Cowboys Reveal 'Interest' in Signing Saquon Barkley or Derrick Henry in Free Agency - 'If'

Dallas Cowboys Reveal 'Interest' in Signing Saquon Barkley or Derrick Henry in NFL Free Agency - 'If'

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys are " interested'' in signing either Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants or Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans, reports claim as NFL free agency is about to open ... but the "reports'' come with a massive "if.''

"The Cowboys could be interested in Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry,'' ESPN reports on the eve of Monday's "legal tampering period'' opening, "if their prices drop.''

This is frankly a clever way to craft a wildly unlikely story, because it features not only the headline-grabbing duo of Barkley and Henry, but also the headline-worthy inclusion of a third "name'' ...

Captain Obvious.

We can testify for a fact, actually, that one of the "could be/if'' angles of ESPN's claim can be eliminated right now: The Cowboys won't be interested in this level of upgrade "if'' the contractual asking price shrinks ...

The Cowboys will absolutely, positively be interested in signing Barkley if no other team meets his projected contract price (which we put at $12 million annually for a three-year deal).

And the Cowboys will absolutely, positively be interested in signing Henry if no other team meets his projected contract price (which we put at $9 million annually for a two-year deal).

Unfortunately, so will most every other team. Also unfortunately, while the running back market is flooded with talent - which could eventually help Dallas sign somebody (think the re-signing of Tony Pollard at, say, $6 million APY, with a source telling CowboysSI.com that such a move is indeed a top consideration) - Barkley, at 27, doesn't figure to suffer much. And Henry, 30, the two-time rushing champ, doesn't plan to.

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So, would Dallas "be interested'' in a bargain-basement-priced Barkley or Henry? In the same way, as we've long joked, we'd be "interested in dating Halle Berry,'' that is a Cowboys "yes.''