Cowboys Top 5 Free Agent Targets Ranked - 'Sign Our Own' Category

The Cowboys have a policy about free agency that is about to come into play as they work to "sign our own'' - with CowboysSI.com offering up what we believe is their top-five priority list.

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys have a policy when it comes to salary-cap spending, and no, it has nothing to do with the charge from angry critics that they don't spend at all.

In reality, the 2023 NFL cap is set at $224.8 million and owner Jerry Jones and company will spend every bit of that. Except for the reluctance to "empty the bucket'' by pushing expenses into the future, there is no "frugality'' or "cheapness.''

It's how they spend it that is a matter of policy.

And it's about "signing our own,'' as COO Stephen Jones likes to say.

Or, as coach Mike McCarthy puts it, "Draft and Develop.''

Jones' view on prioritizing in-house signings: "You know ‘em, there’s no surprises, and we feel like if you can grow (with) home-grown players ... that’s where we’ve been the most successful.”

That concept - paired with Stephen's belief that "free agency creates an inflated situation'' - drives Dallas' approach here as free agency opens on March 15 (with the "legal tampering'' starting March 13). So while there are other teams' "big names'' worth discussing (as we do here), the Cowboys' pecking order will begin with Cowboys.

And we believe it'll look a lot like this, in order ...

1 - Tony Pollard. Can Dallas find a way to sign the electric running back to a long-term deal and avoid using the franchise tag (and the one-year, $10 million guaranteed salary that goes with it)? That would be desirable ... but difficult to pull off. 

Pollard, by the way, is rehabbing from his fractured fibula and high ankle sprain surgery, with the Cowboys saying that will not factor into his future - or their desire to keep him.

Dallas doesn't "need'' to part ways with Ezekiel Elliott to do a deal with the 25-year-old Pollard. Nor should Zeke be in the position of "progress-stopper'' ... as the baton can now be largely passed from Elliiott (even if he remains under a re-done contract) to Pollard.

2 - Terence Steele. He has a chance to be a long-term fixture at right tackle, and Dallas loves everything about him. He'll also be "easier'' to retain because he's a restricted free agent.

As with Pollard, there is an injury issue here, as Steele, 25, rehabs from a torn ACL. It will be a challenge for him to be ready by the start of the regular season.

3 - Leighton Vander Esch. Circumstances - and his injury history - forced him to accept Dallas' "prove-it'' offer a year ago, so he made just $2 million base salary. But he greatly outplayed that contract in 2022, and he could be in for a huge payday. Vander Esch was the defensive signal-caller and served as a do-it-all force, freeing Micah Parsons to often shift into edge-rusher mode.

Dallas has kids like Damone Clark and Jabril Cox maybe ready to step up. But Vander Esch, 27, represents a need nevertheless.

4 - Donovan Wilson. By virtue of him being but a sixth-round pick (in the 2019 NFL Draft), Wilson has for the last four seasons been making an average of less than $700,000 per year.

That's about to change.

Wilson, 27, is a "box safety'' in coordinator Dan Quinn's defense, but he's also a playmaker whose career year even included five sacks.

Dallas also has Malik Hooker and Jayron Kearse under contract for the 2023 season, so safety isn't a spot of desperation. But Wilson truly embodies what Stephen and McCarthy are talking about regarding the policy at The Star; he has built himself a career as a Cowboy and they'd like to keep it that way.

5 - Connor McGovern. There are some dominoes involved here, the biggest one being Tyron Smith. CowboysSI.com has featured Tyron as one of the players who could make way to free up nearly $50 million in cap space; in his case, there can be a $17 million savings by saying goodbye.

If Tyron stays, maybe he takes over at left tackle and prized youngster shuffles inside to guard. If Tyron goes? McGovern becomes all the more important as a starting left guard who has some position flex and who is just 25.

There's the five ... and we add two asterisks: Also among the 19 free agents at The Star are Dalton Schultz and Cooper Rush. 

Schultz? He's as productive as anybody on this list ... so why doesn't he rank? It's no offense to him - obviously Dallas thinks highly of him, thus the $10.9 million tag from a year ago. But to tag him again would cost $11.3 million, and to sign him to a long-term deal in an open market that might pay him $14 million might be excessive.

Combine that with the development of Dallas' two 2022 rookie tight ends, and an asterisk it is.

Rush? We can argue that backup QB is "the 12th starter'' in the NFL - and Rush proved his worth once again pinch-hitting while Dak Prescott dealt with injury. Our sense, though, is that Dallas will hope Rush returns but won't engage in a bidding war - oh, and Jerry is on the record about his desire to draft a QB, so there's that.

In the end, it's another of Stephen's annual declarations (that so many in Cowboys Nation hate) - "We can't sign 'em all!'' - that helps guide us in our rankings.

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