If more than a rumour, I am in the 'no thank you' camp.
http://nfltraderumors.co/nfc-east-notes-cowboys-eagles-giants-Commanders-41/
If repost feel free to delete.
Note to myself: Bye Bye.
Agreed, the only issue of tagging him is if he chooses to throw his toys out the pram and cause unrest.First of all tagging him would not be a cap killer. That's idiotic. They can create easily $80MM in cap space and if Lawrence was tagged at $21MM, they'd still have roughly $60MM. PLUS................ tagging him is a one year proposition and has no long term cap implications. So hardly a cap killer.
A cap killer is signing him to a massive deal with massive amounts of guaranteed money and he regresses or injuries zap him of his skill. That's a cap killer.
Dallas needs to pay the man his market value for three reasons:
1. D Law balled out while injured this year and was a good soldier while playing under the tag. He is a top 3 DE right now in the NFL— pay him what he deserves
2. The philosophy the FO has established and communicated is that they want to build through the draft, develop their players, and sign their guys longterm that produce. If they let D Law walk— they lose credibility with players and the result could easily be a loss of trust that the FO will give their productive core players long term security in a very violent sport.
3. They lose further credibility with the fan base. You can’t tell us you will stay out of FA bc you want the cap to sign your best players— and then you let a guy like D Law walk. Fans will question their commitment to winning (more than they already do) and moves like this cement the narrative that the Jones family are only in this for money.
Bottom line: sign D Law for what he is worth. Honor your players when they produce and they will run through a brick wall for you.
I had a 5-year deal for him pegged at exactly $100 million. That's the going rate and the coast of doing business. Compared to the deals for Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack, it's a relative "bargain". My issue would be with the "guaranteed money" portion based on his suspension and injury history.
Here's the issue.
If you look at defensive ends............ $70MM guaranteed would blow any DE guaranteed money out of the water with the three highest paid DEs being Watt, Jones and Vernon............ Vernon has essentially $52MM in guarantees.
Now if you look at OLBs like Mack and Miller, their guaranteed monies can get as high as $90MM and $70MM, respectively.
He wants to be paid like an OLB when his market value is probably less than that compared to DEs.
First of all tagging him would not be a cap killer. That's idiotic. They can create easily $80MM in cap space and if Lawrence was tagged at $21MM, they'd still have roughly $60MM. PLUS................ tagging him is a one year proposition and has no long term cap implications. So hardly a cap killer.
A cap killer is signing him to a massive deal with massive amounts of guaranteed money and he regresses or injuries zap him of his skill. That's a cap killer.
Thats the main reason for me too.
This guy has serious back issues.
And a torn labrum is nothing to laugh about. This is not a surgery-and-forget thing. But then i dont think he had a torn labrum. With that he couldnt lift his arm at all. To me it was just an excuse for him and his (again) dropped play after half of the season. But then, thats something else to talk about.
What's the length? 4-5-6 years?
6 years at 100mil is a steal, even with the huge guarantee.
Assuming that number comes with a 5 year extension
And Vernon's deal is now three years old. And negotiated by this very same agent, who is not about to go backwards in what he gets for his clients.
Since then, the deals for Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack have reset the market, for ALL defensive linemen and pass rushers.
The Cowboys likely could have signed him much cheaper last year, but they chose to wait and see him duplicate his success and reliability. He did, and now they have to pay to keep their one War Daddy pass rusher. There are worse things in life, like not having one at all.
And Vernon's deal is now three years old. And negotiated by this very same agent, who is not about to go backwards in what he gets for his clients.
Since then, the deals for Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack have reset the market, for ALL defensive linemen and pass rushers.
The Cowboys likely could have signed him much cheaper last year, but they chose to wait and see him duplicate his success and reliability. He did, and now they have to pay to keep their one War Daddy pass rusher. There are worse things in life, like not having one at all.
It depends on what Lawrence means by $70MM guaranteed. If he wants that at signing, he's not going to get it and no player has come close to that. Mack's $90MM in guarantees was really only $60MM at signing with $30MM in guarantees based on roster bonuses, etc. Aaron Donald was only $50MM guaranteed at signing with the other $36MM tied to roster time, etc.
If Lawrence is OK with say $50MM in guarantees and then another $20MM in guarantees tied to roster time, etc. then that makes more sense because it gives the Cowboys an out after a few years in case Lawrence goes sideways.