-
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
OXNARD, Calif. — Normally, there is an optimism surrounding the beginning of Dallas Cowboys training camp with hope abounding that this will finally be the year they end their Super Bowl drought.
Instead, there is a lack of buzz after an offseason with more key personnel losses than arrivals, as well as the uncertainty of the contract talks involving Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons.
The Cowboys appear further away from ending the Super Bowl drought that is closing in on 30 years than they were in January.
A cynicism has surfaced among the fan base that nothing that happens from the Oxnard, California, practice fields through the final regular-season game a few days into 2025 against the Washington Commanders matters.
They simply do not want to be burned again.
The Cowboys can thank their disheartening January playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round for the hangover. Vocal fans on social media reached their breaking point with another season falling short in an embarrassing fashion. Some inside the organization have felt the defeat linger longer than other playoff losses in recent years, even when they lost in the divisional rounds in 2007 and 2016 as the NFC’s top seed.
The Cowboys’ path to their first NFC Championship Game since 1995 appeared to be favorable with two games at AT&T Stadium, where they had won 16 straight regular-season games. With 1:50 left in the first half, the Packers had a 27-0 lead against the Cowboys on their way to a 48-32 victory that did not feel even that close.
Carrying that demoralizing loss with them should seem motivation enough.
“Yeah, that [Green Bay loss] will always be a motivating factor depending on who you are and what you did in that game and how it played out,” said Prescott, whose second interception of the first half was returned 64 yards for a touchdown by safety Darnell Savage. “It will continue. We all understand the urgencies of us improving.”
But there’s more than just the stench of the Packers loss hanging over the Cowboys. There is a level of uncertainty through all levels of an organization that has won 36 regular-season games the past three years.
Not only is McCarthy in the final year of his contract, so is his entire coaching staff, including defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who replaces Dan Quinn, now the Commanders’ head coach. And not only is Prescott 17 regular-season games away from being able to hit the open market at 31 years old, so are 24 other Cowboys.
Owner Jerry Jones often says he enjoys the ambiguity, believing it makes his decision-making more thorough, but others not as financially set might not like the setting. Jones has done this before. McCarthy’s predecessor, Jason Garrett entered the final year of his contract twice. In 2014, the Cowboys went 12-4 and made it to the divisional round of the playoffs, losing cruelly to McCarthy’s Packers at Lambeau Field after Dez Bryant‘s fourth-quarter catch was overturned.
In 2019, the final year of the contract Garrett earned following the 12-4 finish, the Cowboys finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs, leading Jones to hire McCarthy, who was relieved of his job with the Packers in 2018.
Coaches like Bill Belichick and Mike Vrabel have been linked to the Cowboys, should Dallas not succeed in 2024. Already a stressful job, McCarthy’s status could be revisited weekly.
“I think you can throw the contract part to the side. Those conversations, it wasn’t easy. I mean no one wants to be on a one-year contract,” McCarthy said. “I think we all understand that. The emotion of what that does to your family and so forth. [But] once we got past the combine, I think once you get things set, there’s a job to do, so there hasn’t been any blink.”
But can the Cowboys say they are a better team now than when they walked off the field against the Packers?
Gone is Tony Pollard, who ran for 1,000 yards, replaced by a backfield committee that will include Ezekiel Elliott, who is coming off the lowest output of his career when he shared the workload with the New England Patriots last season.
Gone is Tyron Smith, the future Hall of Fame left tackle. While he might not be as dominant as he once was because of injuries, is rookie first-round pick Tyler Guyton ready to step in immediately? Gone is defensive end Dorance Armstrong, who finished second in sacks in each of the past two seasons before signing with the Commanders. Can Sam Williams, a second-round pick in 2022, or Marshawn Kneeland, a second-round pick in 2024, equal Armstrong’s output?
At cornerback, gone (at least for the moment) is cornerback Stephon Gilmore, and will Trevon Diggs‘ return from a torn ACL go smoothly? Gone is center Tyler Biadasz, who will be replaced by Brock Hoffman, who has two career starts, or third-round pick Cooper Beebe.
Will All-Pro wide receiver Lamb report to training camp without a new contract? If he does, will the lack of a deal have a negative impact? Can defensive tackle Mazi Smith produce after a floundering rookie season?
There are more questions, but pass rusher Parsons said he is not disappointed the Cowboys did not do more in the offseason, seemingly understanding the team’s belief that they are hamstrung by the salary cap, if not in 2024, then certainly in 2025.
“If you kind of figure out how the money goes and how the contract goes, you kind of understand that business side. I think CeeDee takes up the value of two or three players. You’re talking about $30 million-plus per year. If you do that, how can you afford to pay CeeDee Lamb?” Parsons said. “That goes on for other guys potentially.
“The mindset I have is we have seven All-Pros or however the count may be. It might be more, it might be less, we got at least three guys I know can be All-Pro. I think a lot of guys are going to have breakout years. I think that plays into it too. When you talk about all these guys, it just leads to saying, ‘Hey, when are the other guys going to step up and be better for the team?'”
Parsons said people “are definitely going to be very surprised how good we really are.” Even outside of The Star, the Cowboys carry expectations. ESPN Analytics ranks the Cowboys as the third-best team in the NFC behind the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions.
But time is running out on this group.
Guard Zack Martin and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence — the longest-tenured Cowboys, drafted in the first and second rounds, respectively, in 2014 — are in the final years of their contracts. If Prescott does not re-sign, then the Cowboys’ search will need more of the good fortune they received in finding their last two starters: Prescott in the fourth round and Tony Romo as an undrafted free agent.
And then there is the possibility of a new coaching staff.
For the moment, all of that can wait as the Cowboys begin training camp.
“You don’t just win games with just talent,” Prescott said. “And you don’t win games on paper, and talent is really not decided on paper. So I understand what it looks like, what it may look like from that side, understanding the lack of moves that get done. It creates that … great conversation. I’m confident in the men we have, honestly.”
He has no other choice.