Wildcard Sunday was a tough time to be a Cowboys fan. The team got dismantled 48-32 at home against the Green Bay Packers. The score was more out of than that. It was 48-16 in the fourth. The Cowboys were heavy favorites going into Sunday’s game and were going up against the last seed in the Conference. During that loss, multiple glaring holes poked out within the team that Jerry Jones will most likely address this offseason.
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Photo Cred: Buffalo Rumblings
For starters, the quarterback, Dak Prescott, is on the final year of his 4-year, $160 million contract that he received back in 2021 and will either need to sign a new deal soon or seek a trade. Prescott is coming off the best season of his 8-year career and was in the race for MVP. It looked like he was ready for the deal of a lifetime, but his recent wild card blunder and playoff failures left questions about whether or not he will be the long-term quarterback for this team.
CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons, Dallas’s two young superstar players, will most likely receive new contracts this offseason. They will seek to be the highest-paid players at their positions. Due to this, they will need to relieve cap space elsewhere. Notable players Stephon Gilmore, Tony Pollard, and Tyron Smith are all entering free agency this offseason. Dallas will need to hit on the upcoming NFL draft to make up for these losses.
Photo Cred: CBS Sports
There has also been talk of coaching changes in Dallas, specifically at the head coaching position. Mike McCarthy, the head coach of the Cowboys, has been under scrutiny since the loss to the Packers and may be out of a job shortly. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones will bring back McCarthy for a fifth season. McCarthy signed a five-year deal with the Cowboys in 2020. There is no word of an extension, as this is an all or nothing season coming up.
With candidates like Bill Belichick, Jim Harbaugh, and Ben Johnson all looking for head coaching jobs, McCarthy’s chances didn’t look good. This scrutiny comes from his repeated disappointing playoff exits and clock management mishaps late in games. Dan Quinn, the defensive coordinator, will also likely be leaving in pursuit of a head coaching job, and it looks like a new coaching staff might be taking over in Dallas soon.
