Give Dak a nonexclusive franchise tag

ABQCOWBOY

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If the Jones' don't believe Dak is legit then they shouldn't have even offered the contract that was on the table last year. If they don't think Dak is legit they should have gotten more promising developmental qbs. Dak supposedly backed out of a handshake deal. But if true I don't blame him. I would expect the same from the Cowboys if Dak started playing that and was horrible. Obviously you aren't getting the same deal. I blame the Cowboys because the deal should have gotten done before the season even began. Until the deal is signed, you don't have one.

People act like signing a new deal means the Cowboys are stuck in a bad situation for five years. The Eagles already got it from under Wentz' contract and got a 3rd and 2nd for him. They have to eat dead money for one year and then they are clear. After two years the Cowboys still want Dak so they would be in an even better situation than the Eagles. They would have Dak under contract this season and if they wanted to move on next season they could with little or no dead money.

I think the way contracts work in the NFL incentivizes taking chances on signing those big deals sooner rather than later. If you hit, they you have a great player at somewhat of a discount for 5 years. If you miss you can get out from under the contract after 3 years. Is not like the NBA where the contracts are fully guaranteed. Waiting later to sign means that the front office has more info to make a decision, but it gives the player the opportunity to increase their asking price after a good season. You're hedging your bets but you can't get any real wins that way. They did the same thing with D Law. Would have cost $17 million per year, he plays on the tag. Next year negotiations go up to $21 million a year. Possibly did the same thing with Amari as well.

I think the Cowboys need to do a better job deciding who to pay and who to let walk. Their strategy seems to fly in the face of conventional wisdom. You play hardball with the qb, wr, edge, and likely will end up paying more for all three because of it. Let a corner walk, but then pay a running back and linebacker early (especially Jaylon who only had one good season).

They have to eat 34 million on a deal that was spread out over a longer period of time on the contract and a smaller deal, money wise. I mean, hello....... if you are the Cowboys, you are eating a lot more, with fewer years to defuse the money, in at least two seasons, maybe more, where the cap is going to be smaller then it was a year ago. That's a horrible idea. That will hurt this team big time. That's not a situation you are going to be able to deal with in a single season, IMO. Also, Philly has Hurt and they have the 6th overall pick and they are looking at one of the deepest QB drafts in years, this season. The Cowboys will likely have none of those advantages going for them because they have nobody on the team right now who could even be a backup for most teams, they never draft guys who might develop into somebody who could rival the starter and draft with QB talent like this year, don't come around very often.

I think it's real bad idea to bet on that kind of situation working out.

JMO
 

ABQCOWBOY

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They had to have had doubts with Dak. Quarterbacks usually get their extensions after their 3rd year. I'm guessing it's what they saw before Cooper arrived. If that was Patrick Mahomes, do you think Jerry doesn't sign him after 2018?

There is an incentive to signing players, especially quarterbacks after their 3rd year. It's mainly cap related. Sign after 3 years and the player still has either 1 or 2 years left on his rookie deal that he plays out before the extension and big caps hits go into effect. That also provides more time for the cap to grow before the extension starts. You can also dump bonus money on those rookie years to further help cap hits. But it doesn't do much to help you get out of a contract. The Devil is in the details as far as that's concerned.

The Eagles got lucky with Wentz. They had to trade him just to get to a 33 million dead cap. If they had to release him it would have been 61 million. Now that is truly ridiculous.

But what if the plan is not to sign, if you are the player? I mean, I hear people blame Jerry for not signing Dak early but I have to wonder if they are really paying attention to the situation. Dak has never shown any interest in signing with the Cowboys, long term. Never.
 

FuzzyLumpkins

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Equally funny that people claim Dak's losing record in 2020, in less then 5 complete games, is suggestive of the fact that Dak would somehow translate into a record season. He played less then 5 games. His record in those games, 1 win, 3 losses and 1 incomplete. So I guess if we use this methodology for Dak, his projected record is something like 3-10-3. Maybe one more win, maybe one more loss but that's what it looks like. So, it's pretty simple to me, do you want to sign a guy who is going to give you 5K yards, 34 TDs but only 3 or 4 wins a season or do you want a QB who might put up lessor stats but post more wins and get you into the post season?

Stats have always been hard for you.

If a guy is putting up those kinds of yards and the 25+ ppg that go along with that then I am not going to ignore the defense giving up 30 and pretend Dak is causal in that situ.
 

ABQCOWBOY

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Stats have always been hard for you.

If a guy is putting up those kinds of yards and the 25+ ppg that go along with that then I am not going to ignore the defense giving up 30 and pretend Dak is causal in that situ.

Not hard at all. Stats are stats, they can be manipulated and presented to tell any story you want. I'm not confused about any of it. But I know you and I know that when it comes down to it, you don't really know a damn thing about the game. You know things like stats so this is what you go to. That's cool with me but it will never fly because I know what they are, and what you are.

So if you want to talk about real football, I'm good with that. If you want to talk about some BS projection, based on less then 5 games, where Dak is made out to be an MVP, then get right with the projection where he goes 3-10-3 as well because you can't have it both ways.

This game is not about the 25+ ppg or whatever other stupid stat you want to try and build sandcastles around. This game IS about wins and loses and like it or not, that's the deal. Dak didn't throw for 5000 yards or 34 TDs. I know reality is hard for you but the truth is, Dak didn't throw for anything close to that and he was on the shelf for most of the season. Those are the facts and they are undisputed.
 

jaythecowboy

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They have to eat 34 million on a deal that was spread out over a longer period of time on the contract and a smaller deal, money wise. I mean, hello....... if you are the Cowboys, you are eating a lot more, with fewer years to defuse the money, in at least two seasons, maybe more, where the cap is going to be smaller then it was a year ago. That's a horrible idea. That will hurt this team big time. That's not a situation you are going to be able to deal with in a single season, IMO. Also, Philly has Hurt and they have the 6th overall pick and they are looking at one of the deepest QB drafts in years, this season. The Cowboys will likely have none of those advantages going for them because they have nobody on the team right now who could even be a backup for most teams, they never draft guys who might develop into somebody who could rival the starter and draft with QB talent like this year, don't come around very often.

I think it's real bad idea to bet on that kind of situation working out.

JMO

In this quote I was arguing that the Cowboys should have gotten the deal done after 2018. Had they did the deal after 2018 they would be deciding now to get out of it or not instead of deciding if they want to start it.
 

jaythecowboy

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But what if the plan is not to sign, if you are the player? I mean, I hear people blame Jerry for not signing Dak early but I have to wonder if they are really paying attention to the situation. Dak has never shown any interest in signing with the Cowboys, long term. Never.

Dak was rumored to have almost signed at the deadline last year and also rumored that $35 x 4 years would have gotten the deal done SO dak has shown interest.
 

ABQCOWBOY

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In this quote I was arguing that the Cowboys should have gotten the deal done after 2018. Had they did the deal after 2018 they would be deciding now to get out of it or not instead of deciding if they want to start it.

I understand Jay, but what I am trying to say is that Dak and France never wanted to do a deal. I don't believe there ever was a deal to be made between the Cowboys and Dak. I believe that each wanted to eventually force the situation we are in now, minus the injury to Dak. I just think that the deal was there but the desire to get one done early never was. Now, if Jerry, in 2018, would have been agreeable to doing a 3 year deal, which is what France has always wanted, then I think a deal would have been done but see, that's not ever what Jerry wanted because what is the value of that? So I just think that all of this was in the cards and there was not much that the team could really do, short of agreeing to a bad deal that would have paid Dak more money and allowed him to come back to the table and demand even more.

That just my opinion on this. That deal was never going to happen and it hasn't.
 

ABQCOWBOY

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Dak was rumored to have almost signed at the deadline last year and also rumored that $35 x 4 years would have gotten the deal done SO dak has shown interest.

No. In actuality, Dak has been "rumored" to have a deal done twice and close once. Once when he fired Guerriero, it was rumored that Guerriero had a deal agreed upon for Dak and would have been ready to sign as soon as Dak was eligible to do so and once at the start of 2020 when France and Dak backed out. There is the rumor that Dak was ready to sign at the end of the negotiation period last year but apparently, they ran out of time, which is all BS if you really think about it. There is not way you run out of time on a deal like that. That doesn't happen but whatever. IMO, Dak has said he has interest but he's clearly shown that he doesn't, three separate times.

That's what I see.
 

jaythecowboy

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I understand Jay, but what I am trying to say is that Dak and France never wanted to do a deal. I don't believe there ever was a deal to be made between the Cowboys and Dak. I believe that each wanted to eventually force the situation we are in now, minus the injury to Dak. I just think that the deal was there but the desire to get one done early never was. Now, if Jerry, in 2018, would have been agreeable to doing a 3 year deal, which is what France has always wanted, then I think a deal would have been done but see, that's not ever what Jerry wanted because what is the value of that? So I just think that all of this was in the cards and there was not much that the team could really do, short of agreeing to a bad deal that would have paid Dak more money and allowed him to come back to the table and demand even more.

That just my opinion on this. That deal was never going to happen and it hasn't.

I think Dak always wanted to get to free agency the same year, targeting right when the big increase from the new tv deals was fully reflected in the salary cap. So in 2018 he would have done a 5-year deal, but the Cowboys wanted 6. 2019 he would have done a 4-year deal, but the Cowboys were stuck on 5. Now this year he possibly wants a 3-year deal, which was my worry when a deal didn't get done by the deadline last year.
 

ABQCOWBOY

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I think Dak always wanted to get to free agency the same year, targeting right when the big increase from the new tv deals was fully reflected in the salary cap. So in 2018 he would have done a 5-year deal, but the Cowboys wanted 6. 2019 he would have done a 4-year deal, but the Cowboys were stuck on 5. Now this year he possibly wants a 3-year deal, which was my worry when a deal didn't get done by the deadline last year.

Nope. If you recall, Dak and France were originally targeting the new CBA and wanted to leverage that, in addition to the new TV deal. No, Dak and France were never interested in a 5 year deal. I mean, none of this matters now because we are where we are but, if you look back on all of this, Dak's actions support no storyline where he is interested in signing a long term deal with the team. Nothing he has done suggests that this is what he has ever wanted.

I'm willing to be convinced but honestly, I look at how all of this has gone and I see nothing that Dak has ever done that supports the idea that he wanted to sign long term in Dallas.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Dak should not go get all the money he can, if that's what is important to him but I am saying that Dak and France aren't going to blow smoke up my backside with this BS stuff. I see it for what it is. I don't think there is a deal to be done here and I haven't since 2020, to be honest. I think they are headed to FA and the Cowboys are either going to be smart or dumb. They will either sign Dak and trade him or let him playout the season and lose him. That's just the writing on the wall to me.
 

jaythecowboy

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Nope. If you recall, Dak and France were originally targeting the new CBA and wanted to leverage that, in addition to the new TV deal. No, Dak and France were never interested in a 5 year deal. I mean, none of this matters now because we are where we are but, if you look back on all of this, Dak's actions support no storyline where he is interested in signing a long term deal with the team. Nothing he has done suggests that this is what he has ever wanted.

I'm willing to be convinced but honestly, I look at how all of this has gone and I see nothing that Dak has ever done that supports the idea that he wanted to sign long term in Dallas.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Dak should not go get all the money he can, if that's what is important to him but I am saying that Dak and France aren't going to blow smoke up my backside with this BS stuff. I see it for what it is. I don't think there is a deal to be done here and I haven't since 2020, to be honest. I think they are headed to FA and the Cowboys are either going to be smart or dumb. They will either sign Dak and trade him or let him playout the season and lose him. That's just the writing on the wall to me.

I moreso meant that year was Dak's best offer. The Cowboys originally wanted 7. Dak and France originally wanted 3. Meeting in the middle would have been 5 years in 2018 but from what I've seen the Cowboys offered 6 years. I think the overwhelming majority of the leaks are all coming from the Cowboys' side trying to make them look good. The leaks always show the apy but rarely do you get the years or guaranteed money. But the apy is a convenient number for people to get in their feelings about when Dak doesn't accept it. Last year and again this year, third party agents with no connection to either side gave their opinion on a fair deal and both were more than the Cowboys have offered. I just don't think the Cowboys have made an offer compelling enough to say Dak was never interested in a deal. That being said I do agree that a deal probably doesn't get done now which I suspected the moment a deal didn't get done last year.
 

ABQCOWBOY

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I moreso meant that year was Dak's best offer. The Cowboys originally wanted 7. Dak and France originally wanted 3. Meeting in the middle would have been 5 years in 2018 but from what I've seen the Cowboys offered 6 years. I think the overwhelming majority of the leaks are all coming from the Cowboys' side trying to make them look good. The leaks always show the apy but rarely do you get the years or guaranteed money. But the apy is a convenient number for people to get in their feelings about when Dak doesn't accept it. Last year and again this year, third party agents with no connection to either side gave their opinion on a fair deal and both were more than the Cowboys have offered. I just don't think the Cowboys have made an offer compelling enough to say Dak was never interested in a deal. That being said I do agree that a deal probably doesn't get done now which I suspected the moment a deal didn't get done last year.

Yes, I agree, the Cowboys want longer, he's always wanted shorter. I mean, the team naturally wants to spread out the money and manage the cap. Dak wants to maximize his money. Dak says he's disrespected but is he? When the team had an all world OL, he was pretty good but that was, IMO, because the threat was the running game and the fact that the Cowboys could put it on you with the run anytime they wanted. Now, that's not Dak's fault, that's just the truth and I don't hold that against him. I just think that those are the dynamics at play there. But when the OL fell off a bit and we couldn't run at will, Dak looked pretty bad before Coop came over to Dallas. Again, don't hold that against him because I am a believer in the fact that QBs need talent around them. Not very many players, at any position, that could just dominate the league without a lot of talent around them, and I'm talking ever. Not a lot of those guys. So I don't hold that against Dak, at all. But still, it's true. He looked pretty bad but once you improve the talent around him, guess what, he starts looking a lot better right? You start seeing the possibilities of what could be if you could put a team together that allowed you to take advantage of this talent. Well, here we are. Jerry sees that, Dak sees money and the two aren't going to meet in the middle. I get it but it doesn't change the simple fact that Dak isn't worth the money and Jerry probably knows that the team can't sign him to the money and succeed both. Just not in the cards IMO.
 

Flamma

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But what if the plan is not to sign, if you are the player? I mean, I hear people blame Jerry for not signing Dak early but I have to wonder if they are really paying attention to the situation. Dak has never shown any interest in signing with the Cowboys, long term. Never.

I can't believe that him not being signed after 2018 is all on Dak. Some of it had to be Jerry. You don't let a quarterback that you want to sign play out the last year of his rookie deal. That's stupid. We don't see anyone else doing this and then signing them. If it was all Dak, then he should have been traded after 2018.
 

CT Dal Fan

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If Dak is worth all this draft capital, why not just keep him? If the Cowboys are foolish for paying Dak, why would another team do the same AND give us draft picks on top of it???

And even if you trade Dak for picks, Dallas has to draft an unproven QB and this putrid defense still isn't getting the help it needs.
 

ABQCOWBOY

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I can't believe that him not being signed after 2018 is all on Dak. Some of it had to be Jerry. You don't let a quarterback that you want to sign play out the last year of his rookie deal. That's stupid. We don't see anyone else doing this and then signing them. If it was all Dak, then he should have been traded after 2018.

I think that's the wrong way to look at it. I think you have to just be honest and lay out everybodies goals. There is nothing wrong with Dak wanting to maximize his earning potential. I mean, I understand that. I don't think it's wise for him but that's his choice. I think it's wrong to put it on the team and Jerry though. There are situations where you just can't make certain moves. I read an article the other day about Kobe Bryant and his Pre Draft workouts for teams, before he got drafted by Charlotte and traded to the Lakers. The thing about that was how Jerry West worked that situation to basically trade for Shack and ice out every other team for Bryant with the 24th pick in the draft that year. Basically, Kobe wanted to be in LA and because of that, West was able to do a deal that nobody thought he could. I believe it was Calipari who was in love with Kobe and they had a top 10 pick so he was the HC with the Nets then. He was dead set on Kobe and the Nets knew about Kobe long before the rest of the NBA. So basically, West talked the Nets into drafting somebody else because Kobe was never going to play anywhere but LA. This is kind of how I see this sito with Dak. He wants to hit FA and I get it. But that doesn't mean it's in the cards for the Cowboys to be able to sign him, no matter what our fan base might think. Bottom line, we can't afford to spend that kind of money on Dak. Watch what happens to teams here in the next week with their rosters. Teams can't afford to keep all of these big contracts and I think we are going to see a lot of big name, still useful, players with big contracts, getting released.

It is what it is IMO.
 

Praxit

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It doesn’t matter because no one is going to sign Dak until his leg is healed which is probably 6 months away.

Everything points to Dak playing this season on the tag again. If he has an All Pro season, he’ll probably get the largest contract in NFL history in 2022. If he plays average and/or gets injured again, his time here will be done.
..those are my thoughts also. I wouldnt give him a huge contract, cause he hasn't played yet. Everything hinges on this year for him.
 

Flamma

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I think that's the wrong way to look at it. I think you have to just be honest and lay out everybodies goals. There is nothing wrong with Dak wanting to maximize his earning potential. I mean, I understand that. I don't think it's wise for him but that's his choice. I think it's wrong to put it on the team and Jerry though. There are situations where you just can't make certain moves. I read an article the other day about Kobe Bryant and his Pre Draft workouts for teams, before he got drafted by Charlotte and traded to the Lakers. The thing about that was how Jerry West worked that situation to basically trade for Shack and ice out every other team for Bryant with the 24th pick in the draft that year. Basically, Kobe wanted to be in LA and because of that, West was able to do a deal that nobody thought he could. I believe it was Calipari who was in love with Kobe and they had a top 10 pick so he was the HC with the Nets then. He was dead set on Kobe and the Nets knew about Kobe long before the rest of the NBA. So basically, West talked the Nets into drafting somebody else because Kobe was never going to play anywhere but LA. This is kind of how I see this sito with Dak. He wants to hit FA and I get it. But that doesn't mean it's in the cards for the Cowboys to be able to sign him, no matter what our fan base might think. Bottom line, we can't afford to spend that kind of money on Dak. Watch what happens to teams here in the next week with their rosters. Teams can't afford to keep all of these big contracts and I think we are going to see a lot of big name, still useful, players with big contracts, getting released.

It is what it is IMO.

Then why am I getting the feeling Jerry is trying like hell to sign Dak? How many free agents do we have leaving this year, 23? Look at who's coming up next year. If they sign Dak, I don't see them being able to surround him with even the talent we have now. Let alone better talent. At least not until the cap starts going up again. What's that, in two the three years? So that's the depressing part.
 

FuzzyLumpkins

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Not hard at all. Stats are stats, they can be manipulated and presented to tell any story you want. I'm not confused about any of it. But I know you and I know that when it comes down to it, you don't really know a damn thing about the game. You know things like stats so this is what you go to. That's cool with me but it will never fly because I know what they are, and what you are.

So if you want to talk about real football, I'm good with that. If you want to talk about some BS projection, based on less then 5 games, where Dak is made out to be an MVP, then get right with the projection where he goes 3-10-3 as well because you can't have it both ways.

This game is not about the 25+ ppg or whatever other stupid stat you want to try and build sandcastles around. This game IS about wins and loses and like it or not, that's the deal. Dak didn't throw for 5000 yards or 34 TDs. I know reality is hard for you but the truth is, Dak didn't throw for anything close to that and he was on the shelf for most of the season. Those are the facts and they are undisputed.

If you know me you know I watch all the games and evaluate scheme and technique.

25 ppg is top 5 point production. The problem was league worst in giving up points. 36 ppg the defense gave up the first 5 games is awful. You cannot ignore the legion of blown coverages, guys getting blown up by blocks, missed tackles. Gashing runs and long balls were common.

You remember that Cleveland game? Atlanta?
 

Steve007

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A lot wrong here.

No team is going to "over offer" to box the Cowboys in, but they'll do it because they don't have a quarterback. That's how free agency works at every position, in every sport. There is no chance Dak gets offers at less than "market." Crazy to think that.

It doesn't matter if they sign the tag or not. The Cowboys control if he accrues a season by using the tag. If Dak chooses to sit out - which would be beyond stupid - the Cowboys can just place the tag on him next year again. By opening the door for other teams, you're losing control of the price. Dallas, with the tag, sets the price at $38, and that's where negotiations start. Same thing they did last year at $31. When you go non-exclusive, you let some team - say San Fran or NE - offer $45 and Dallas now has no negotiating control. You're delusional if you think a team wouldn't do that.

There is just absolutely 0 upside to the non-exclusive. It results in having a more expensive quarterback or no quarterback.
There is a huge upside to a non exclusive tag. Two first round picks if a team offers him a contract and the Cowboys don't match. It's reported that Dak wan'ts 40+ and it looks like he is going to get tagged. It doesn't look like the Cowboys and Dak are going to get a long term deal done before the deadline. If you can't come to an agreement then let him test the market. The worst case is two firsts. The non exclusive vs exclusive would be the smart move.
 

Steve007

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If you know me you know I watch all the games and evaluate scheme and technique.

25 ppg is top 5 point production. The problem was league worst in giving up points. 36 ppg the defense gave up the first 5 games is awful. You cannot ignore the legion of blown coverages, guys getting blown up by blocks, missed tackles. Gashing runs and long balls were common.

You remember that Cleveland game? Atlanta?
Yes, and you can't fix the defense paying Dak what he is asking. The Cowboys know they have holes on defense, that is why they were willing to give Dak a lot of money spread out over a longer contract. That will spread the cap money and fix the holes.
 
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