SPORTSDAY

CBS Sportsline's Pete Prisco has gone to the pains of ranking the Top 32 free agents on the market, and three Cowboys appear in the group. Here's what Prisco says about each of them:

6) Flozell Adams, T, Dallas Cowboys: After a so-so year in 2006, he played well last season. Was it a money push? The Cowboys would love to have him back, but only at the right price.

13) Ken Hamlin, S, Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys signed him to a one-year deal and he responded with a Pro Bowl season. That's cashing in. He is a big hitter who played better against the pass last season than he did when he was with Seattle.

27) Julius Jones, RB, Dallas Cowboys: He lost his starting job by season's end to Marion Barber. The Cowboys will let Jones walk. Can he be a decent starter? Yes. But if he's asking for mega-money he might be in for a shock.

Follow the jump for more ...

The Cowboys enter the off-season with five potentially restricted free agents. They are ...

RB Marion Barber
C/G Joe Berger
DE Chris Canty
LS L.P. Ladouceur
RB Tyson Thompson

The Cowboys have until Feb. 28 to place tender offers on those players. Doing so gives Dallas matching rights on each player, and compensation is based on the amount offered. Here are the four tiers of tenders:

$927,000 -- draft-level compensation
$1.47 million -- second-round pick
$2.017 million -- first-round pick
$2.562 million -- first- and third-round picks

Draft-level compensation is defined as a pick corresponding with where each player was originally drafted. That means the $927,000 tender would merit fourth-pick compensation for Barber and Canty, a sixth-round pick for Berger, and no compensation for Ladouceur or Thompson.

Chances are, Barber and Canty will be tendered at the highest level, effectively taking both off the market. If any of the other three are tendered, it would likely be at the lowest level. If they are not tendered, they become unrestricted free agents. Just so we're clear on that.

Since Albert seems it would be in the Cowboys' best interests to name Flozell Adams the franchise player, I thought I'd take another look at the franchise tag.

How about naming Ken Hamlin the franchise player? It would cost the Cowboys half as much $4.396 million) to tag Hamlin than it would be to tag Adams ($9 million). And if they were to give Adams the franchise tag, then that would eat up just about all of their remaining cap room. Then the team would have to re-work a ton of contracts to come up with more room to sign free agents.

Hamlin just played in his first Pro Bowl after picking off a career-high five passes and generally serving as the quarterback of the secondary. He brought a much needed sense of calm to the secondary in terms of getting everybody lined up correctly.

Thoughts?

We're three days into the 15-day window for teams to place the franchise tag on players, and so far, only one player -- Eagles TE L.J. Smith -- has officially been slapped with the designation.

Surely, more are coming. Oakland CB Nnamdi Asomugha and Tennessee DT Albert Haynesworth are expected to get it, and Seattle CB Marcus Trufant, Arizona LB Karlos Dansby and New England WR Randy Moss could too. As could Cowboys OT Flozell Adams.

I'm on record as saying there'd be plenty of benefit to tagging Adams, not the least of which would be buying a year to further develop the team's young tackles and identify a long-term answer at the position. It's costly, yes, at $9 million (I had the number wrong earlier this week, since I believed the 20 percent raise applied to players tagged in back-to-back years). And most players aren't exactly thrilled when they get hit with the tag, so there's that issue.

How do these things usually work out? The answers vary, as detailed by Paul Kuharsky of the Tennessean this week. Follow the jump for the results of Kuharsky's study of the 30 franchise tags handed out since 2004, involving 24 players.

Anyone looking for the Cowboys to make a splash and bring in a name free agent to pair with Terence Newman at corner might want to forget about it.

There are three standout guys on the free-agent market at that position: Oakland's Nnamdi Asomugha, New England's Asante Samuel and Seattle's Marcus Trufant. Asomugha seems destined for the franchise tag. Trufant could get it too, if Seattle lets kicker Josh Brown walk. And if you want Samuel -- who can't be tagged, per a clause that agent Alonzo Shavers negotiated into his one-year pact last August -- the jumping off point will probably have to be in the range of the eight-year, $80 million deal that Nate Clements got from the Niners last year.

Plus, with a Newman extension on the horizon, it seems like even making a run at one of those three, and tossing numbers around wildly, could poison the waters with the Cowboys' own Pro Bowler. And the truth is, after those three, there's a considerable drop-off in quality on the market.

A couple guys to keep an eye on: San Diego's Drayton Florence and New England's Randall Gay. Both are young, and will come infinitely cheaper than the elite. Florence has experience with Wade Phillips, while Gay brings the versatility to play inside, outside and even at safety. So there's merit -- and given their lower price tags, drawbacks -- with each.

Albert put together a well-reasoned and sound argument for keeping Flozell Adams under the franchise tag rules. Unfortunately, his numbers were a little off, which may sway the argument.

Adams actually ended up costing $7.5 million against the 2007 cap when you factor in a $500,000 incentive he picked up for making the Pro Bowl again. The franchise pay is either the average of the top-five cap figures or a 20 percent increase over what the player made the previous year.

Bill Parcells started with the Cowboys' front office, wooing personnel executives Jeff Ireland and Brian Gaine to Miami. Then he took what he wanted from the coaching staff, hiring Tony Sparano as the Dolphins' head coach and Todd Bowles, Paul Pasqualoni and Kacy Rodgers as assistants.

Now, it's on to the roster. The Tuna's efforts to trick Jerry into trading Marion "The Barbarian" Barber have been well chronicled. Don't be surprised if the Dolphins go after a couple more Cowboys' Pro Bowlers during free agency.

Miami is in the market for a free safety. Ken Hamlin wants a big contract after playing for the relative bargain price of $2 million and change last season. Hamlin also has a ton of respect for Bowles.

LT Flozell Adams is a Sparano guy, so it wouldn't be stunning if he decided to rejoin his O-line coach in Miami.

Cowboys will be in need of free agents like everybody else.

We look at a few choices.

Running back and DeSoto native Tatum Bell of the Lions is unrestricted and wouldn't mind playing behind Marion Barber. Bell is a fast, shifty back that the Cowboys need on third down.

If Dallas doesn’t get Bell, it will be interesting to see where running back Michael Pittman of Tampa Bay, ends up.

Wide receiver Javon Walker of the Broncos is due a roster bonus of $3.5 million and if it’s not picked up, Dallas could go after him. The Cowboys debated between Walker and Terrell Owens a couple years ago and went with T.O. That has worked out great for the Cowboys, but adding Walker gives the Cowboys a speed threat if Terry Glenn doesn't return.

Ken Hamlin might leave the Cowboys for big money. If that’s the case, Tank Williams, the free safety in Minnesota is a possibility.

Of course, we like the Chargers Drayton Florence as a cornerback. Nothing against Anthony Henry and Terence Newman, but with more teams going with three and four receiver sets, another corner wouldn’t be bad.

You can never rule out Jerry Jones hogging the off-season headlines, but there might not be a big-name fit for the Cowboys in this free-agent market.

The Cowboys need another cornerback, and this is an outstanding free-agent cornerback class with Asante Samuel, Marcus Trufant and Nnamdi Asomugha available. But those three guys will want the kind of contract the 49ers gave Nate Clements (eight years, $80 million with $22 million guaranteed). So does Terence Newman, who is entering a contract year. The Cowboys can't give two corners that kind of money.

Maybe the Cowboys sign Drayton Florence, who played for Wade Phillips in San Diego and would be an upgrade over Jacques Reeves. I wouldn't call signing Florence a splash, though.

Speaking of San Diego players, don't count on Michael Turner filling the Cowboys' need for another running back. Sure, the Cowboys like Turner, but they're committed to Marion "The Barbarian" Barber as the starter. Why would Turner come to Dallas when other teams will want him to carry the load? Expect the Cowboys to address this need in the early rounds of the draft, which features a rich running back crop.

Receiver represents the best chance for the Cowboys to make a splash. Follow the jump for some possibilities.