From the coaching moves, to re-signing their free agents, to the big trades, I can't remember the last time the Cowboys had such a successful offseason. Where do the collective moves rank in your memory? Do you have to go back to the wheeling-dealing days of the early 1990s? – Jeff Rivers/Denver, CO
Mickey: Just be careful about revisionist history Jeff. Remember those wheelin' and dealin' days of the early '90s there was no salary cap until 1994, so there were fewer consequences to deal with when making trades and signing free agents. Just remember to get where the Cowboys are today with the trades and majority of the free agent signings, they had to pay upfront bonuses to restructure contracts, meaning pushing money down the road on the salary cap. Now the hope is, and this is one of the reasons the Cowboys have done so is based on the projected 2024 cap going up close to $30 million next year when the new TV contract money becomes a cap-rising factor. But you only do so with players worthy of extending contracts to free up money for this year you're not afraid to account for in tomorrows.
Nick: You're not going to like this answer at all, but what about 2020? When Mike McCarthy first got here. His first free-agent class included former first-round picks such as Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Dontari Poe and Gerald McCoy. They also got Greg "The Leg" Zuerlein, not to mention the Blake Bell, the "Bell-dozer." Remember that awesome class? Well, Clinton-Dix didn't make the team. McCoy got hurt early in camp and never played and Poe was a non-factor until he was cut midway through the year. My point is that we just have to wait and see how these things go. Yes, it does appear as if Cooks and Gilmore will add some instant relief at two important positions. And with Dan Quinn really wanting to get Vander Esch, Wilson and Fowler back, the immediate future looks bright for this team once again. But when you ask me to reflect on older free agency periods, I think we'd be naïve not to remember how people felt just three years ago. You always have to let it play out.
