Smith potentially being on the trade block. Ford isn’t one of the most touted free agents, but he had a terrific resurgence with the Chargers. His 85.1 PFF overall grade in 2024 ranked fifth among qualified defensive linemen, while his 78.8 PFF run-defense grade placed sixth. Even if Dallas can keep Odighizuwa, adding the 29-year-old Ford would make for a great tandem on the inside. Ford was originally an undrafted free agent, signing with the Seattle Seahawks after not being selected in the 2018 exercise. He spent the first five years of his career in the Pacific Northwest, he’s been a full-time starter in all but two of his seven seasons in the league. This year he tied three different career highs in sacks (3), tackles for loss (8) and QB hits (9) while being a dominant run stuffer; something Dallas has lacked for a long time. At just 29 years old, he presumably has some tread on his tires, and he has yet to command much of a salary historically. There’s only been one year in his seven seasons where he’s had a cap hit over $2.7 million; right up Stephen Jones’ alley.
The reason the Cowboys are making a massive mistake retaining Mike McCarthy
Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images Reports are suggesting that McCarthy will be back in Dallas, here’s why that’s a major mistake. It sure sounds like the Dallas Cowboys will be bringing back Mike McCarthy with a new contract to kick off 2025. While the details of the potential deal are still unknown, there are multiple reasons why that signals bad news for Cowboys fans. After several days of discussions about the 2024 season and the future, #Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and coach Mike McCarthy remain open to moving forward together and the sides are expected to open talks today on a new contract to keep him in Dallas, per sources. There have been… pic.twitter.com/JDIPsM1Q4D — Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 10, 2025 After a disappointing 7-10 record in 2024, all signs pointed to Jerry Jones electing to move on from the fifth-year head coach after finishing in third place of the NFC East and missing the playoffs for the first time in three years. In his five years in Dallas, McCarthy posted an impressive 49-35 record, but lack of success in the playoffs led Jones to make his famous quote over the offseason of “all in”. While many Cowboys fans were not quite sure how to take that, Jones later stated that he was going all-in on the season in regard to players and coaches on the last year of their deals. Leading most logical fans to believe that if the Cowboys disappointed in 2024, head coach Mike McCarthy could be on the move. The Cowboys made some moves in the offseason when CeeDee Lamb finalized a deal in August as the Cowboys neared the end of training camp, and Dak Prescott was signed to a massive contract before the Cowboys week one game against the Cleveland Browns. But what about McCarthy? With no news of any contract talk throughout the season, most believed it was NFC Championship or bust for the 18-year veteran head coach. After missing the playoffs and having one of their worst seasons since 2015, McCarthy looks to be returning as the Cowboys head coach in 2025. And that could be a massive mistake for the Cowboys. In 2024, the Cowboys played nine playoff teams who will be competing for the Lombardi Trophy over the next few weeks. The Cowboys finished 3-6 against those teams and had a point differential of -118. The 2024 season was not kind to the Cowboys, so let us take a look back and see how they did against equal or better opponents in previous seasons. In 2023, the Cowboys played seven playoff teams and finished with a 3-4 record and a point differential of -16. In 2022, the Cowboys played eight playoff teams and finished with a 5-3 record and had a point differential of +56. In 2021, the Cowboys played seven playoff teams and finished with a 3-4 record and a point differential of +33. In the last four years, the McCarthy led Cowboys finished with a 15-17 record against playoff teams and a point differential of -45. The only two years they finished with a positive point differential in McCarthy’s tenure at head coach was with Kellen Moore as the primary play-caller and offensive coordinator. Since Moore’s departure, the Cowboys offense has struggled to keep pace with contending teams and win games against the top dogs in the NFC and AFC. Which leads to the biggest issue. McCarthy was brought in to get this team over the hump, and despite having the opportunity to do so, he’s failed. While this study was just done on regular-season games, when we take a deeper dive into the playoffs, it paints an even bleaker picture. In the Cowboys 2023 playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, the Cowboys were dealt a 48-32 loss, at home, against a team most thought was the underdog coming into AT&T Stadium. In 2022, the Cowboys seemed to have turned the corner, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road in the Wild Card round, before losing on the road to the San Francisco 49ers 19-12. In 2021, the Cowboys were again embarrassed at home by the 49ers in a 23-17 loss in the Wild Card round. The Cowboys hired Mike McCarthy to do what former head coach Jason Garrett could not. Get them to and through the playoffs. After falling flat on that responsibility for five years, it leads a lot of fans questioning why McCarthy would return to the Cowboys on a new contract after following the path Garrett did for over a decade. While the lack of ideal candidates in this head coaching cycle is a real thing, McCarthy has shown for five years what he can do against the top half of league and in the playoffs and it has not been good enough. In fact, in their best years against those teams, with a positive point differential, McCarthy was not calling plays and was not the team’s offensive coordinator. For a team that has fell flat in the playoffs for almost two decades now, a lot of fans had hope for change, but with reports filtering out over the last week, it seems like more of the same could be on the way for fans.
