The foundation of the Dallas Cowboys is built on arguably the NFL's best offensive line. It's a line that features three former first round picks. That unit helped running back DeMarco Murray lead the league in rushing last season (1,845 yards) and helped Tony Romo set career highs in completion percentage (69.9) and touchdowns (34). But with so much talent, will owner and general manager Jerry Jones be able to afford to keep them together when free agency comes calling in a few seasons?
It's an important question that was posed to ESPN Cowboys reporter Todd Archer in his weekly mailbag.
"This is a great question," Archer wrote in response. "They have Tyron Smith signed through 2020, so they are set there. They hold fifth-year options on Travis Frederick and Zack Martin, so they are good through 2017 and 2018. They can use the franchise tag on either player for a year if necessary. La'el Collins is signed through 2017 and the Cowboys control his rights through 2018 with the restricted-free-agent-tender. The salary cap is going up every year, so they will also have that on their side. It will be tricky, but the Cowboys could be in a position by 2018 where they don't have Tony Romo's contract on the books and they are paying a quarterback on a rookie contract. That, maybe more than anything, will open up cap dollars to the linemen as well. I wouldn't bet against the Cowboys figuring something out in how they stagger the deals going forward, but it's not impossible to keep all of them on a second contract."
Given this line of thought, it's possible that the Cowboys will prioritize the offensive line going forward. This will help the run game and protect whichever young quarterback eventually takes over for Romo. However, the team's defense is still in major need of upgrades and it wouldn't be out of the question to see Jones pay a few quality free agents on that side of the ball in the coming years. How it all shakes out for Dallas' roster will be very interesting to watch.
