After a 30-24 loss on Sunday evening to the San Francisco 49ers, the Dallas Cowboys sit at 3-4 and a couple of.5 video games out of first place within the NFC East.
With no clear understanding of what the longer term holds past this season for the Cowboys, listed here are 5 causes they need to start a rebuild:
Release cap house
After the extensions and huge contracts given out to quarterback Dak Prescott and star receiver CeeDee Lamb, Dallas will enter the 2025 season with simply over $25M in cap house, rating twenty third worst within the NFL.
Dallas has gamers it may commerce to liberate cash to have the ability to spend in free company. That features cornerback Trevon Diggs and Malik Hooker, each of whom are underneath contract till 2026 and later. They’re each a part of a Dallas secondary that’s permitting the twenty first most passing yards per sport (218) and is twenty sixth in whole yards per sport allowed (372.6)
Purchase extra draft picks
With it feeling like Dallas is nowhere near a playoff staff, it may actually assist to commerce gamers who’re on expiring contracts.
Ezekiel Elliott, DeMarcus Lawrence, Brandin Cooks and Jourdan Lewis are all gamers on expiring contracts who could possibly be traded for draft compensation. Because it stands proper now, the Cowboys are set to have six of their very own draft picks in addition to 4 compensatory picks, placing the full as much as 10.
Buying and selling a minimum of three gamers on expiring contracts may get Dallas up nearer to fifteen draft picks, which might be an distinctive variety of picks for a staff that’s starting a rebuild.
Younger core to construct round
In addition to older gamers to commerce, Dallas additionally has younger items to construct round.
Dak Prescott is the quarterback of the longer term. He has a number of younger weapons that will likely be in Dallas with him for the foreseeable future, together with working again Rico Dowdle, receivers CeeDee Lamb and KaVontae Turpin and promising tight finish Jake Ferguson.
With these items on the offensive aspect of the ball and the power to exit and make trades for extra draft picks, it makes lots of sense for Dallas to make these trades and start to rebuild for its future.
Not a championship contender
Dallas simply merely is not nearly as good because the groups it’s attempting to chase down for a playoff spot.
The Cowboys’ three wins this season are in opposition to the Browns, Steelers and Giants. The mixed report of these three groups is 9-13, with the Steelers carrying over 50% of these 9 wins.
Dallas has struggled in opposition to the playoff-caliber groups it has confronted just like the 49ers, Ravens and Lions. If the last word aim is to win the Tremendous Bowl, and the staff is not near doing that, it’s time to commerce gamers and start a rebuild.
A brand new head coach is probably going coming
It’s no secret across the NFL that this season might very nicely be the final one for Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy.
The Cowboys have failed to reach the playoffs throughout McCarthy’s tenure, and as was exemplified by former head coach Jason Garrett’s time with the staff, an absence of playoff success would not fly in Dallas. As a head coach, McCarthy has a profession report of 11-11 within the playoffs, together with a 1-3 mark with Dallas, which is just simply not ok.
All of this might change if Dallas had been to come back out and win its subsequent 4 video games and be in command of the division, however that is not a ikely state of affairs with the upcoming schedule. The Cowboys ought to significantly take into account starting to rebuild and searching in the direction of 2025 and past.