Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made comments after reflecting on the abrupt season end to the Green Bay Packers in the wild card round at home. Jerry Jones said the Cowboys would go “all in” this year. With the league year starting this month, it looks like those were empty promises.

To be fair, the Dallas Cowboys are the only team in the NFL to win 12 games in three consecutive seasons. But despite finding success in the regular season, the fanbase has grown frustrated with the team’s lack of postseason success. Only the Washington Commanders have the longest NFC Championship appearance drought than the Cowboys after the Detroit Lions made it this year in a losing effort to the San Fransisco 49ers.

It’s gut-wrenching watching your favorite NFL team have a successful regular season and then not follow up in the postseason. As I mentioned in this article on FFSN in late January, just get yourself into the dance and you have a chance. But there’s reason to lose optimism after how the free agency period began.

The Dallas Cowboys were the last team to agree to terms with any player in the NFL, including their own free agents. It was their long snapper, Trent Sieg. This is the fourth consecutive year it has happened.

Meanwhile, Cowboys fans are looking at the rest of the league. Derrick Henry signs with the Baltimore Ravens on a 2-year, $16 million deal. Joe Mixon is traded to the Houston Texans for a 7th-round pick. The Philadelphia Eagles sign Saquon Barkley to complete a three-headed monster with Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown.

While Philadelphia has also acquired CJ Gardner-Johnson and Bryce Huff, the Eagles aren’t the only division rival who have made strides to improve their roster. The New York Giants traded for Brian Burns from the Carolina Panthers. The Washington Commanders lured former Cowboys away to join Dan Quinn, their defensive coordinator last year. Pro Bowl center Tyler Biadasz goes to Washington along with cornerback Noah Igbinoghene, defensive linemen Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler. The Commanders also made deals for running back Austin Ekeler and linebacker Frankie Luvu.

The Cowboys lost Biadasz, Igbinoghene, Armstrong, and Fowler to the rival Commanders, but that’s not the only former Cowboys to walk. Tony Pollard signed with Tennessee on a 3-year, $24 million deal. Pollard reportedly was willing to hear from the Cowboys and potentially take less, but 8 million per year was “too steep” for the Cowboys. A similar story was for starting left tackle Tyron Smith, who opted to sign with the Jets over staying in Dallas where he began his career in 2010. Stephon Gilmore is still available as a free agent as of this writing, but hopes are looking dimmer as the Carolina Panthers show interest and the Cowboys do not.

The most frustrating part is the Cowboys have done next to nothing. Outside of re-signing Rico Dowdle, CJ Goodwin, and nickel/dime corner Jourdan Lewis, it’s been another March filled with crickets. Entering free agency, the Cowboys had noticeable holes at the running back and linebacker position. Signing linebacker Eric Kendricks was a nice move, especially being a part of Mike Zimmer’s defense in Minnesota, but is he the answer to help the bleeding in the run game? Total that with the departures of some of their own, the Dallas Cowboys now have holes on the offensive and defensive line to address as well.

The Cowboys have never been big spenders in free agency. This isn’t a new strategy the Cowboys are implementing. In 2012, the Cowboys signed free agent cornerback Brandon Carr to a 5-year, $50 million. That was the last big contract for any free agent coming to Dallas. They’ve retained some of their own players at high price tags, but they usually go the cheaper route by bringing in smaller-name free agents.

The Cowboys compensate for not being big free agency spenders by building in the draft. It works too with Will McClay being a big decision-maker in the draft room. Cowboys fans can thank McClay for the team passing on Johnny Manziel in favor of Zack Martin, who would go on to be an All-Pro starting right guard for the last decade.

Dallas has drafted the majority of their team: Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Tyler Smith, Jake Ferguson, Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Trevon Diggs, among others. For every Taco Charlton, there’s a laundry list of good players who contribute to the team’s success.

So am I surprised the Cowboys are not addressing their needs in free agency? Not necessarily. I am disappointed, especially following Jerry’s “all in” comments.

If you were truly “all in” on this team, you would invest money in a proven running back. This month, some of the premier running backs in the NFL were free agents. You did not have to trade draft capital away. Simply, you sign a player like Derrick Henry for a 2-year, $16 million deal. Eight million per year is not a steep number, especially when a franchise-tagged running back would earn nearly $12 million that year. If you have buyer’s remorse 12 months from now, you can easily get out of the contract before year two. Teams do it all the time when free-agent signings don’t pan out. Plus, you aren’t locking yourself in for multiple years. It’s only a two-year deal.

If you were truly “all in” on this team, you would retain your own. Tyron Smith was an aging but high-caliber left tackle, who had a better season this year than years past healthwise. Tyler Biadasz had 7 holding penalties in his 4-year career in Dallas and is a former Pro Bowler, so he was certainly worth the $10 million a year he received with Washington.

If money is genuinely the issue, you would make it a priority to re-sign Dak Prescott who finished 2nd in MVP voting in 2023. It’s unfair to expect him to do more with less.

Unfortunately, I feel a team that had a few holes to sure up in their contention for a NFC Championship Game appearance, now have more holes because of their departures. In the last two weeks, the Cowboys have lost their starting RB, WR, LT, C, LB, rotational defensive line pieces and their starting CB remains unsigned. And with next month’s NFL Draft, you’d be hard-pressed to find 6-8 immediate contributors and starters – which is where this team is.

By pinching pennies, this Cowboys team might make the playoffs next year. But nothing they’ve done this offseason tells me they are ready and willing to take the leap many Cowboys fans have waited thirty years to see.

As the old saying goes, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”

Something isn’t working here.