Cowboys Free Agency Grades Part 2: Dallas 'Sign Our Owns' Get 'A'

The Dallas Cowboys are filling out their roster in a more active fashion than in recent seasons, with some big-name free-agent moves before the draft. CBS Sports ranked each one.

FRISCO - After a slow start to the 2023 offseason, the Cowboys have impressed with recent moves. 

With holes on the roster, and some aging players in other spots, Jones and Company have been diligent in improving a team that lost to in the Divisional Round of the playoffs last season.

CBS Sports gave the Cowboys one of the top grades for offseason moves, including high marks for new acquisitions as we discussed previously.

But Dallas has also been proactive in signing its current players who can continue to make a difference in 2023. And CBS Sports thought just as highly of those moves.

Re-signings

RB Tony Pollard

Grade: B+

Contract: One year, $10.09M (franchise tag)

With Ezekiel Elliott no longer the headliner of the Dallas Cowboys running back room, the Cowboys needed to do whatever it took to retain Tony Pollard, the NFL's leader in yards per touch last season (5.9).  ... 

The only reason this signing doesn't have a grade in the A's is because paying $10 million in a season to the running back position just isn't usually a wise use of resources. However with Pollard coming off a gruesome leg injury, it made sense for the Cowboys to only guarantee the 2023 season. 

OT Terence Steele

Grade: A

Contract: One year, $4.3M (second-round restricted free agent tender)

Terence Steele was playing the best football of his young, three-year career in 2022 before a torn ACL in Week 14. ...  He earned the eighth-best run blocking grade of any offensive tackle last season (82.1), so the soon-to-be 26-year-old was someone Dallas needed to keep around.

S Donovan Wilson

Grade: A

Contract: Three years, $21M

Donovan Wilson, 28, led the team with 101 tackles and ranked fifth in sacks with 5.0 in 2022. He was a must-keep player for the Cowboys defense, especially with how much trust and admiration he earned from defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.

Wilson's versatility as a tackler and pass rusher from the safety position is historically unique as his 2022 season made him only the fourth defensive back to total over 100 tackles (101) and five or more sacks (5.0) in a single season since combined tackles have been tracked beginning in 1987. He joins Hall of Fame safety Rod Woodson's 1992 season, retired Pro Bowl safety Rodney Harrison's 2000 season and retired Pro Bowl safety Adrian Wilson's 2005 season. Not bad company at all. Securing his services at an average of $7 million per year through his age-31 season is a strong value. 

LB Leighton Vander Esch

Grade: A

Contract: Two years, $5M

Once again, an incredible value signing for Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys' front office. Sensing a trend? Two years and $8 million for a 27-year-old former first round pick who plays a crucial role in the Cowboys' fifth-ranked scoring defense (20.1 points per game allowed) is phenomenal. ... With big deals on the horizon for both Trevon Diggs and Micah Parsons, locking down many other defensive starters like Vander Esch for cheap is gigantic.

QB Cooper Rush

Grade: A-

Contract: Two years, $5M

Could the Cowboys have let Rush walked and drafted a late-round passer to take up less cap space at the backup quarterback spot? Sure. However, Rush definitely earned this deal, keep the Cowboys offense afloat during Dak Prescott's thumb injury that cost him five games. ... Having a reliable backup quarterback is a big deal when employing a starting quarterback with Prescott's injury history. Can't fault Dallas too much for keeping Rush around. 

RB Rico Dowdle

Grade: B

Contract: One year, $950,000

Rico Dowdle's career totals of seven carries for 24 yards aren't anything special, but re-signing the soon-to-be 25-year-old undrafted running back to a deal just under a million doesn't hurt the cap space figure much. He'll have to fight Malik Davis and Ronald Jones for a roster spot in training camp. 

DB C.J. Goodwin

Grade: B

Contract: One year, $1.3M

While C.J. Goodwin doesn't see the field on defense, he's been a valuable cog on special teams. Someone has to lead the charge and get guys fired up to sprint downfield to make tackles in the return game, and Goodwin has been that guy for the Cowboys. Continuity has been a strong theme for Dallas this offseason.

DE Dante Fowler

Grade: A

Contract: One year, $3M

Dante Fowler, who'll turn 29 in August, totaled six sacks in 2022 with the Cowboys, his best single-season total since a career-high 11.5 with the Los Angeles Rams in 2019. That tied him with Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence for the third-most on the team last season behind only First-Team All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons' 13.5 sacks and defensive end Dorance Armstrong's 8.5 sacks. The figure is even more impressive considering Fowler played less than a third of the team's defensive snaps, 27.2% to be exact. ... Nice value for a player who might be as close to defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as any in the entire NFL. 

DE Takkarist McKinley

Grade: C-

Contract: One year, $1.3M

Takk McKinley, 27 years old, spent the bulk of the 2022 season on the practice squad, not playing in a game for the Cowboys this past year. He's another former Quinn player from their Atlanta Falcons days when was selected 26th overall in the 2017 Draft when the Cowboys current defensive coordinator was the Falcons' head coach. The price tag is a little rich for someone who couldn't get on the field for the Cowboys a year ago, but for one year, it's a low-risk proposition for a player who was once thought to have a pretty high ceiling. 

CBS Sports gave the Cowboys an overall grade of A. Noting that Dallas' moves are almost all As and Bs and it used those moves to fill important roles by some key contributors - and with team-friendly deals.

How will this translate to the field? The Cowboys' Super Bowl window is closing rapidly. Especially the one with quarterback Dak Prescott in the picture. Prescott enters his eighth season and in some quarters is gaining a reputation as being injury-prone.

Those injuries won't become less frequent as he gets older, so the time to win is now. 

And it appears the front office sees it that way, too.

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