Head coach Mike McCarthy's Dallas Cowboys have been winning like it's the 1990s dynasty years all over again ... in the regular season.
Dallas' three consecutive 12-win seasons since 2021 mark the first run of three successive such years since the Cowboys did so from 1992-95, a period in which they won three Super Bowls in four years. The present day Cowboys have the notorious distinction of being the only team in league history to have three 12-win seasons in a row and no conference championship game appearance in that span.
That postseason failure, especially the latest defeat to conclude their 2023 season -- the 48-32 faceplant against the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers in the NFC wild-card round -- is the reason for the franchise's "get it done with less" offseason approach. Cowboys COO and EVP Stephen Jones insinuated at Dallas' pre-draft press conference on April 23 that quarterback Dak Prescott's contract would have already been extended if not for the postseason disappointment. Prescott, the NFL's passing touchdowns leader in 2023 (36), and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, the NFL's receptions leader (135), are both currently set to enter the final year of their current deals in 2024.
"The thing I would say too is that the elephant in the room is our playoff success," Jones said back in April. "We can win an offseason like we did last year and get an A. Boy, you went and got [wide receiver Brandin] Cooks, you went and got [cornerback Stephon] Gilmore.. .... But guess what, we didn't get it done in the playoffs.. .... We feel like we can do it with this roster. ... We just feel strongly that because we have had success in the drafts. ... So our priorities have been historically because we've had success in the draft is to then pay your own. ... Now when you're talking about big contracts, like a Dak, like a CeeDee, like a Micah, those things don't happen overnight. ... When you're paying the type of money we ultimately will or would have to to keep them to a Dak, to a Micah, to a CeeDee, you want to make sure you get it right."
Now, Dallas has a new defensive coordinator in familiar face Mike Zimmer after Dan Quinn departed to become the head coach of the Washington Commanders, but Zimmer, McCarthy, Prescott, Lamb and almost everyone in their building outside of the Jones family and Rowdy the mascot are set to enter training camp in 2024 with only the upcoming season left on their respective contracts. Here's a preview of what's ahead when the Cowboys report to training camp in Oxnard, CA. next week.
Key dates/information
- Tuesday, July 23: Team charter arrives in Oxnard, California
- Wednesday, July 24: Rookies and veterans report to training camp in Oxnard
- Thursday, July 25: First practice
- Tuesday, July 30: First padded practice
- Thursday, Aug. 8: Joint practice with Los Angeles Rams (Oxnard)
- Sunday, Aug 11: Preseason Week 1 at Los Angeles Rams
- Saturday, Aug. 15: Preseason Week 2 at Las Vegas Raiders
- Thursday, Aug. 22: Break camp in Oxnard, return to Dallas
- Saturday, Aug. 24: Preseason Week 3 vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Roster changes
| KEY ADDITIONS | POSITION | KEY DEPARTURES | POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|
Eric Kendricks | LB | Tyron Smith | OT |
Ezekiel Elliott | RB | Tony Pollard | RB |
Royce Freeman | RB | Tyler Biadasz | C |
Tyler Guyton* | T | Johnathan Hankins | DT |
Marshawn Kneeland* | EDGE | Dorance Armstrong | EDGE |
Cooper Beebe* | G/C | Dante Fowler Jr. | EDGE |
Marist Liufau* | LB | Michael Gallup | WR |
Caelen Carson* | CB | Stephon Gilmore | CB |
Ryan Flournoy* | WR | Jayron Kearse | S |
Nathan Thomas* | OL | Leighton Vander Esch | LB |
Justin Rogers* | DT |
* Via NFL Draft
Top storylines
Will this be Dak Prescott's last training camp in Oxnard?
Whether or not 2024 will be Prescott's ninth and final season as the Cowboys' starting quarterback will remain the dominant storyline surrounding this football team until there is a resolution in the form of an extension or him joining a new team in free agency next March.
He became the first quarterback in Cowboys history to lead the NFL outright in passing touchdowns, and he ranked inside the NFL's top three in completion percentage, passing yards and passing touchdowns, which resulted in a career-high 105.9 passer rating in the first year of McCarthy calling the offensive plays in Dallas. Prescott is the only player in NFL history with 200 or more passing touchdowns (202) and 25 or more rushing touchdowns (28) in any eight-year span, and for him, that happens to be his first eight seasons.
Dak Prescott 2023 season
| NFL QB RANK | ||
|---|---|---|
Completion Pct | 69.5% | 2nd |
| Pass Yards | 4,516 | 3rd |
Pass Yards/Att | 7.7 | 6th |
Pass TD | 36 | 1st |
TD-INT | 36-9 | 2nd |
Passer Rating | 105.9 | 2nd |
| Expected Points Added/Play | 0.18 | 2nd |
Prescott has been a full participant in Dallas' offseason program to this point, and he will continue to do so in training camp. McCarthy, who has been the head coach of the Cowboys since 2020, believes Prescott is "having the best offseason program that we've had" this offseason.
The unofficial deadline for a new deal for Prescott before the 2024 season kicks off might be prior to the start of camp since Prescott indicated a mindset shift occurs once training camp begins. These next 10 days of conversations between the quarterback's agent, Todd France, and the Jones family will be crucial.
"There's been conversations back and forth, but for the most part for me as y'all know, I let my agent (Todd France) do that, especially as we get right here into training camp," Prescott said on July 9, via The Athletic, at his camp in Southlake, Texas. "Day 1 of training camp, my mind flips to obviously helping my team and just doing everything I can within the organization and on the football field to make sure that I'm my best and everyone around me is their best. The money and all that will take care of itself as it always has."
How long will CeeDee Lamb hold out of training camp if he doesn't receive a new contract?
Since Lamb is angling for his first big NFL pay day and his first non-rookie contract, he's taken a more aggressive negotiation approach than his quarterback by holding out of the Cowboys' offseason program entirely.
He has taken on over $100,000 in fines for his absence, but he still plans to skip the beginning of camp unless he is signed to a new, long-term contract. Lamb, age 25, led the NFL with a career-high 135 catches while ranking second in receiving yards (1,749) and third in receiving touchdowns (12). Jerry Jones referred to Lamb as "one of the best players in the NFL" and "one of the top players in the NFL" at Dallas' pre-draft press conference.
Getting a deal done is paramount so that the team can get its top offensive weapon back in uniform.
Can new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer get more out of DT Mazi Smith, Cowboys front seven for improved run defense?
Zimmer won't be making many wholesale changes to Dallas' defensive playbook since the Cowboys were a top-five unit under Quinn.
Cowboys defense under Dan Quinn since 2021
| NFL RANK | ||
|---|---|---|
PPG Allowed | 19.9 | 5th |
3rd Down Pct Allowed | 36.4% | 4th |
Sacks | 141 | 6th |
QB Pressure Rate | 41.4% | 1st |
TD-INT Allowed | 68-59 | 2nd |
Interceptions | 59 | 1st |
Takeaways | 93 | 1st |
| Defensive TD | 15 | 1st |
His goal is to clean up areas where the Cowboys were vulnerable, like in the run game for example.
"For the most part, they've played pretty darn good, and we're going to try to accentuate that and maybe be a little bit more technique-oriented, maybe a little bit more disciplined," Zimmer said. "At the end of the day, we've got to do it the way I want it done. I know [when] you try to come in and do somebody else's thing, it just doesn't go well."
Dallas ranked as straight up average in run defense, allowing 112.4 rushing yards per game, 16th in the league. The Cowboys only lost six games total, including the playoffs, and in four of them their inability to stop the run was the reason for defeat: They allowed 266 rushing yards at the Bills in Week 15 (a 31-10 defeat), 222 rushing yards at the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 (28-16 loss), 170 rushing yards at the 49ers in Week 5 (42-10 loss) and 143 rushing yards against the seventh-seeded Packers in their 48-32 wild-card round playoff defeat (a game in which they trailed 27-0).
An easy way for Zimmer to naturally improve the run game would be to coax production out of the team's 2023 first-round pick, 26th overall, defensive tackle Mazi Smith. He played in all 17 games last season, three of them starts, but Smith only produced 13 tackles, one sack, eight quarterback pressures and three tackles for loss. Quinn clearly didn't trust him in the postseason: Smith registered a meager four snaps against the Packers. Much of his issues could be linked to his fluctuating frame last season. The Michigan Wolverines listed Smith at 337 pounds in 2022, and he weighed in at 323 pounds at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.
His weight dropped under the 300-pound threshold during the 2023 regular season as he pushed to earn more play time in Quinn's scheme.
In Zimmer's defense, he'll be tasked with a more space-eating role in an effort to engage offensive linemen and gum up the works for opponents at the line of scrimmage, something he did regularly for the Wolverines.
Smith is already back above 300 with a consensus being reached on his "ideal weight."
Players to watch
- DT Mazi Smith & DeMarvion Overshown
Another member of Smith's draft class, linebacker DeMarvin Overshown, will be worth watching as well and will be asked to play a key role in 2024. The third-round pick out of the University of Texas a year ago wowed Quinn and his defensive staff with his speed and overall athleticism at the position, but he tore his ACL in the preseason and has yet to play a regular season snap in the NFL. Following the retirement of linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, Overshown will have plenty of urgency placed upon him to be ready to start alongside veteran Pro Bowl linebacker Eric Kendricks come September.
- Rookie OL Tyler Guyton & Cooper Beebe
Dallas will be relying on two rookies in first-round pick Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton and third-round pick Kansas State interior offensive lineman Cooper Beebe to start right away after the departures of eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith to the New York Jets and Pro Bowl center Tyler Biadasz to the Washington Commanders.
However, both are playing new, primary positions in Dallas: Thirteen of Guyton's 14 career starts with the Sooners came at right tackle, and Beebe never lined up at center for even a play at Kansas State where the back-to-back Big 12 offensive lineman of the Year played guard and tackle. Seeing both are adjusting to new roles in pads will be something to keep an eye on.
- QB Trey Lance
The Cowboys acquired the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft from the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a fourth-round pick the night before Dallas' preseason finale. With the opportunity to go through the entirety of the team's offseason program, McCarthy declared Lance will "take a large part of the preseason [game reps]."
Finding out how much potential remains with the 24-year-old backup will critical for Dallas' backup quarterback spot and his long-term future with the Cowboys as he is also a free agent after 2024.
Key position battles
- Starting C
Beebe isn't going to have the same clear path to a starting job that Guyton will. McCarthy has indicated both Brock Hoffman, a third-year undrafted offensive lineman and locker room favorite, will be in the mix for the center job. The competition could run all the through the preseason.
- WR3
With Michael Gallup now on the Las Vegas Raiders, the third receiver spot is up for grabs. Jalen Tolbert, a 2022 third-round pick from South Alabama, is the favorite, but he will be pushed by 2023 seventh-round pick Jalen Brooks.
- Backup QB
Lance and Cooper Rush will duel for the right to be Prescott's backup in 2024 with all three of the team's quarterbacks set to be free agents next offseason. Lance is the more athletic, younger option with, in all likelihood, a higher ceiling, but Rush has shown to be a capable caretaker with a 5-1 record as a starter, with five of those games (4-1 in that span) coming in 2022.
