After Will Harriger left the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff this offseason to become the quarterbacks coach for the Carolina Panthers, the team can reveal that the Cowboys have signed Steve Shimko, the offensive coordinator from Boston College, as an offensive assistant.
Following two seasons together in Seattle in 2018 and 2019, Shimko rejoins offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer in Dallas. Before taking a job in 2016 as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Garden City Community College, a JUCO powerhouse, Shimko had worked as a graduate assistant at Rutgers, Western Michigan, and Georgia. Before spending two seasons with the Seahawks, he would occupy that role for two years. Then Boston College called, where he was the offensive coordinator for the Eagles this past season, the tight ends coach in 2020 and 2021, and the quarterbacks coach in 2022.
The Eagles finished 68th in overall offence (381.2 yards per game) and 80th in FBS (24.8% points per game) during his one season as coordinator. The team defeated SMU, ranked No. 23, in the Fenway Bowl to finish 7-6 overall.
Former sports agent Corry outlines Dak Prescott’s likely 2024 contract extension using Joe Burrow’s record 2023 contract as a starting point.
The QB market had an incredible year last year. The Cincinnati Bengals extended [Joe] Burrow’s contract for $275 million over five years, or $55 million annually.
Even though the previous season ended abruptly and with a very bitter taste in my mouth, if Prescott gives his agents carte blanche, the end result will probably be Prescott becoming the highest-paid player in the league and setting new standards for the most crucial contract metrics aside from Watson’s $230 million fully guaranteed.
Prescott’s team could easily argue that Burrow’s performance in his first three new seasons justifies $60 million annually. In general, the market for quarterbacks rose 9.41% at the top in 2023 compared to 2022. An extension at $60 million a year would be a 9.09% rise over Burrow’s contract.
Lamb has stated clearly that he wants to be paid like that, and Jones has made it very obvious that he believes Lamb to be the top receiver in the NFL. That translates to a contract of about $30 million a season. And he will most definitely be worth it after setting franchise marks for catches and yards (135–1,749), scoring 12 touchdowns, and leading the offence for the majority of the campaign.
In January, during his weekly radio appearance, Jones declared, “He is everything that I thought he would be.” “He has undoubtedly lived up to our expectations of him when we selected him in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft. And I believe he is only beginning.
Will the Cowboys, though, now decide to extend his contract? Based on his rookie contract, Lamb’s fifth-year option is worth $17.9 million in 2024. That cap amount could theoretically be reduced by $10 million with a well-structured agreement, which would appear to make it a simple choice for a team with a tight budget like the Cowboys. To make it happen, they could need to pay him the biggest salary of any receiver in history.
Giving out record-breaking deals one after another means Dallas will be saying goodbye to key players this offseason.
With a long list of important free agents, including DE Dorance Armstrong, C Tyler Biadasz, CB Stephon Gilmore, RB Tony Pollard, and LT Tyron Smith, the NFC East champions won’t necessarily be running it back. The penultimate season before he is expected to consider free agency, QB Dak Prescott will have a cap hit of around $60 million. This comes at a time when OLB Micah Parsons and All-Pro WR CeeDee Lamb are in need of contract extensions. The Cowboys are already more than $20 million over the cap for the following season, did we mention that?
The next in line to join the Cowboys’ elite group of excellent running backs should be Josh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders, according to ESPN’s top free agent fits.
Matt Bowen stated, “He has been a volume grinder for the Raiders, with the quickness to make defenders miss and the low pad level to finish runs.” “Dak Prescott may also use Jacobs, who led the NFL in rushing in 2022, as a receiving option on swings, screens, and unders.”
Similar to other players the Cowboys might consider, such as Tennessee Titans star Derrick Henry and Green Bay Packers back AJ Dillon, Jacobs is a formidable player. Pollard often lacked the capacity to give more when things became tough, especially in the red zone.
Additionally, according to forecasts from Pro Football Focus, Jacobs will only earn $3.5 million more over the next three years ($11.5 million versus $8 million) than Pollard.
Josh Allen, Danielle Hunter, Brian Burns, and Brian Burns make up The 20 Milli Club. I’ll start by addressing these gentlemen because, in my opinion, there is no way that any outside free agent will be able to sign an AAS (average annual salary) with the Cowboys that is even close to $20 million. This is because that is the market price for this group, especially in light of the likelihood that Parsons and Lawrence will both receive extensions no later than the upcoming offseason, as well as the expectation that Sam Williams will play a significant role in the future.
A.J. Epenesa: Remaining with the more practical possibilities for the Cowboys, I find it impossible to stop seeing Epenesa in Dallas acting as Armstrong’s stand-in should the latter decide to leave town. Like Armstrong, Epenesa is an impact rotational pass rusher who has put up comparable seasons in the previous two years. In just three combined starts since 2022, Epenesa has amassed 13 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, but—catch this—he has also recorded two interceptions (!!) and a defensive touchdown.
Za’Darius Smith: If Epenesa is seen as the ideal Armstrong replacement who also brings interceptions to the mix on defence, Smith is seen as someone who could step in and take Fowler’s place right away, trading skilled but still effective veteran pass rushers. Though Smith did mention he was also interested in Dallas, hint hint, I was all in on the Cowboys trading for Smith in 2022. However, the Browns ended up making that trade.
The logical choice for Jerry Jones’ team is to cut ties with Gallup, who is under contract for three more years at a cost of $57.5 million. The wide receiver’s knee injury in 2021 has left him changed. Neither of the last two seasons had seen him reach the 425-yard receiving threshold. At this point, that just isn’t worth a $13.85 million cap hit. Dallas would have to employ the post-June 1 procedure, which would save $9.5 million on the cap this year, while removing him outright would save virtually nothing ($800,000). Although they would have to carry Gallup’s cap number until June, it won’t help Jones go all in during free agency, but it would alleviate some of the problems later on. Other:
