Big Contracts in 2019 - The real reason Dez was released

[xwalker]

Back in 1989, Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys didn't have many good established players. The one great player they had was Herschel Walker. So they traded him to the Vikings for 7 draft picks, and 5 players. We all know what came next.

Flash forward to 2018, and the Cowboys already have a bunch of good young players, but they need Salary CAP space in 2019 & 2020 - a lot of salary CAP space - to resign that good young talent base. So, a choice was made to part with Dez Bryant this season, and eat his entire Salary CAP hit. That reduces the Cowboys salary CAP hits by about $25M over two seasons. Witten's retirement frees up another $26M over the next 4 years. The Cowboys parted ways with Romo last year, freeing up $54M in CAP space planned for 2017-2019.

Similar to the Herschel Walker decision, these choices allow the team to commit to younger talented players, and they hope is that a similar result will happen to when the Cowboys made a similar commitment to youth 29 years ago.

The Cowboys have a number of players that will likely take a large chunk of the salary CAP in 2019 with much higher salaries than they currently are being paid.

1. Dak Prescott - will command a contract worth $18-$22M per season, perhaps more.
2. Zack Martin - the Cowboys are trying to sign Martin to a long-term deal this year. If they are unsuccessful, he'll be the franchise tag player a year from now. If they do sign him this year, his salary CAP hit next year will be substantial
3. DeMarcus Lawrence - if he repeats his performance from last year, will command a long-term contract worth slightly less than Prescott's deal
4. David Irving - this physical freak of nature hasn't yet put together a complete, unsuspended, uninjured year. If he does, the Cowboys will want to keep him around, and he might want a contract similar to the one the Cowboys anticipate giving Lawrence.

In 2020, these players will have their contracts coming up for extensions or renewals.

1. Byron Jones - the Cowboys picked up his 5th year option, and new DB coach Kris Richard calls him the "prototypical" cornerback for his system. That means the Cowboys will be paying Jones a lot more in 2019. If he breaks out over the next two seasons under Richard, he'll command top dollars in 2020.
   
2. Ezekiel Elliott - while the Cowboys will almost certainly exercise the 5th year option on Elliott, his contract will be subject to renewal in 2020. Since entering the league, he's led the NFL in per game rushing yards each of his first two seasons. The Cowboys will be in talks with him in 2020, just as they are talking to Zack Martin now.
3. La'el Collins - Collins current contract will expire after the 2019 season, and he'll be a free agent. If Collins develops into one of the better Right Tackles in the NFL, the Cowboys will want to lock him up on a long-term contract.
4. Jaylon Smith - Smith will be a restricted free agent in 2020, and the Cowboys can keep him by giving him a 1st round tender offer. If he's fully healed, and back to performing like the top 5 pick many thought he'd be, then the Cowboys may choose to give him a long term extension earlier to potentially save money over time.
5. Randy Gregory - Like Jaylon Smith, Gregory will also be a Restricted Free Agent in 2020. Like Jaylon, he was considered a top 5 talent in the draft that fell to the Cowboys in the 2nd round, and like Smith, he missed some seasons because of those reasons. But if he also comes back and performs at his talent level, the Cowboys will be talking about how to keep him with the Cowboys on a long-term deal.

So, the Cowboys potentially have at least 9 big new contracts over the next two seasons to keep their young talent base intact. Managing the Salary CAP now also includes planning for 2019 and 2020. Those focused only on this year's Salary CAP are missing the bigger picture.

Good effort on the details but you missed on the big picture.

They were just tired of Dez. If it was about money they would have offered him a paycut to stay instread of paying Hurns.

Stephen Jones never wanted to sign Dez to the big contract.

Now Stephen Jones is running the show and Linehan has his ear.

It is obvious by the guys they've added that they wanted the opposite type WR from Dez. Hurns, Gallup and Wilson are all above average route runners and all are reported to be students of the game. The WR coach didn't even let the receivers touch a ball on day 1 of mini-camp because he wanted to make a statement about the importance of route running.

 

[Quickdraw]

IMO, with the exception of Martin, none of those players have earned a decent sized contract. If this is based on the "IF" factor, then yes, Jerry needs to pay close attention to the cap; however he should regardless.

My caution to Jerry is to not look at how he needs to keep certain players but how he can bring in the talent through the draft and FA and keep his cap hit to a minimal. What I mean by that is that he should not repeat history and pay a player, or players, big bucks because they have 1 or 2 good years. And don't bring in FAs that cost an arm and a hoof.

The patriots don't do that and yet they still have Brady at age 40. He's being paid less than some of those QB's that have not had as near the success but yet he remains their constant QB.

 

[ESisback]

Good effort on the details but you missed on the big picture.

They were just tired of Dez. If it was about money they would have offered him a paycut to stay instread of paying Hurns.

Stephen Jones never wanted to sign Dez to the big contract.

Now Stephen Jones is running the show and Linehan has his ear.

It is obvious by the guys they've added that they wanted the opposite type WR from Dez. Hurns, Gallup and Wilson are all above average route runners and all are reported to be students of the game. The WR coach didn't even let the receivers touch a ball on day 1 of mini-camp because he wanted to make a statement about the importance of route running.

How about both? If they were tired of Dez AND they were thinking future cap, that makes an even more compelling reason to make the big change.

 

[ESisback]

IMO, with the exception of Martin, none of those players have earned a decent sized contract. If this is based on the "IF" factor, then yes, Jerry needs to pay close attention to the cap; however he should regardless.

My caution to Jerry is to not look at how he needs to keep certain players but how he can bring in the talent through the draft and FA and keep his cap hit to a minimal. What I mean by that is that he should not repeat history and pay a player, or players, big bucks because they have 1 or 2 good years. And don't bring in FAs that cost an arm and a hoof.

The patriots don't do that and yet they still have Brady at age 40. He's being paid less than some of those QB's that have not had as near the success but yet he remains their constant QB.

Yes! Gain a foothold, then maintain it. A team with consistent management has consistent options, which greatly aids consistent contention.

 

[xwalker]

if the cowboys don't sign martin or Lawrence before next year they will lose one of them because they cant franchise both of them there is only one tag

Either they want to pay Martin or they don't. The price is easy to determine. The highest paid OG is now Norwell in Jax at 13.3M per. Either the Cowboys pay Martin about 14M or they let him move on. He is a low risk to sign.

DLaw is much more complicated. He is much higher risk than Martin. He has had 2 back surgeries and he really only has 1 season of top dollar type performance. The value is also difficult to determine. He plays LDE against RTs. His ability against LTs is not proven and RDE is generally the top dollar position. He also got suspended which might or might not be a red flag.

In general I would not want to pay 14M per to an OG but Martin is a special case. He is the best, he is young and he is an excellent character type player. He also has compensated for limitations at RT with Free and with Collins in his first year at RT.

 

[JoeKing]

Putting the cart before the horse analysis there. If Dak sucks this year, he won't be getting that sweet contract that everyone anticipates he will be getting. Maybe Mike White gets a shot and lights it up... then we can go on playing with a QB on a rookie contract. We didn't cut bait with Dez to make room in the budget to get Dak paid. Dez was cut for inferior performance but some of you can't accept that so you keep making up other excuses.

 

[Pompey-Cowboy]

So which of the 32 NFL franchises doesn't have players that will need paying in the next 2 or 3 years?

 

[CowboyRoy]

Back in 1989, Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys didn't have many good established players. The one great player they had was Herschel Walker. So they traded him to the Vikings for 7 draft picks, and 5 players. We all know what came next.

Flash forward to 2018, and the Cowboys already have a bunch of good young players, but they need Salary CAP space in 2019 & 2020 - a lot of salary CAP space - to resign that good young talent base. So, a choice was made to part with Dez Bryant this season, and eat his entire Salary CAP hit. That reduces the Cowboys salary CAP hits by about $25M over two seasons. Witten's retirement frees up another $26M over the next 4 years. The Cowboys parted ways with Romo last year, freeing up $54M in CAP space planned for 2017-2019.

Similar to the Herschel Walker decision, these choices allow the team to commit to younger talented players, and they hope is that a similar result will happen to when the Cowboys made a similar commitment to youth 29 years ago.

The Cowboys have a number of players that will likely take a large chunk of the salary CAP in 2019 with much higher salaries than they currently are being paid.

1. Dak Prescott - will command a contract worth $18-$22M per season, perhaps more.
2. Zack Martin - the Cowboys are trying to sign Martin to a long-term deal this year. If they are unsuccessful, he'll be the franchise tag player a year from now. If they do sign him this year, his salary CAP hit next year will be substantial
3. DeMarcus Lawrence - if he repeats his performance from last year, will command a long-term contract worth slightly less than Prescott's deal
4. David Irving - this physical freak of nature hasn't yet put together a complete, unsuspended, uninjured year. If he does, the Cowboys will want to keep him around, and he might want a contract similar to the one the Cowboys anticipate giving Lawrence.

In 2020, these players will have their contracts coming up for extensions or renewals.

1. Byron Jones - the Cowboys picked up his 5th year option, and new DB coach Kris Richard calls him the "prototypical" cornerback for his system. That means the Cowboys will be paying Jones a lot more in 2019. If he breaks out over the next two seasons under Richard, he'll command top dollars in 2020.
   
2. Ezekiel Elliott - while the Cowboys will almost certainly exercise the 5th year option on Elliott, his contract will be subject to renewal in 2020. Since entering the league, he's led the NFL in per game rushing yards each of his first two seasons. The Cowboys will be in talks with him in 2020, just as they are talking to Zack Martin now.
3. La'el Collins - Collins current contract will expire after the 2019 season, and he'll be a free agent. If Collins develops into one of the better Right Tackles in the NFL, the Cowboys will want to lock him up on a long-term contract.
4. Jaylon Smith - Smith will be a restricted free agent in 2020, and the Cowboys can keep him by giving him a 1st round tender offer. If he's fully healed, and back to performing like the top 5 pick many thought he'd be, then the Cowboys may choose to give him a long term extension earlier to potentially save money over time.
5. Randy Gregory - Like Jaylon Smith, Gregory will also be a Restricted Free Agent in 2020. Like Jaylon, he was considered a top 5 talent in the draft that fell to the Cowboys in the 2nd round, and like Smith, he missed some seasons because of those reasons. But if he also comes back and performs at his talent level, the Cowboys will be talking about how to keep him with the Cowboys on a long-term deal.

So, the Cowboys potentially have at least 9 big new contracts over the next two seasons to keep their young talent base intact. Managing the Salary CAP now also includes planning for 2019 and 2020. Those focused only on this year's Salary CAP are missing the bigger picture.

Byron Jones? LOL

Randy Gregory? LOL

 

[OmerV]

How about both? If they were tired of Dez AND they were thinking future cap, that makes an even more compelling reason to make the big change.

I think this is the real answer. There may have been a price at which they would have been willing to keep Dez, but that price would have been so dramatically lower than Dez was making there would have been no point in asking. Dez had publically taken a hard line that he would not take a pay cut all, and although it's at least possible he may have eventually bent a little on that, he wouldn't have bent to the point the Cowboys likely would have needed for them to consider keeping Dez.

 

[mardwin]

Maliek Collins will also be coming up for a new contract in 2019 or 2020.

2014 Rookie Class - Zack Martin, DeMarcus Lawrence, Anthony Hitchens
2015 Rookie Class - Byron Jones, Randy Gregory, La'el Collins, David Irving
2016 Rookie Class - Ezekiel Elliott, Jaylon Smith, Maliek Collins, Dak Prescott

Those are the players the Cowboys will be making big choices on over the next two years. They already made one choice, in allowing 2014 Rookie LB Anthony Hitchens to leave. I'm not suggesting the Cowboys will retain all of their premium players from those 3 drafts, but they have to be planning for it anyway - just in case they want to keep them all.

Players I would keep

2014: Zack Martin/D-Law (Elite players at their position, easy decision to make)
2015: La'el Collins/David Irving (Both have pro bowl potential)
2016: Zeke (The other 3 will based on this year's performance, if Dak struggles as he did in the 2nd part of last year doubt the front office would be looking to commit $20M per yr)

 

[dogunwo]

The truly sad thing is the fact that many people don’t know the sky is blue...

Technically, the sky just appears blue, but blue is the one color it isn't.

 

[xwalker]

How about both? If they were tired of Dez AND they were thinking future cap, that makes an even more compelling reason to make the big change.

Yes, his contract made the decision easier but I don't think it was as big of an issue as it might seem.

I think Stephen used contract vs performance as a reason to justify the Dez cut to Jerry; however, I convinced they just wanted him gone regardless. Linehan and the WR coach don't care about the contract.

If Dez was getting paid 2M per I think they would have traded him. The catch is that if he was getting paid 2M per he would not have had developed into as big of a Diva. He was a borderline character type player before but once he got the huge contract with huge guaranteed money it made it impossible to coach him.

I obviously dislike Dez but if my employer treated me the way the Cowboys treated Dez, I would have become a Diva also.

On a personal note, I worked at a company for several years where I was paid more than all other employees except the guy at the very top. I was not even a manager, just an expert in my field. Looking back I realize I developed into a bit of a Diva. It was difficult to listen to managers that I knew were getting paid about 50% of what I was making. It was easy to feel that the rules didn't apply to me. Despite the sense of entitlement that I developed, I still worked more hours than everyone else just because I'm obsessive in that regard. I guess my entitlement was similar to Witten expecting to play 100% of the snaps or Romo ignoring the coaches to call his own play.

 

[jazzcat22]

I am just concerned about winning this year. All the future contract stuff means nothing at this point.
Either they find a way to pay them or not, it all works itself out.

The real thing about all of this, is how does the coaching staff handle all the player changes. This staff does not seem to handle it well. Because they have issues in game coaching the players they do have.

Not going to sit here and be concerned over future contracts, as it is always is in a state of motion for all teams. Have a favorite, players, gone, get another player, gone, get another player, Goodell sandbags him.

In the end it does not matter, and we can't do a thing about it, but post about ti, agree, disagree who stays, who goes, who to draft to replace them. Fa, keep, let go, sign.

So just give me this season to see if we can go all the way. Which is another discussion in itself.

 

[ChronicCowboy]

Dak isn’t worth half of that right now. He better be an all-pro this season if he plans on being paid 20 million per.

 

[jazzcat22]

Technically, the sky just appears blue, but blue is the one color it isn't.

But appearance is everything to some.

 

[Bowdown27]

Its funny hearing mike fisher and him saying were not paying dlaw or zeke when the time comes. Which I think is bogus.

 

[conner01]

Does Gregory have enough time accrued to be a FA?
You could have cut dez next year and had same effect on future contracts
They cut him this year to get rid of the player, not the contract

 

[erod]

Dez was released for two main reasons.

1. He is a bad fit with Dak.

2. He's a pain in the ***.

Everything else is table dressing.

 

[Diehardblues]

Curious why we released Dez in 2018 if we don’t intend to use the Cap space until 2019?

 

[Diehardblues]

Dez was released for two main reasons.

1. He is a bad fit with Dak.

2. He's a pain in the ***.

Everything else is table dressing.

Who’s a good fit with Dak?