With a week to go before free agency begins, the Cowboys continue to lose pieces on offense. Following the departures of Connor McGovern and Noah Brown, the cowboy team decided to cut running back Ezekiel Elliott for financial reasons. Now, another exit that was seen coming was confirmed: that of tight end Dalton Schultz.
This Monday, the incorporation of Schultz to the Houston Texans became official. The tight end will sign a one-year, $9 million deal with the Cowboys’ neighbor in-state. He figures that, that is, it was less than what the Stanford product hoped to achieve in this current free agency.
The #Texans are signing TE Dalton Schultz to a one-year deal worth up to $9 million, per sources.
Schultz has 198 catches and 17 TDs over the past three seasons in Dallas. He’s still only 26. pic.twitter.com/Z19c7saA0D
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 20, 2023
Let’s remember that Schultz played with the Cowboys in 2022 under the franchise tag. That tag cost $10.9 million, and the tight end was looking for an expensive extension last offseason. This, let’s remember, due to the contract of just over $13 million per year that the Browns gave David Njoku. A tight end who, that is, offers less offensive production than Schultz.
Still, waiting for free agency this year didn’t work out for Dalton Schultz.
First, the Stanford product had a decline in offensive production, this after two seasons at a high level. In 2022, the tight end had 57 receptions for 577 yards and five scores. This, in large part, due to a knee injury that limited him for part of the campaign. Because of this, the Cowboys did not agree to give him a new franchise tag or an extension according to his demands.
Besides, this year’s tight end market was not what Schultz expected. Due to the abundance of prospects at the position heading into the upcoming Draft, there are no teams willing to pay big in free agency. Therefore, Schultz ended up accepting said contract with the Texans for one year and $9 million. Agreement, that is, similar to the one Mike Gesicki obtained to leave the Dolphins for the Patriots.
Ex-Cowboys TE Dalton Schultz reached a one-year contract with Texans, worth up to $9M, a person familiar with deal said. Dallas franchise tagged Schultz last year, pushing his free agency into a tough market; clubs looking ahead to deep TE draft. Schultz can try again in 2024.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) March 20, 2023
With the departure of Schultz, quarterback Dak Prescott loses one of his most reliable targets in the passing game. However, the Cowboys have the position more than covered with youngsters Jake Ferguson, Peyton Hendershot and Sean McKeon. Even the arrival of another tight end through the Draft is not ruled out if Dallas chooses to take the best available player on its first or even second turn on the clock.
As for Dalton Schultz, he will now have to prove himself with a new team and possibly playing for a young quarterback. It remains to be seen if, in 2023, Schultz achieved a production that makes him deserve the high salary he aspired to this year.
