Thanks to Danny for continuing this off-season series. In it, we ponder the "what ifs?" surrounding former Cowboys who have gone on to success after being cut or traded by Dallas. In most, but not all, of these cases, we're not second-guessing the decision that was made at the time. We're just imagining how different some of those seasons might have turned out had these players stayed. If you haven't already, please also see Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.
 
In the early to mid-nineties, in the midst of the team's Super Bowl run and the dawn of the free agent era, the Cowboys had to make some hard decisions about which players were worth breaking the bank for. In some cases, like the Triplets, it was easy. In others, because of the tremendous depth the team had at almost every position, some starters were sacrificed in exchange for their back-ups.
 
Unfortunately, by the late nineties, that wasn't always a viable option, yet the team continued a decade-long pattern of releasing linebackers, rather than paying them lucrative free agent contracts.
 
It began, probably, with allowing Ken Norton, Jr. to go to San Francisco in 1994.
 
In 1996, the Cowboys drafted Randall Godfrey, who had entered the draft following his junior year at the University of Georgia. Godfrey was big (6-2, 245,) fast, good in coverage and a hard hitter. He did not get much playing time his rookie year, but over the next two years became the anchor of the linebacking corps.
 
Following the 1998 season, a year in which he'd had three sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles (recovering one,) and 70 tackles, Godfrey became a restricted free agent. Jerry Jones, though, had already established the team's patter: "we don't pay for linebackers."
 
The team tendered the minimum contract offer to retain Godfrey's rights. Though clearly unhappy with the $429,000 deal, Godfrey swallowed hard, signed it, and played one more year.
 
In that contract year, he exceeded his previous year's totals in almost every category. That off-season, he signed a big free agent contract with the reigning AFC Champion Tennessee Titans, where he would remain for three years, followed by a brief stint in Seattle, then three years in San Diego's 3-4 defense.
 
The 2000 season, his first after leaving Dallas, was his best statistical year, reminding Cowboys fans what they were missing: 3 sacks, 2 interceptions (one for a TD,) 5 forced fumbles and 99 tackles (77 unassisted.)
 
Meanwhile, back in Dallas, Godfrey was replaced by Baron Wortham, finishing out his unremarkable career with the Cowboys, having been released by...Tennessee.
 
In the years following, the middle was held down first by Dat Nguyen, a smart, talented player and fan favorite, but undersized, especially in the Parcells 3-4; then Bradie James alongside a succession of mediocre or aging players.
 
Dallas had a lot of serious salary cap issues around the time Godfrey became a free agent, and maybe there was no choice but to let him go. They drafted guys like Dat Nguyen, Dexter Coakley, and Bradie James, who had (or are having) nice careers. Still, especially in the early Parcells years, when the team lacked the size in the middle to really play the scheme effectively, and Godfrey was having some very solid years in the San Diego 3-4, you have to wonder what could have been.