There is never a dull moment when talking about the Dallas Cowboys. Every time I get on social media there is a debate about all things involving topics like the Dak Prescott contract to people still debating Romo/Dak four years later. The latter is ridiculous and the former is something that has started to frustrate me.

Here are a few things that you might not want to hear but I’ve been thinking about during this quarantine time.

Trading Dak might be the right thing to do for team building

I mentioned that these are takes fans don’t want to hear so I’m coming out swinging. I mentioned that this Prescott contract mess is starting to frustrate me and I’m ready to trade him.

Now, I wouldn’t be as down for this idea if there weren’t quarterbacks like Jameis Winston and Cam Newton just out there waiting for someone to scoop them.

And before you say this idea is ridiculous, I would say the step back you’re taking at quarterback, if there is one, can be made up by going out and signing a player like Jadeveon Clowney to help the defensive line and other players to help the rest of the team with the money you would save by not signing Dak to a massive extension.

While I don’t think the compensation you would get for Dak would be two first round picks, you would definitely be able to get one first and second plus one more additional pick to add cheap talent.

Re-signing Amari Cooper was a mistake

This take is something that I’ve been thinking of since Week 16 in Philadelphia. I was never fully onboard with re-signing Amari because we never heard exactly what happened on 4th and 8 in Philly.

We’ve heard that he was hurt, that he was benched because he wasn’t playing well but neither of those have been confirmed by anyone in the organization or around the team.

Let me say, I do believe that there was some sort of injury going on there because he was missing practice time throughout the season. However, I have a hard time giving him that excuse because there were games at home and against lesser talent that everything was fine and he was out there making plays.

I also don’t believe that the Cowboys had to re-sign him just because they traded a first round pick two years ago for him. I think that’s how you get in trouble by doubling down on mistakes.

At the end of the day, when I look at the addition of Mike McCarthy, year 3 of Michael Gallup and a receiver out of this talented and deep receiver class, the loss of Amari could have been overcome. This also plays into apart of why I would be OK with trading Dak from the standpoint of, if your quarterback can’t elevate guys around him, he’s not a franchise quarterback and shouldn’t be making 35+ million.

Serious concerns over Leighton Vander Esch

So, I’ve been thinking about this since I heard he’s having offseason neck surgery. I’m not buying that Vander Esch is just going to bounce back from the same injury that Michael Irvin had that ended his career playing linebacker. I believe that the Cowboys interest in Kenneth Murray hints that they are concerned with the health of Vander Esch as well.

Stephen Jones is overhyped

For the past several years, fans have praised the work of Stephen Jones in terms of his negotiating tactics and drafting.

I would say his negotiation tactics have cost the Cowboys millions of dollars when you talk about getting the Demarcus Lawrence contract done and currently it’s costing them millions of dollars with Dak.

In a league where running backs aren’t supposed to be paid high dollar amounts anymore, I believe that Ezekiel Elliott deserved the payday he received as one of the best running backs in the league. However, on the flip side of that, by panicking and paying him on top of extending Jaylon Smith prematurely cost them a solid corner in Byron Jones. Now you have no cornerback depth and still have a need at linebacker.

Cowboys are not the best team in the division or playoff bound as it currently stands

I feel like there is this overconfidence right now among Cowboys fans and I’m not sure where it’s coming from. Well, actually I do. Most fans believe the change with the coaching staff alone will be able to overcome the loss of the talent the team has lost this offseason. 

I’m not here to tell you in April the Cowboys definitely won’t make the playoffs because that would be crazy.

However, I am here to tell you there are serious holes on the defense right now. The losses of Robert Quinn and Byron are huge. I realize that the Cowboys signed Aldon Smith but you can’t rely on him for two reasons.

1. He hasn’t played in the NFL in five years.
2. He hasn’t been reinstated yet. And if we have learned anything about the Cowboys, we should have learned by now that assuming guys will stay on the right path is a dangerous game.

So, let’s just pump the brakes on assuming the Cowboys are automatically playoff bound.