The Dallas Cowboys retained enough talent this offseason to remain competitive in 2022, but they certainly haven't hit any home runs in free agency or on the trade market. If things don't go smoothly for the Cowboys this season, these are some of the missed opportunities the front office may look back on from this summer.
Not signing Bobby Wagner
The Cowboys might have made their biggest headline of the offseason when news broke that Dallas passed on Von Miller despite having the chance to sign him below market value. Miller would have been a positive addition to the team to say the least, but there was another linebacker on the market that the Cowboys might regret not signing even more. Bobby Wagner earned second-team All-Pro honors in his final campaign with the Seahawks last year, his eighth All-Pro selection in his career.
The Cowboys are lacking in experience at the linebacker position. Leighton Vander Esch is the Cowboys' longest-tenured linebacker with five years of experience. Adding a veteran like Wagner to the group could have elevated the entire position group, not to mention the effect it would have had on bolstering the interior defense. Wagner is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, but he is still producing. The Los Angeles Rams struck a deal with Bobby Wagner after the veteran posted a career-high 170 tackles last season.
The Randy Gregory debacle
Cowboys fans though they had reeled in their first big fish of the offseason when it was reported that Dallas had agreed to a 5-year, $70 million deal with Gregory. Less than two hours later, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported that the deal had fallen apart. Gregory signed with the Broncos and the Cowboys were left scrambling to find another pass rusher.
Gregory is young, talented, and apparently he was prepared to commit to the Cowboys long term. Missing out on a player like that under any circumstances isn't good, but for it to happen the way it did will sting Cowboys fans that much more. Dallas should still be talented enough with Parsons and Demarcus Lawrence to put together an effective pass rush, but the absence of Randy Gregory hurts their depth on the defensive line significantly.
Passing on Nakobe Dean
Nakobe Dean was mocked to be a first rounder by a lot of experts ahead of last season's draft. Come draft day, the Georgia linebacker plummeted all the way to the third round. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said during the draft that concerns about Dean's health steered front offices around the league away from pulling the trigger on Dean, including the Cowboys. Health concerns aside, Dean was one of the best defensive talents available in this year's draft. If the Cowboys had added him the year after selecting Micah Parsons they could have been set for years at linebacker as long as Dean panned out as a player.
Just passing on Dean might not be end of the world. Dallas clearly wasn't the only front office that wasn't quite sold on him. What really might come back to bite the Cowboys about the situation is the fact that the Philadelphia Eagles were the team that finally did pick up Dean with the 83rd pick in the draft. If Nakobe Dean can shed his health concerns and live up to the hype as a defender, the Cowboys will have to deal with him twice a year for the foreseeable future.
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