With 20 players set to be restricted or unrestricted free agents, the Dallas Cowboys will have plenty of decisions to make on who to keep and who to let go.
Let’s take a look at the free agents to be and how they could fit into the Cowboys' future:
Wide receiver Cole Beasley
Type: Restricted
What he did: He finished tied for fourth with Terrance Williams in catches on the Cowboys with 37, behind Dez Bryant (88), Jason Witten (64) and DeMarco Murray (57). Beasley had a career-high four touchdown grabs, and his production greatly picked up in the final five games of the season. He had seven games with one catch or no catches in the first 11 games but had 19 catches in the final five games and three of his four touchdowns.
What he could do: Over the last two years Beasley has developed into a trustworthy slot player for Tony Romo and will continue in that kind of role. He has added more routes to his route tree, as the coaches like to say, but he is first and foremost a slot player. That’s not a bad thing. The game is about keeping drives alive, and slot players are matchup issues for defenses. He gives Orlando Scandrick trouble in training camp practices with his quickness and ability to read leverage.
What it should cost: The Cowboys have to decide whether to put the low tender on Beasley and risk not receiving any compensation in return should he sign elsewhere because he was an undrafted free agent. The Cowboys could put the second-round tender on Beasley, which will be in the $2.4 million neighborhood. They could also look to buyout his unrestricted free agent year in 2016 and offer him a multi-year deal that could average, say, roughly $2 million per year but keep his first-year cap number low.