FRISCO, Texas – The Dallas Cowboys’ have several key free agents as the 2019 NFL season looms ahead:
Wide Receiver- Cole Beasley
Tight End- Geoff Swaim
Defensive End – DeMarcus Lawrence (Franchise Tagged)
Defensive Tackle- David Irving
Beasley WR- The Cowboys’ long-time slot receiver has hit a contract expiration. He has voiced his opinion strongly that he wants to receive more playing. He wants to have the ball in his hands more this next season than what he had during the 2018 season, and has made that clear on twitter to the Cowboys’ organization. His number of catches decreased when the Cowboys’ acquired deep threat, Amari Cooper from the Raiders.
Beasley could walk if a desired negotiation is not met with Dallas; if he walks, the Cowboys will likely look for a slot receiver in the draft. Allen Hurns can play slot but the receiver did not hit expectations surrounding him during the 2018 season and he suffered a gruesome ankle injury in the postseason. The main question is his health. Hurns improved throughout the season with more experience in the Cowboys’ scheme and fluidity on routes, but then the injury happened. The club will monitor him closely throughout the off-season, but he should be ready to go by August. The determining factor will be production level with Hurns, and how long it takes him to get back into a rhythm on the field.
Swaim TE- With Witten out of the picture at the outset of the 2018 NFL season, Swaim locked up the starting tight end position. He did a great job blocking to open up the team’s running game, but the 27-year-old fractured a bone in his wrist in the game against Atlanta and was placed on injured reserve.
His starting spot went to Blake Jarwin who had a big impact on third down conversions for Dallas and connections with Prescott in the red zone, during the latter part of the season. Swaim has been unable to stay healthy in Dallas during his four-year tenure with the franchise and was expected to depart from the Cowboys with the positive note the team ended the season on with Jarwin, and Jason Witten’s return to the Silver and Blue out of retirement puts a stamp on Swaim walking away.
Lawrence and Irving DE, DT- D-Law was placed under the Franchise Tag for the second year in a row, but the power edge rusher wants a long-term deal with the Cowboys. Lawrence is the driving force behind Dallas’ defensive front and negotiating a deal for No.90 before the July 15th deadline, needs to be the team’s top priority moving forward.
He had a career-high 64 tackles in 2018 and has amassed 25 sacks over the course of the last two years. He is outstanding at stopping the run and with David Irving and Randy Gregory out of the picture due to suspensions; Dallas needs to look at defensive end and defensive tackle in the upcoming draft and availability in free agency around the league. Lawrence is not expected to sign the tag and regardless of him choosing to sit the year out or not, the team will need a boost in their pass rush. Irving and Gregory had an innate ability to get to quarterbacks and cause contested throws, and the Cowboys’ will need extra men to add depth to the d-line and balance their loss.
