It has almost been three months since the Dallas Cowboys placed the franchise tag on their star tight end. After a career year for Dalton Shultz, a long-term deal is what is most desired but the Cowboys have yet to step up to the plate to deliver that, which lead to Shultz making them very aware that he is not too happy with the state of his contract. Can this decision to skip the rest of voluntary OTA’s and potentially miss more time have the potential to back fire on Shultz? Possibly.

Many Cowboys fans have already taken to Twitter to give their opinion on Shultz making the organization aware of his frustration. John Owning, @JohnOwning on Twitter, and Editor for Pro Football Focus stated “I’m a big Dalton Shultz fan, but a potential holdout doesn’t worry me a bit. If anything, just more reps for McKeon and Ferguson which is good long-term, in my opinion.”

The selection of tight end Jake Ferguson from Wisconsin in the 2022 NFL Draft has created a buzz around Cowboys fans for the potential he has to be a key piece in the offense in the future, but it may end up coming sooner than expected. Many of the reactions from the news of Shultz potentially holding out have come with the optimism of more involvement and reps for as stated above McKeon and Ferguson. Another member of Cowboys Twitter, @FootsDaKing stated, “Honestly, Dalton Shultz potentially holding out can work against him; The more reps Ferguson gets, Dallas may say, we’re good.”

Shultz will be locked in if there is no long-term deal completed by July 15. With wide receivers Amari Cooper now with the Cleveland Browns and Michael Gallup recovering from a torn ACL, the Cowboys will be relying on Shultz in the passing game along with CeeDee Lamb and others for a majority of the beginning of the season. With that being said, Shultz can very well have another great year but with other players such as All-Pro Corner Trevon Diggs and Lamb close to getting a payday of their own, it’s is difficult seeing Dallas lock up Shultz long-term as well.