It's not exactly the free agency news everyone is waiting on, but it still matters to the Dallas Cowboys. All eyes are on the team to see if they'll either get new deals done on Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper, or if one will get hit with a franchise tag. With the NFL moving the tag deadline following the NFLPA's decision to push back the collective bargaining agreement voting deadline, the Cowboys now have several extra days to get as much as they can accomplished on the Prescott and Cooper fronts, with the expectation they'll allow Byron Jones to hit the open market and ultimately walk.
The devil is in the details when it comes to tweaking NFL teams, however, and that's why the Cowboys are simultaneously working to decide which of the other 27 in-house free agents they'll keep going forward. To that end, they've re-signed backup offensive lineman Adam Redmond and exercised the option to keep fullback Jamize Olawale in tow for 2020 -- the latter being first reported by Field Yates of ESPN.
A source confirms to CBS Sports the retention of Olawale, a player who's still working to establish his value as an option in the Cowboys offense. Olawale landing in Dallas by way of Oakland, having been traded by the Raiders to the Cowboys in 2018 along with a sixth-round pick in exchange for a fifth-round pick that same year. While having shown promise as a possible offensive option in his time with the Raiders, his two seasons with the Cowboys have been the polar opposite -- marred mostly by two drops that would've been walk-in touchdowns in key situations.
Olawale has seven career touchdowns and 644 career yards from scrimmage, but none of those touchdowns are on his resume with Dallas. Additionally, he has only 13 receiving yards to go along with zero rushing yards for the Cowboys, with his main contributions being on special teams. It's clear new head coach Mike McCarthy feels he can tap into the potential former head coach Jason Garrett could not, using West Coast tweaks to Kellen Moore's offense with a goal of making it happen.
Olawale signed a three-year deal in 2019 worth $5.4 million, and stands to hit the Cowboys cap for $1.7 million in 2020.
As for Redmond, a 26-year-old exclusive rights free agent returning from injured reserve, it'll be about proving he can remain healthy and a viable option who should remain on the 53-man roster come September (55-man roster if CBA is ratified). A former undrafted free agent of the Cowboys in 2012, Redmond spent time with Olawale in Oakland before rejoining the Cowboys in 2018, but has played in only 10 games his past two seasons -- 14 in his three-year NFL career.
The team needs OL depth and like the potential of Redmond, but his roster spot isn't yet guaranteed.
