The Dallas Cowboys are coming off a horror-show 7-10 season and have followed that up with being "selectively aggressive" in free agency. Dallas, while more proactive than a year ago, hasn't exactly moved the needle with its free-agency signings.
Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders are solid options, while Robert Jones is a backup. Defensively, while Dante Fowler Jr., Soloman Thomas, and Jack Sandborn loom as the likely starting-caliber players the franchise has signed, it hasn't been the big free agent splurge many envisioned when Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb had their contracts restructured to give the franchise over $70 million in cap space.
As such, CBS Sports, in ranking the NFC teams after free agency, has hit Dallas right between the eyes and given Jerry Jones a brutal reality check of exactly where his team is - they sit 12th.
"The Cowboys were cautiously aggressive in free agency, improving at running back with Williams and Sanders after having just six touchdowns as a group last year," CBS Sports writes. "Dak Prescott being healthy should help, but will this team be able to sign Micah Parsons? Dallas had solid moves to make the team better, but how much better are the Cowboys?
"They still have to improve in the trenches for an opportunity to compete in the NFC East."
The Cowboys are the 12th-best team in the NFC? Let's dissect that.
The top three of the Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, and Washington Commanders are in a different league. You can easily make the case for the Vikings (4), Rams (5), and Packers (6) for having better rosters than Dallas. So we have no qualms there.
But the rebuilding Seattle Seahawks (7), the gutted San Francisco 49ers (8), the up-and-down Chicago Bears (9), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10), and Arizona Cardinals (11)? Now, we have a conversation starter.
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In truth, the ranking is subjective but the Cowboys at 12 now have some serious doubt over whether 2024 was an outlier, or a sign of things to come.
And based on their free agency dealings, while an improvement on last offseason, many still don't see Jerry Jones' team any closer to the upper echelon of units in the conference.
But a fast finish to free agency and a great draft might change the outlook, but right now, not many are buying Cowboys stock in 2025.
And we don't blame them.
Related: Cowboys Fail To Upgrade Key Offensive Position In Free Agency
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This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 4:29 AM.