Of all the NFL teams, the Dallas Cowboys have had the quietest offseason. Due to Dallas’ inactivity, there are a few significant voids on the squad that need to be filled before the upcoming season begins.
The Cowboys could be able to fill some of their needy positions in the draft, but there’s no assurance they’ll have a candidate available who meets their needs.
Bleacher Report said that the Cowboys were a team that might sign a player to a “bargain free agent contract” before to the draft in light of this. Brian Allen, a free agent center, was linked to Dallas.
Brian Allen, the starting center for the Los Angeles Rams’ 2021 Super Bowl run, has declined in recent years.
He only participated in five games in 2022 due to thumb and knee problems. In five games during the previous season, he managed just 34 plays after Coleman Shelton was selected as the starting center.
Allen’s résumé nevertheless screams “bounce-back candidate.”
Although Jackson Powers-Johnson, a rookie who looks good at No. 24 overall, may be the Dallas Cowboys’ top pick, adding a talent like the Michigan State product can lessen the position’s sense of make-or-break uncertainty.
This season, Allen, who turns 29, ought to get at least one more chance to lead an offensive line.
Deal: $3 million, one year with the Dallas Cowboys
The Los Angeles Rams were Allen’s team for the first five seasons of his playing career. The former fourth-round pick has started 32 NFL games and was Los Angeles’ starting center during their 2021 Super Bowl victory.
Following an injury-plagued 2022 season in which Allen appeared in just seven games, the Rams decided to start Coleman Shelton full-time in 2023, relegating Allen to a supporting position.
Allen produced well even in his limited time on the field during the 2022 season. According to Pro Football Focus, he achieved a Pass Blocking Efficiency rating of 97.2 and allowed zero pressures in three of his six starts.
He’s going to be a Pro Bowl player at this stage of his career, but he does have a lot of experience starting at center, something the Cowboys don’t currently have on their roster.
Allen’s signing wouldn’t be expensive. As previously mentioned, a one-year contract of $3 million was anticipated. If Dallas is unable to choose a starting-caliber center in the upcoming draft, Allen would give them an inexpensive insurance policy.
It all comes down to locating hidden value at a fair price at this stage of the off-season. The Cowboys could get it from Brian Allen, and they ought to sign him before the draft even begins.
