The Dallas Cowboys front office told us they would be all-in this season, did anyone believe them, like I did? Well, instead of doing that, instead of not re-signing CeeDee Lamb or Micah Parsons yet, they made two moves yesterday!
They dipped back into the UFL and signed two defenders, defensive back Gareon Conley and linebacker Willie Harvey.
The #Cowboys have signed former #Raiders first-round DB Gareon Conley, who was most recently in the UFL.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 18, 2024
That is all fine and well.
The final numbers have not been released on what they paid for these two guys or for how long, but is anyone surprised that they decided to stay cheap and try to bring these guys in and hope both end up like KaVontae Turpin and Brandon Aubury?
Sure, It Worked Before
As I noted above, sure, the Cowboys now have probably the best kicker in football in Aubury, and Turpin is a Swiss Army Knife who has turned into one of the best return men in the game, but we can’t expect Harvey and Conley to get this team over the top.
Harvey led the UFL with 76 tackles in 2024, including a second-best nine tackles for loss.
He was All-UFL and will help out with the linebacker room, but this isn’t prime Ray Lewis the Cowboys are adding to the roster.
Heck, who knows if he will even make the final 53-man roster?
The Cowboys have signed CB Gareon Conley. He was a first-round pick by the Raiders in 2017. He has not played in an NFL game since 2019. He most recently played in the UFL
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) June 18, 2024
As for Conley, he played for the D.C. Defenders in the UFL this year and was a Raiders first-round pick in 2017.
He spent two full years with the Raiders and then was traded to the Texans during the 2019 season.
Then he found himself on injured reserve in September 2020 and missed the year, so he has not played an NFL game in four seasons.
This Is What They Do
All that talk after an embarrassing loss to the Green Bay Packers at home in the playoffs, maybe it might have FINALLY woken Jerry Jones up.
Sounds like the Cowboys were going to be a major player in free agency, right?
Nope.
This is what they do; they try to stay as cheap as possible and make moves like this work.
To their credit, it has worked the last two years, but this isn’t Derrick Henry or someone like that who was there for them to sign.
If they wanted to make the cap space, they could have, yet they didn’t. They haven’t even signed their two best players to extensions yet.
They refuse to spend money.
This team lost Dorance Armstrong, Tony Pollard, Tyler Biasasz, and others.
Here are some of #Cowboys LB Willie Harvey's highlights…. via Willie Harvey's YouTube Channel:https://t.co/UjGIXm3Ukj pic.twitter.com/Bbwyi0gr8G
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) June 18, 2024
It got me thinking, when was the last time this front office made a big-time offseason signing?
They traded for Amari Cooper, not signed, but Darren McFadden, and Greg Hardy? For a team that should be competing for a title every year, you’d think you would want to get better.
I hate the Philadelphia Eagles as much as the next person, but man… I wish we had their front office.
Are They Talented Enough?
Look, regardless if they sign anyone else in an attempt to make this team any better, they are still talented enough to win football games.
However, they could have gotten twice as good this year if the Cowboys front office went outside of the UFL.
This is just what they do; sign some cheaper players looking to hit their stride and hope it works out for them. If it does, once they want a bigger payday they will be gone.
Don’t let it fool you, if this front office wanted to create space, they could have.
Nothing is going to change until this front office hires a real GM or Jerry Jones stops wanting to do things his way.
Something has to give, and if it doesn’t this is what we are going to get every single year.
