Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Chat recap: All about opportunity

IRVING, Texas -- We had another spirited chat on Wednesday in which we touched on a number of subjects.

One that I will delve further into here in a bit is why the Dallas Cowboys didn’t sign Kenny Britt or Hakeem Nicks, and why I don’t believe Chris Johnson will be coming here.

But we also discussed:

  • The Cowboys approach to free agency.

  • The possibility of signing DeMarco Murray to an extension.

  • If Anthony Barr is in play at No. 16 for the Cowboys.

  • The future of Morris Claiborne.

If you want to look at the whole chat, you can click here.

But let’s get back to the Britt, Nicks, Johnson talk.

Here was one question:

Eric (Long beach): Why didn't the cowboys have interest in guys like Hakeem Nicks or Kenny Britt that signed cheap one year deals? they could have been nice to go along with dez and injury insurance

Todd Archer: Let me turn the question around -- why would Nicks or Britt want to come here when the Cowboys are committed to Dez Bryant and Terrance Williams? They are looking for opportunity too. They felt other teams were better opportunities for them.

To build off that subject:

I think far too often we forget the other side of interest in signing with a team. A player’s agent is never going to shrink the market for his client, so they would never say never when asked if their guy would be interested in playing for the Cowboys.

Since I’ve been covering this team, you always hear agents say, ‘Player X would love to be a Cowboy.’ Some of that is true. Some of that is to drive up the price. And how many times have we heard players say they grew up Cowboys’ fans? Jeremy Mincey, the new defensive end, said the 1994 NFC Championship Game loss was to the San Francisco 49ers was a painful day for him.

Players want opportunities to play. Maybe Nicks and Britt could have beaten out Williams for a starting spot opposite Bryant, but there was no guarantee that was happening here. Nicks signed with the Indianapolis Colts and should start at least at the start of the season with Reggie Wayne coming back from a knee injury. Britt chose the St. Louis Rams in part to reunite with coach Jeff Fisher, who coaxed him into his best years.

Johnson has been a starter since he got into the league. The Cowboys have their running back in Murray. When they are at their best, they ride Murray. They don’t split carries. But why would Johnson want to split carries anyway? He will get a better chance to do that somewhere else.

The Cowboys made a mistake in passing on Johnson in 2008 when they took Felix Jones. Some thought Johnson was too slight to excel at the position. He’s not the same player he was a few years ago, but he has something left. It’s just not enough for the Cowboys.

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