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The Dallas Cowboys‘ approach to the 2022 offseason has drawn all types of feedback, with some of the latest coming from NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin.
The bombastic and vocal NFL Network analyst doesn’t shy away from sharing his thoughts, and the topic of Dallas’ activity in free agency and elsewhere recently arose in a conversation with Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Clarence Hill.
Irvin’s thoughts likely resonate with some Cowboys fans: the team has not improved this offseason. Departures have outweighed new signings and the roster doesn’t feel as strong.
However, Irvin also made it a point to say that just because there’s less overall talent on the roster doesn’t mean Dallas will perform worse in 2022.
“They have lost talent. They are not a better team talent-wise,” Irvin said. “This game doesn’t require skill. It requires will. If a team loses a little bit of skill but gains greater will, they call still do great things. If the Cowboys can take the disappointment of that defeat against San Francisco — beating you at home — if they can take that and internalize it in the offseason and come with less skill and more will and have a better season.”
Fans won’t know if Irvin’s logic will ring true until the season is underway, but his points about the Cowboys’ energy feels pertinent.
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Irvin Speaks on Cowboys’ Lack of ‘Will’
In addition to his comment above, Irvin mentioned the importance of feeling and passion among players. The five-time Pro Bowler expressed that he doesn’t see the same emotion from the current crop of Cowboys as he experienced in the 1990s.
“When you lack skill, you have to overcome it with will and togetherness,” Irvin said. “A man’s greatest promise comes from their greatest pain. If they felt the pain like we felt and like those fans — I want to see them jokers on the field cry like that. I want it to hurt them like that… But I haven’t seen that. I hope they cry like karate men, on the inside. But I haven’t seen it outside.”
Obviously, Irvin knows a thing or two about willpower and winning championships at the NFL level. The former Miami Hurricane star won three Super Bowls in Dallas and was eventually named to the NFL’s 1990s All-Decade squad.
That being said, getting a change in culture and attitude is on owner Jerry Jones, head coach Mike McCarthy and the front office. Irvin’s words are valid, but the solution to the problem is hard to achieve consistently.
Cowboys Making Moves
While Irvin and others don’t believe the team is better from a talent perspective, it’s not as if the Cowboys have just shipped out players. Defensive end Randy Gregory and wide receiver Amari Cooper will feel hard to replace, but it’s far from certain if the Cowboys have completely downgraded.
James Washington arrives after beginning his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and won’t be a No. 1 receiver. Instead, CeeDee Lamb will elevate his role to mirrors Cooper’s, and Washington will slot in as the team’s third or fourth receiver.
Meanwhile, Dante Fowler Jr. is now in Dallas after spending the last two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. PFR shows that he only had 7.5 sacks in his two seasons in Georgia, but he also put up 11.5 sacks in 2019, which is almost double the total of Gregory’s best seasons(six sacks in 2018 and 2021).
There’s not a ton of new names in Dallas, but the team has spent their money retaining the likes of tight ends Dalton Schultz and Jeremy Sprinkle, as well as re-signing receivers Michael Gallup and Noah Brown.
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