Who are the potential FC Dallas free agents after the 2024 season
Who are the potential FC Dallas free agents after the 2024 season
A lot of these players have options on their current contracts.
Tuesday was a travel day for me as I came back from a short trip to the Pacific Northwest to see FC Dallas battle the Vancouver Whitecaps (I also hit up Seattle a bit before flying home to Dallas). While I was in the air, the Major League Soccer Players Association released their annual upcoming free agents list.
According to the MLSPA, this is a list of players who are eligible for free agency ahead of the 2025 season. Included in the list are both free-agency eligible players who are out of contract, as well as free-agency eligible players who are out of contract but have an option year remaining on their contract.
Here are the list of FC Dallas players on the MLSPA’s list:
Nkosi Tafari (option pending)
Sebastien Ibeagha (option pending)
Liam Fraser (option pending)
Omar Gonzalez (option pending)
Sam Junqua (option pending)
Jimmy Maurer (out of contract)
Ruan (out of contract)
Ema Twumasi (option pending)
What does this all mean for FCD in 2025?
We have discussed the roster a bit already for 2025 but seeing the official list of potential free agents from the club is rather intriguing.
First and foremost, it’s almost entirely the Dallas defense, minus a few players. Considering the significant decline in the Dallas defense over the past two years, this could indicate a substantial overhaul of the defense that might occur this winter.
In the link above where I discussed who was playing for a roster spot in 2025, I did say that I felt guys like Tafari, Junqua and Fraser were probably good options to keep around in 2025. I do believe if the club can work out a way to get Ibeagha on a lower salary (something that is more cap-friendly in 2025), I could get on board with that.
We also knew that newcomer Ruan would be part of this list when the club traded for him last month. The small sample size on him is still pretty solid as a rental for the remainder of this season. I do wonder if his $440,000 salary hit next year1 would be something the club could handle or not.
What do you all think? If the club misses out on the playoffs, will we see a complete overhaul in the defense? It sort of seems like we could.
This is assuming he doesn’t get some sort of pay raise to stay put in Dallas. The club did comment a lot in late August how excited they were to get a player that they had basically wanted since 2019. So, you know how that goes (see someone like Franco Jara as an example).
Pick up: Tafari, Gonzalez, Junqua
Decline: Ibeagha, Fraser, Maurer, Twumasi
Wildcard: Ruan
If Ruan is willing to be around $400K then I think you keep him. More than that, I don’t think he’s worth it since you are still betting on Jesus being the starting RFB/RWB. I think you can pick up a journeyman RFB if you need to as depth who is cheaper than either Ruan or Twumasi who can fill in until Jesus is ready to start.
It will definitely be an interesting off season for FCD. From my perspective, they have to settle up on a coach. I like what Luccin has done thus far, but I cannot figure out if I like him enough to bring back or I fear starting over with a new coach.
As for the free agents, I would like to see Junqua, Tafari, Ruan, and Fraser return. Ibeagha adds a lot, but I’m not certain if his salary would justify returning.
I think Maurer is going to move into a front office or player development role (I thought that was part of the team friendly contract he signed last year).
I’m curious where Geo Jesus fits in all this too. He was injured about a month prior to Alan, but I still don’t think a time table has been established for his return.
Keep up the great work Drew! Glad you enjoyed the Pacific Northwest too