Hosting NFL Combine on radar -Drew Davison, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

The Dallas Cowboys just built a new medical facility at the Star in Frisco, could the NFL Combine be next?

“Everything you’ve ever heard is, ‘Why Indianapolis?’” Jones said. “We all go there and we know how cold it is. You could pick a nicer place to go as far as that time of year. Here we are in the coldest part of the year, February, doing the Combine and why are we not doing it in LA or Orlando? Well, Indy has the medical facilities around Lucas Oil Stadium. That’s what really impacts it the most. ”With this facility right here, it addresses those issues.”

Cowboys make no secret of their desire to host combine – Charean Williams, ProFootballTalk

The Super Bowl is played in a different city each year, and the NFL draft recently started moving from city to city too. Why not the NFL Combine?

Indianapolis has served as the host of the combine since 1987. It has an agreement with the NFL through 2020, and has done such a great job, the league has no reason to leave especially now that the event has pushed back a week to better weather. The biggest advantage Indianapolis has is the location of three hospitals near Lucas Oil Stadium. It has an X-ray truck in the stadium. But the Cowboys held the grand opening of Baylor, Scott & White Sports Therapy & Research this week. The 300,000-square-foot sports medicine facility is located across the street from the team’s 12,500-seat indoor practice facility at The Star, an entertainment district that also includes restaurants, bars and an Omni hotel. “Yes, I believe we can have the combine here,” Cowboys executive vice president Jerry Jones Jr. said, via Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Was that the reason for this to be built? Not at all. But as you sit there and think about what are the possibilities if you do build it, there’s no question that’s on the radar.”

Dallas Cowboys Partner on New Sports Therapy Complex - Joe Lemire, SportTechie

The Dallas Cowboys and Baylor, Scott & White have partnered up on a new 300,000 square-feet facility.

“The complex is designed to showcase the link between active lifestyles and physical health so that every visitor leaves feeling more informed and inspired,” said Ron Stelmarski, principal at Perkins+Will and lead designer of the complex, in a press release. “Wellness education and inspiration, coupled with a holistic approach to diagnosis, treatment, and recovery, promote the health and well-being of a community. The Sports Therapy & Research facility is a shining example of a new kind of architecture that supports the improvement of population health through physical fitness.”

Dallas Cowboys launch community health and fitness project at The Star- Sam Quinn, 247Sports

By creating a state of the art medical facility, the Cowboys medical staff will benefit from greatly

The Dallas Cowboys have perhaps the NFL’s most beautiful practice facility at The Star in Frisco. The entire complex cost over $1 billion to build and spans over 91 acres, but the facility is more than just a home for the Cowboys when they aren’t playing at AT&T Stadium. It is a major part of the local community in Frisco, hosting high school football games and other events for the town. Now, the Cowboys have taken things a step further in opening their doors to the local community. According to Kim Megson of Spa Business Magazine, the Cowboys have opened a new addition to their facility to the public. That addition is a 300,000 square foot sports therapy complex that includes “a light-filled strength-training room, basketball courts and a retractable glass façade that opens to an indoor/outdoor football field. Transparent walls and casual seating areas for onlookers allow the whole process of rehabilitation to be observed by the public, while several areas can be configured into gathering places for community events and performances. Outside, a network of publicly accessible walk, run and bike trails connect the facility with the surrounding Star campus.”

Mick Shots: David, Oh David, Capt. Crash & More - Mickey Spagnola, Dallas Cowboys

Spags runs through a few of the Cowboys-related topics that have been on his mind, including this take on Cole Beasley.

Beas Attack: Was asked last week to predict who will lead the Cowboys in receptions in 2018. My answer: “Cole Beasley.” Why not? He’s led the club once previously, catching 75 passes in 2016’s 13-3 season with a rookie quarterback, Dak Prescott, at the helm. Plus, with the threat of Ezekiel Elliott on the field for 16 games, health willing, teams will no longer be able to bracket him out of the slot with a slot cornerback and linebacker. They’re going to have to worry about the Cowboys handing the ball to Zeke, and at times throwing it to him as well. And the Cowboys don’t seem to be pigeonholing “Beas” into solely being a slot receiver. He’s been working outside, where he figures to get more one-on-one coverage.

How would you feel about this proposed Cowboys trade to acquire Earl Thomas? - Dave Halprin, Blogging The Boys

It’s been talked about all offseason, but would you do this specific deal?

Archer has the Cowboys sticking with a third-rounder (in next year’s draft) and sweetens the deal a little with a fourth-rounder in 2020. It’s still not the second-rounder the Seahawks reportedly want, but it’s a couple of draft picks and they don’t have to sign Thomas to a long-term deal or risk losing him to free agency next offseason. For the Cowboys, that’s a pretty healthy contract they would be giving out to a player who is aging. The bulk of the contract would be played by Thomas after he turns 30, and would end with him as a 34-year-old safety. Additionally, it wouldn’t top Eric Berry’s contract, and that may be a sore point for Thomas.

Zack Martin discusses stress of waiting on new contract, vacation plans, NFL's best defensive tackles - Jon Machota, SportsDay

Zack Martin admitted to being stressed to get his contract behind him so he could move on to football.

“It was a little stressful, but I was happy to get it done before the summer so I could focus on just getting ready for the season and not having to worry about it all summer,” Martin said this week on SiriusXM NFL Radio’s Blitz with Bruce Murray and Brady Quinn. “We worked on it a long time and I had great representation with Tom Condon, and those guys took care of me.”

Mailbag: Finding Playing Time For Jaylon & LVE? - Bryan Broaddus & David Helman, Dallas Cowboys

Broaddus and Helman tackle the mailbag questions, one of which is how the Cowboys will deploy their linebackers.

Bryan: Just a guess but I’d believe they would keep Vander Esch at MIKE and find a way to use Smith in a role where he is playing all over the field. In my opinion Smith has more flexibility, so why wouldn’t you take advantage of that? Let him play a couple of spots like MIKE and SAM. Let him rush the passer or play nickel in coverage. I’d much rather see him play that way and I believe they would too. David: One way or another, I think Jaylon Smith is going to do a lot more than just play middle linebacker this year. Whether he’s playing on the strong side or being used as a nickel pass rusher, I think the coaching staff is going to find ways to get him moving toward the line of scrimmage. That should open up plenty of opportunities for both he and Vander Esch to get onto the field.

To repeat: The Dallas Cowboys do not have a cap problem - Tom Ryle, Blogging The Boys

In fact, they are in better shape than they have been since maybe the start of the cap era.

Of course, this probably isn’t news to most of you if you have been reading BTB for a while. I covered this back in April. There have been some changes, most importantly the contract extension for Zack Martin. That has eaten into the projected cap space for 2019 - but it still sits at over $50 million, based upon all current contracts. (All figures from Over the Cap.) And Martin’s new contract boosted the space for this year, which currently sits at over $14.8 million. Dallas has space to do just about whatever it wants this season without having to do any more “kicking the can down the road”, and that would include working out a trade for Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas. Any unused space from this year will roll over into the next, so that $50 million for next year could well increase. And the primary impact of a Prescott extension would come in 2020 and after. At the moment, the current contracts the Cowboys have that extend that far (including Martin’s) leave them with a projected space that year of nearly $105 million.

With Byron Jones' move to CB, will Cowboys' Jourdan Lewis be able to lock down a starting spot in 2018? - Jori Epstein, SportsDay

Epstein does an editor's profile on Jourdan Lewis to see what his 2018 outlook will be.