In Terrance Williams, Cowboys are 'Dak friendly' but have to fill line holes, too

FRISCO, Texas -- A few years into Tony Romo's tenure as the Dallas Cowboys' starting quarterback, owner and general manager Jerry Jones came up with a term that stuck: “Romo friendly.”

Over the years it was derided for the lack of defensive help for Romo and praised for the three first-round draft picks along the offensive line in Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin.

With Romo looking at his final hours, days or weeks with the Cowboys, Jones perhaps is looking to continue the same approach with Dak Prescott.

The re-signing of wide receiver Terrance Williams is “Dak friendly.”

While Williams is far from perfect, retaining him on a four-year deal worth $17.5 million and $9.5 million guaranteed is a major surprise. There were rumblings that Williams had a more lucrative offer from another team pulled after an agreement was made, which allowed the Cowboys to stay in the hunt.

With Williams around, Prescott has all of his top targets back for his second season as the Cowboys’ starter, joining Dez Bryant, Cole Beasley, Jason Witten, Ezekiel Elliott and even Brice Butler, who came back on a one-year deal.

That’s good news for Prescott, who can build off his rookie season without having to learn the ins and outs of another pass-catcher.

But Jones will have to show some more friendliness to Prescott along the offensive line after the free-agent departure of left guard Ronald Leary to the Denver Broncos and the impending retirement of right tackle Doug Free.

At the combine, there did not seem to be any rush to move La’el Collins to right tackle if something happened to Free, retirement or not. The Cowboys have believed Collins' best position is guard. If the Cowboys are able to retain Jonathan Cooper, who signed the week of the playoffs, then perhaps Collins could slide out to tackle; however, he remains no sure thing out there either. Chaz Green, a third-round pick in 2015, would be the top option at right tackle, but he has only two more games to his credit (four) than surgeries (two) in his first two seasons.

The Cowboys have not shown any inclination to get into the free-agent market for tackles like Ryan Clady or Jake Long or whomever as of yet. They would likely have to make a final decision on Romo for that to happen. The draft is not particularly strong on the offensive tackle front either, but that remains an option to move to the top of the priority list.

Being Romo friendly worked well enough. Now the Cowboys have to be Dak friendly, too.

Keeping Williams was a start, but filling offensive line holes is a must.