It’s that time of year again. Free agency is on the horizon. Of course, the Dallas Cowboyswon’t be big players in the early part of it because that’s not how they typically do business. However, they do make moves by signing their own agents like they’ve done with Leighton Vander Esch, Donovan Wilson, and Jayron Kearse in the last few years.
The Cowboys have 16 in-house free agents to make decisions on. As is the case every season, there will be some tough cuts along the way. Dallas should strongly consider bringing some of them back, though, and here are three that should be at the top of the list.
Stephon Gilmore
The Cowboys shocked everyone when they traded for Gilmore a year ago. It paid off as the former Defensive Player of the Year racked up a career-high 68 tackles, only allowed a completion percentage of 54.9 percent per Pro Football Focus which was his lowest since 2019, and hauled in two interceptions last season. So, he’s still playing at a high level.
Gilmore should also be brought back due to Trevon Diggs and his injury situation. He’s coming off a torn ACL, and although he’ll have a year from when he went down to when the next season starts, that’s an injury that typically takes longer than a year to come back from. It would serve Dallas well to bring Gilmore back to add to Diggs and rising superstar DaRon Bland to keep some depth at the cornerback position, especially with Jourdan Lewis being a free agent and possibly going elsewhere.
Dorance Armstrong
Armstrong signed a two-year deal two years ago, and he’s played well in the process. After 8.5 sacks and 40 pressures in 2022, Armstrong was productive once again last season with 7.5 sacks and 34 pressures. His pass-rush and defense grades were both 70.1 in 2023 per PFF, career highs in both categories. Armstrong is underrated when it comes to setting the edge against the run, and his special teams contributions shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Outside of Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, Armstrong is the only other consistent and proven player the Cowboys have on the edge. Dallas will likely have to shell out a few bucks to keep him, and rightfully so with his play. However, he’s an extremely solid defender and a glue guy, and those don’t grow on trees.
Tyron Smith
The conversation surrounding Smith has been the same for over half a decade now. Some want him gone due to unavailability, and others want him retained due to his play being stellar when he is healthy. The latter wins out in this scenario, especially after he logged 13 games in 2023, which was his most since 2019, and nearly the same amount as the two previous years. Plus, he made another Pro Bowl last season.
Dallas should still look to add their left tackle of the future in April’s NFL draft. There’s no doubt about that. If they’re smart, they’ll keep Smith and let him remain the starter for now and develop a young guy. If the injury bug does hit him again, a younger guy would have to step up, but having Smith around just makes sense in case that experiment were to fail.
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