IRVING, Texas -- First Cleveland quarterback Johnny Manziel, now Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch.
It seems like anytime a big-name player is about to get released, folks start assuming he'll wind up with the Dallas Cowboys -- based on the faulty hypothesis that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones simply can't resist signing free agents with marquee names, even if their skill set is suspect.
Lynch is the latest to be casually linked with the Cowboys, because all indications are the Seahawks will release the 30-year-old running back this offseason.
The Cowboys have signed three big-money free agents since 2007: Leonard Davis (seven years, $49.6 million), Brandon Carr (five years, $50 million) and Greg Hardy (one year, $13.5 million, plus incentives).
None of those players performed as well as the Cowboys expected.
The Cowboys actually tend to sign role players as incoming free agents, while spending big dollars re-signing their own free agents such as Tyron Smith, Sean Lee, Dez Bryant and Tyrone Crawford.
And Lynch actually makes even less sense than Manziel coming to the Cowboys, if he gets released.
The Cowboys let 26-year-old DeMarco Murray leave via free agency for Philadelphia after he set single-season franchise records for yards (1,845) and carries (392). Lynch, in addition to his age, played in just seven games and rushed for only 417 yards on 111 carries with three touchdowns in 2015.
His 3.8 average per carry last season was half a yard off his career average (4.3), and nearly a full yard off his 2014 average (4.7).
Lynch was the league's second-highest paid running back, and is scheduled to earn $6 million next year. He held out in 2014 for more cash, so the thought that he would come to Dallas on a bargain is silly.
Darren McFadden finished fourth in the NFL in rushing last season, despite not starting until Week 7. He's younger than Lynch and is scheduled to earn $1.2 million plus a $500,000 roster bonus in 2016.
The Cowboys believe a lot of different runners could succeed behind their offensive line -- a fact McFadden proved -- so it's unlikely they would sign Lynch even if it's only for a season or two.