Last offseason, the Dallas Cowboys were bystanders in free agency after a host of starters and depth players were allowed to walk out the door, and the most surprising part of it was that the franchise didn't replace them.
Only linebacker Eric Kendricks came through the doors at The Star, and it left everyone confused.
Our own Mike Fisher has detailed the "blow it up" plan since last February in which the Cowboys knowingly kept their powder (salary cap money) dry to then splash the cash in 2025 to make the roster better.
That was met with some skepticism, but as we have now learned, it was all part of owner Jerry Jones's plan.
His comments after Zack Martin's retirement press conference confirm that the Cowboys could have spent last year but "chose" not to. With Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb's contract extensions taking far too long, many thought the long process hindered Dallas.
But as Jerry states, it didn't hurt Dallas because that was the plan all along.
"I don't believe that in any way that not signing Dak, for instance, or not signing Lamb hurt us in any way last year on what we did in free agency," Jones said. "I know that's been applied, but it didn't at all because we had available dollars or could make available to have done what we wanted to do."
The famous line from John "Hannibal" Smith from The A-Team is ringing in our ears.
"I love it when a plan comes together."
Maybe that is why we are seeing so many re-signings now, because that is part of "Phase 2" of the plan.
And for Jerry and the Cowboys, this was always the plan of attack, so he is right in stating that the extensions of Dak and CeeDee didn't hurt them because they had zero interest in spending money last offseason with an eye toward this year.
It is now all starting to make sense, and Jerry, again, maybe knowingly or unknowingly, confirmed the plan from last year when asked about free agency this offseason.
"It's a part of last year's plan," Jerry added. "When we made the big commitment to Dak, we had to think ahead and from within, how to build around the commitment. This is not a year to rebuild at all, last year wasn't a year to rebuild, but when we made our big commitment to Dak, we had to depend on retaining our top homegrown guys."
So everything is now starting to line up, exactly as Fish predicted, and now Jerry and thought it would. Retain homegrown guys, don't overspend, and then attack in 2025.
Phase 1 of the plan has been completed. Now, onto Phase 2...
