IRVING – The answers seem so easy right now. Go get the pass rusher, like Baltimore's Adalius Thomas. Go find a safety, maybe even Seattle's restricted free agent Jordan Babineaux, who crushed Cowboys fans feeling with his ankle tackle of Tony Romo. Or if you're going to move Anthony Henry to safety, then sign Buffalo cornerback Nate Clements.
Those are all solid ideas.
But free agency is not the answer all the time.
The Cowboys will have the money. They will be at least $24.5 million or so under the cap for free agency, but can gain more space with the departures of Drew Bledsoe, maybe Marco Rivera and even Terrell Owens. Of the three, only Bledsoe is sure to not be back in 2007.
Unlike recent years, every team will have plenty of room to sign players with the cap, so the bidding could become astronomical for average players.
In the last two seasons, Jerry Jones has doled out millions to free agents, like Rivera, Henry, Jason Ferguson, Akin Ayodele, Kyle Kosier, Ryan Hannam, Rocky Boiman and Mike Vanderjagt.
Frankly, Jones is not happy with the return.
Ferguson, Henry, Ayodele and Kosier have been decent signings. Rivera has been a disappointment and Vanderjagt was such a bust that Jones said he will not fund the kicking position in such a way again. Hannam ($1.1 million bonus) made little impact before having season-ending knee surgery and Boiman ($1 million) was cut.
But there are other issues when it comes to free agency.
First, it's not likely either player will even be available when free agency begins because of the franchise tag, but for the sake of argument, we'll say they are available.
OK, so you sign Clements and give him $12 million in bonus money or more, then what do you do with Terence Newman, whose contract is up after next season? He will cost even more in bonus money. So with Henry, Roy Williams, Clements and Newman, the Cowboys would have to commit nearly $50 million in signing bonus money. Is that fiscally responsible?
And Jones has committed millions to the linebacker position in DeMarcus Ware, Bobby Carpenter, Ayodele and Bradie James. Now he's supposed to commit more to that position by going after Thomas?
Free agency isn't the perfect answer. Just ask Washington. The Redskins win the off-season championship every year, paying huge money to average guys – and they have made the playoffs once in the last seven years. Do you think they would re-think the decision to sign Adam Archuleta to a deal that included $10 million in bonus money?
What the Cowboys should do is keep their own free agents, like Andre Gurode, Marc Colombo and Martin Gramatica. With Rivera's uncertain situation, maybe they re-sign Al Johnson and move Gurode back to guard.
Re-signing your own players is the best option in free agency because the devil you do know is better than the devil you don't.
E-mail tarcher@dallasnews.com
