Dallas Cowboys Take Big Step With Largest Free Agent Class in History

Published: 16^th Mar 12 3:09 pm

by Jeric Griffin
NFL Network Manager

RANT It!

Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

Dallas Cowboys fans can be happy with Jerry Jones…at least for a little while. That’s something that hasn’t been said in a long time in regards to America’s Team. With the signing of offensive guard Nate Livings, the Cowboys have already made the 2012 free agent class the largest in franchise history. The Cowboys have now spent more on free agents and signed more players than any other off-season since free agency began in 1993.

Livings is the seventh player the Cowboys have signed this week. Dallas has only signed six players in an off-season twice in the past 20 years. The Cowboys haven’t used free agency like this since Jimmy Johnson roamed the sidelines at Texas Stadium. Johnson built the Cowboys’ Super Bowl teams of the 1990s through free agency and now it appears Jerry Jones is finally figuring it out himself.

All of the Cowboys’ free agent signings now allow Dallas to approach the NFL draft “purely” as head coach Jason Garrett calls it. To translate, he means the Cowboys can now draft the best player available at any given time during the draft. This is an incredible feat for a team that had so many holes to fill when free agency began on Tuesday. The Cowboys obviously still have a long way to go in solidifying the lineup, but this is a great start.

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