FRISCO, Texas – The Dallas Cowboys’ Twitter mailbag is ready. In it we discuss:
** Which free agents to keep
** Mark Sanchez
** The return game
Away we go:
@toddarcher What are the top three Cowboys' free agents you feel the team will focus on resigning the most? #cowboysmail
— Brady (@BizBL12) February 2, 2017
@toddarcher: This is a good question, and I think the composition of the roster will play a factor into the team’s eventual answer. Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne are two cornerbacks set to hit the market. Same with safeties Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox, wide receivers Terrance Williams and Brice Butler and running backs Darren McFadden and Lance Dunbar. To me, Carr, Church and McFadden should be the priorities. Where’s Ronald Leary? I just don’t see a way the Cowboys keep him. I see him getting a deal that will average around $8 million a year from some team on the open market. Considering the money that will be committed to Zack Martin, I can’t see the Cowboys having four offensive linemen averaging at least $8 million a year. Carr’s availability makes him a better option than Claiborne, who is younger but hurt too often. Church is a valuable part of the defense for his playmaking and leadership. McFadden provides some every-down cover if something were to happen to Ezekiel Elliott. I’d put Williams in the Leary category of him getting a deal from somebody else that the Cowboys can’t match. Butler could be back on a short-term deal. But I wouldn’t put either in the top three.
@toddarcher #cowboysmail Why is Sanchez "relationship" w/Dak so important re:QB2 talk? Couple of million $ for a life coach?! #re-signMoore
— Alec Shane (@thealecshane) February 2, 2017
@toddarcher: Anything that makes the No. 1 quarterback comfortable should be taken into consideration. Mark Sanchez became a confidante to Dak Prescott in 2016. That’s a plus for Sanchez, but I don’t think it’s the sole reason he would come back. Ability has to be factored in. If you look at the quarterbacks expected to be available, the salary-cap implications of a Tony Romo release or trade and the team’s backup QB history, I think Sanchez makes sense. But I like the hashtag you added at the end. I believe the team should re-sign Kellen Moore too. Neither guy should be expensive, at least not what the Cowboys faced last year when they were looking at Chase Daniel or Colt McCoy. Keeping Sanchez and Moore would be solid. And if you’re wondering, I don’t think the Cowboys would select a quarterback in the middle rounds of the draft. Look at what they did when Romo became the starter in 2006.
@toddarcher what can be done to improve return teams? Not just in terms of the returner, but cast to not hold/block in back #cowboysmail
— James Schee (Ski) (@JamesSchee) February 2, 2017
@toddarcher: I’ll take the second part of the question first: that’s just making sure players are more disciplined. There’s nothing more you can do, in my opinion. It’s not a scheme thing. It’s a discipline thing. As to the actual returner, I’ll upset some purists with this answer, but I think the return game is not as important as it used to be. The rules have mitigated kickoff returns. The quality of punting has mitigated much of the punt return game. I’m not one who believes special teams are a third of the game. Sorry, shoot me. It’s important, but the Cowboys put enough money in special teams with what they pay Dan Bailey, Jeff Heath, James Hanna and Kyle Wilber. As for the return game, if a guy just doesn’t screw up, that’s good enough. But here’s one thing I would do: give Dez Bryant a chance every now and then. I wouldn’t have him do it full-time, but in certain situations he could flip field position.
































