Are we under the cap?

[jr40usa]

Please provide current cap numbers.

[TheCoolFan]

Clarence Hill ‏@clarencehilljr According to a source, the Cowboys are now roughly $175,000 under the salary cap heading into free agency..so dont expect any moves #NoMoney

[weaver21]

Originally Posted by TheCoolFan

Clarence Hill ‏@clarencehilljr According to a source, the Cowboys are now roughly $175,000 under the salary cap heading into free agency..so dont expect any moves #NoMoney

How is that funny?

[AmishCowboy]

David Moore was just on the Ticket and said we were $800,000 under the cap

[unionjack8]

Originally Posted by weaver21

How is that funny?

i think its a nervous laugh, we may not be in cap hell but its starting to get hot thats for sure

[Mattsdad]

This team is soo misguided and managed it truly hurts a fan....especially one that has been loyal for over 30 years. Sad, but true. Hoping for better days

[gimmesix]

Originally Posted by TheCoolFan

Clarence Hill ‏@clarencehilljr According to a source, the Cowboys are now roughly $175,000 under the salary cap heading into free agency..so dont expect any moves #NoMoney

I don't trust any of these reporters when it comes to the cap.

[Wood]

I heard they signed Jason Witten son ..then extended him until 2050 to get under the cap so we can retain more 8-8 players.

[koolaid]

I'll never pretend to understand the cap. Every time I think we or the redskins are in trouble nothing seems to happen. I wont worry until we start cutting good players.

[Manwiththeplan]

Originally Posted by unionjack8

i think its a nervous laugh, we may not be in cap hell but its starting to get hot thats for sure

Considering Romo and Spencer's cap numbers we could resign both to long term deals with lots of money in year 1 to save money down the road.

[unionjack8]

Originally Posted by Manwiththeplan

Considering Romo and Spencer's cap numbers we could resign both to long term deals with lots of money in year 1 to save money down the road.

Giving 30 year old de's 5 year deals is th kind of business, IMO, that has got us in this mess, and despite what some here will tell you, it is a mess.

Credit card mentality comes home to roost eventually and it is doing now, with guys like Ratliff earning way too much for little production and sat there in th comfort that there is nothing really we can do about it.

[The Natural]

Originally Posted by TheCoolFan

Clarence Hill ‏@clarencehilljr According to a source, the Cowboys are now roughly $175,000 under the salary cap heading into free agency..so dont expect any moves #NoMoney

this cant be life

[Manwiththeplan]

Originally Posted by unionjack8

Giving 30 year old de's 5 year deals is th kind of business, IMO, that has got us in this mess, and despite what some here will tell you, it is a mess.

Credit card mentality comes home to roost eventually and it is doing now, with guys like Ratliff earning way too much for little production and sat there in th comfort that there is nothing really we can do about it.

A very small percentage of the fan base likes Spencer (and I assume you aren't in that group) and the group that doesn't, don't seem to want him on the roster under any circumstances, even if he were to sign cheap.

So far starters let me say this. He's 29 and won't be 30 untill deep into the playoffs, and a 5 year deal will run untill he's 33 (34 at the end of the final season). Which doesn't mean we're stuck with him untill he's 34, it only means we're able to spread the bonus out that far and more than likely we can release him at age 31 or 32 if his play drops. That's how contracts are set up in the NFL, nothing specific we're doing, it's what all teams are doing.

And the reason I was such an advocate of Spencer returning is because I once Romo is no longer playing at an elite level, we're done. Whether we have cap space or not, this team will not be good. It only takes a season or two to purge bad contracts and a team that begins the offseason with 10-20 million in cap space, but it takes a lot longer to find a QB capable of leading your team deep in the playoffs. Just look at this team, this year. We're under the cap and could easily be in great cap standing next off season by 1.) Letting Spencer play out the year on the franchise tag and letting him walk, 2.) Release Jay Ratliff and Doug Free now, as opposed to june first, so they count only on this years cap and 3.) Trade/release Tony Romo now as well.

Those 3 moves will likey put us in great cap shape for 2014 and after a few moves in 2015, we'll be even better. But we have no shot at winning in those season. Even with the talented Mr. Ware and Dez Bryant and all the other pieces we have. No shot

So for me, it comes down to the fact that we're a better team with Anthony Spencer, than without him. Can't even debate that. And while I don't think it's likely we win a super bowl before the window closes, I think we need to continue to try. We have an elite QB (or the best non elite QB if you feel like arguing), arguably the best all around TE, one of the better WR duos in the NFL and a LT who has the ability to be a perenial pro-bowler. The rest of our o-line is a joke, but it's not hard to get interior linemen or RTs. On defense, we have one of the better pass rushing duos in the NFL. 2 LBers who have the potential to be pro-bowl level players (3-4 OLBs always get most of the spots though) and a CB duo that has the potential to be one of the best in the league. Our interior needs a ton of work here as well as well as the saftey position, but these or not positions where it's unreasonable to think we can get 2-3 starters in the draft alone. The time to go all in is now, consequences be damned, because at the end of the day, when Romo is done, we're done.

[Cowboy_Shawn]

Originally Posted by TheCoolFan

Clarence Hill ‏@clarencehilljr According to a source, the Cowboys are now roughly $175,000 under the salary cap heading into free agency..so dont expect any moves #NoMoney

I was just coming to comment on this after seeing Watkins article on the ESPN web site.

It is a sad state of affairs in Dallas. Our only hope is that they come out of this draft with at least 4 good players and that the defensive coaching changes have a positive impact.

[Cowboy_Shawn]

Originally Posted by Manwiththeplan

And the reason I was such an advocate of Spencer returning is because I once Romo is no longer playing at an elite level, we're done. Whether we have cap space or not, this team will not be good. It only takes a season or two to purge bad contracts and a team that begins the offseason with 10-20 million in cap space, but it takes a lot longer to find a QB capable of leading your team deep in the playoffs. Just look at this team, this year. We're under the cap and could easily be in great cap standing next off season by 1.) Letting Spencer play out the year on the franchise tag and letting him walk, 2.) Release Jay Ratliff and Doug Free now, as opposed to june first, so they count only on this years cap and 3.) Trade/release Tony Romo now as well.

Only if your team is run by a stubborn owner who wants to masquerade as a GM.

If you know what you're looking forward and spend adequate resources towards finding a QB then it doesn't take that long.

Falcons went from Vick to Ryan. 49ers got Kaepernick. Packers went from Favre to Rogers. etc.

Sure a lot of teams try and fail with 1st and 2nd round picks but if you look around the league the vast majority of Pro Bowl and playoff caliber QBs were drafted early.

The key is not treating the QB search like a search for a place kicker. That's what got us in trouble after Aikman left. It took a while to find Aikman's replacement because we were in cap trouble and went the cheap, unconventional route.