Dave Harlpin

Well, the Cowboys signed safety Keanu Neal, who played for Quinn in Atlanta, to a one-year deal Saturday worth $5 million to be a hybrid, who plays safety and linebacker. He’s complied at least 100 tackles in each season he’s played at least 14 games. Whether it’s now or after the 2021 season the Dallas Cowboys could decide keeping Michael Gallup via a long term extension is in the best interest of the organization. Believe it or not, but Corey Davis’ second contract will likely be the baseline the Dallas Cowboys or any other teams will use in contract negotiations with Michael Gallup’s representatives whenever the time comes.

But so far, the signings for Dallas look like there is a real plan, and it’s not just to get through free agency with the spare change collected from the Draft Yacht cushions. Free agency is far from over, and already the Cowboys have filled some holes with a few players that certainly look like more than the bargain-basement plugs they have used in recent years. Many have assumed the Cowboys would be locked into cornerback, but now that Farley may well slip down the draft board with the obvious question about his health, the idea of taking Rashawn Slater and making him the starting LG until they need to move him to tackle looks very appealing. While we bemoan the lack of real spending in free agency by the Cowboys, the contracts so far are not ones that would make cutting some of the new signings too difficult.

DFW’s Reid Hanson posted a strikingly interesting seven-round mock draft projection that – in a surprise move – saw Dallas trade down from their 10th slot in exchange for the Jets’ 23rd, 34th and 86th overall selections. The move would net the Cowboys three picks in the top 100, creating an avenue for acquisition of a possible game-changer at the cornerback position, while allowing them to bolster other key areas that would lack in prospective depth as the draft wears on. Newsome II is a product of the widely-respected IMG Academy, a preparatory boarding school that sports state-of-the-art multi-million dollar training facilities, with a specific focus on developing the country’s top high school athletes. He brings the right kind of attitude to perimeter play both in collision routes and in run support and tackling at the line of scrimmage, but his aggressive angles will need a little work to ensure he’s secured tackles at the catch point before attempting to attack the football and undercut throws.

Starting inside linebacker Jaylon Smith’s 2021 base salary of $7.2 million was guaranteed when he remained on the roster Sunday afternoon. Starting running back Ezekiel Elliott’s 2022 base salary of $12.4 million was also fully guaranteed with the team electing to keep him on the roster. Elliott’s 2021 base salary of $9.6 million was guaranteed when he was on the roster on the fifth day of the league year in 2020. ’s status was probably just a tiny bit more in doubt than Ezekiel Elliott’s status, but neither player was really not going to be on the 2021 roster, and as noted above, Elliott’s salary is now guaranteed for 2022, so he’s not going anywhere.