Cowboys great Michael Irvin sounds concern as RB Saquon Barkley signs with Eagles: "That worries me"
The Dallas Cowboys' inactivity in free agency, while others like the Philadelphia Eagles made moves and signed Saquon Barkley, has Michael Irvin worried.
With every other NFL team making moves to get better, the Cowboys stood still and saw their division rivals in the Eagles, not only get better, but significantly better with the signing of Barkley.
While he was often underused in New York, coming to an Eagles offense that is superb at running the ball, Philadelphia's offense now takes on a whole new, frightening look...and Dallas has to play them twice a year.
For Irvin, the fact that the Eagles were able to sign a star player like Barkley worries him as he looks ahead to what the 2024 season could look like for his Cowboys.
On FS1's Undisputed, Irvin said:
'He's a home-run hitter ... that worries me."
Dallas' biggest weakness on defense this past season was stopping the run, and now, with the Eagles adding one of the best backs in football to their offense, which already gave Dallas trouble, things aren't looking good for the franchise moving forward, even with the signing of tackling machine Eric Kendricks.
Cowboys have a lot of work to do this offseason
Dallas knew it had to get better this offseason, but so far, through the first days of free agency, the roster has gotten weaker.
Starters Tony Pollard (Titans) and Tyler Biadasz (Commanders), along with Dorance Armstrong (Commanders) and Neville Gallimore (Dolphins), have all left, and Dallas hasn't replaced any of them in free agency.
This leaves a lot of roster holes that many assume Dallas will try to fill via the draft, but that is counting on a lot of your picks to hit. Last year's class, which included Mazi Smith (first round) and Luke Schoonmaker (second round), hardly featured at all, so that doesn't instill confidence that this year's draft will be any different.
The hope is that players like Smith and Schoonmaker take the second-year leap and become genuine starters or at least consistent contributors to the team.
Dallas needs to fortify its offensive line, add a running back and solidify the defensive line. Doing all of that in the draft seems like a tall order.
But with their inactivity in free agency, that's where the Cowboys find themselves, and it isn't a great place to be.