IRVING, Texas -- Brandon Carr is the epitome of why the Dallas Cowboys have changed their approach to free agency.

He's making star money, but he hasn't produced like a star.

These days, the Cowboys are no longer big spenders in free agency, setting the market and acquiring marquee names along with the sexy headlines that accompany them. Don’t expect the Cowboys to make any significant acquisitions on Wednesday, the first day players can officially sign contracts and change teams.

For the past several years, the Cowboys tended to pick and choose in free agency, searching for role players and low-budget starters at affordable prices.

Since 2008, the Cowboys have signed 15 players during free agency. Only Carr and Greg Hardy would have been considered front-line players at the time of their signing.

Anytime someone, usually owner Jerry Jones, wants to spend big money in free agency, he’s reminded of Carr.

The Cowboys were in desperate need of a cornerback following the 2011 season, and they signed Carr to a five-year, $50 million deal, though he wasn’t even considered the No. 1 cornerback in Kansas City.

The contract reeked of desperation. That contract still ranks seventh in total value and ninth in average salary per year among 203 cornerback contracts.

Carr, who has already earned $41 million, is a hard-working, durable player who has started 64 consecutive games for the Cowboys. He’s a tremendous asset in the community and was named the Cowboys’ Man of the Year in 2015.

But the Cowboys paid Carr, who could be released this offseason, to be a dynamic player. Instead, he has gone 36 games without an interception and has just one in his past 42 games.

Hey, it could be worse. Cortland Finnegan, who spent his first six seasons with the Tennessee Titans, signed the same five-year, $50 million deal with the St. Louis Rams following the 2011 season and lasted just two seasons. He spent a year with the Miami Dolphins and five games last season with the Carolina Panthers.

Carr and Finnegan were easily the best two cornerbacks available following the 2011 season, and they commanded $10 million a year on the open market. Both were considered good -- not great -- players, but supply and demand is always good for players’ bank accounts.

The problem with free agency is that solid players get paid like they're good, good players get paid like they're great and great players get paid obscenely. And it’s rare the highest-paid free agents become impact players who lift their teams, especially during the first year.

Ndamukong Suh last season signed a six-year, $114 million dollar deal with $60 million guaranteed, and the Dolphins still finished last in the AFC East with a 6-10 record.

The Eagles signed cornerback Byron Maxwell -- thought to be a budding star when he was with the Seattle Seahawks -- to a six-year, $63 million deal with $25 million guaranteed. Philadelphia traded him to Miami on Monday for a couple of peanut butter sandwiches and a draft pick. The trade can become official on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET when the new league year begins.

Frankly, look no further than DeMarco Murray, who left the Cowboys after rushing for 1,845 yards on 392 carries -- each a single-season franchise record -- to sign a five-year, $42 million deal with $20 million guaranteed with Philadelphia.

The Eagles traded him to the Titans on Monday for some magic beans and a draft pick.

Free agency is a terrific way to fill some holes on a roster, but it’s an awful way to try to regularly acquire impact players.

First, every team must ask the pertinent questions: Why did the player's current team choose not to re-sign such a coveted player? Is the player still in his athletic prime? Does his skill set fit the scheme of the team pursuing him? Will the big contract put too much pressure on him to succeed? Will the big contract take away his work ethic?

Those are all legitimate questions, because there are so many reasons a free-agent acquisition doesn’t work out that it's not worth signing a marquee player to a lucrative long-term deal in the first few days of free agency.

The Cowboys, like many other teams these days, prefer to spend their salary-cap space on their own players, such as Dez Bryant, Orlando Scandrick, Tyrone Crawford, Tyron Smith and Sean Lee, all of whom have signed lucrative long-term deals with the Cowboys over the past few seasons.

No guarantees exist for teams re-signing their own players, but at least they know their flaws and strengths, which makes the decision-making easier.

And the odds of paying an average player like a star get reduced.