"It hasn't been 24 hours yet and (I'm) still in shock."
That's what Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis told reporters on Monday about the playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Man, I'll tell you this. It's already Wednesday and whatever the heck that was on Sunday still feels like a shock. And as much as we want to break it down to find out what went wrong, the thing about losing in the playoffs is that there's no game next weekend.
Instead, there's free agency and the NFL Draft and in this case, imminent coaching decisions to be made. Lewis' locker room interview was a painful reminder of how quickly the page must be turned in the league.
"I mean, it's life, you know," Lewis said when asked about his impending free agency in 2024. " It hurts that we lost like that. So, and you know, I won't get to be, I might not be a part of this next year, so it kind of hurts."
That's right, Lewis' is set to hit free agency in March and judging by his answer, his return is certainly not guaranteed.
Lewis really came along after starting the year as a backup, especially in the second half of the season as one of the very best Cowboys' defenders. Playing one of the hardest positions in modern football, nickel cornerback, Lewis shined in coverage and run defense, bringing a physical element that resulted in consistent tackling and run stops.
He did it all despite having to bounce back from a nasty foot injury from the 2022 season.
Now, he's set to hit free agency and his future is up in the air. Based on his own comments, he seems to be very aware that not coming back to Dallas is a strong possibility.
While many would argue that Lewis should be re-signed - myself included - it's also true the Cowboys will have many other priorities next offseason, including potential early contract extensions for Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons.
And that's without even getting into a free agency class that also includes Tyron Smith, Stephon Gilmore, Tony Pollard, Tyler Biadasz, Johnathan Hankins, and Jayron Kearse, among many others. That's six starters we just listed aside from Lewis.
Then there's the Dan Quinn element to this whole thing: The Cowboys defensive coordinator could very well be gone next season as he interviews for head coaching vacancies around the NFL. Even if he doesn't land a head coaching job, his return might not be guaranteed based on the downward trend his unit took in 2023.
Lewis' message after the playoff loss might've unfortunately been his goodbye. And make no mistake about it, if he's indeed gone, his work will be missed in the secondary.
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