Big Contracts in 2019 - The real reason Dez was released

[Nightman]

Interesting ..

We just had a hardon for Dez and wanted him out. Then why did we wait so long to release?

This is why Dez is so upset. He might have good cause.

He has a right to be angry...... they did him dirty

 

[Diehardblues]

He has a right to be angry...... they did him dirty

Sure looks like it.

 

[Diehardblues]

We didn’t treat Murray or Ware this way. Why Dez?

 

[Johnny23]

Why is Dez still being discussed?

Like the chorus of Mariah Carey's first big hit single,"even though I try I can't let go. Something in your eyes captured my soul. Every night I see you in my dreams..."

 

[CF74]

Dez got injured 2-3 times and we saw his play decline 3 years in a row. The bottom line is that he wasn’t the same player anymore and as the OP stated, new big contracts are coming up...

 

[Corso]

Like the chorus of Mariah Carey's first big hit single,"even though I try I can't let go. Something in your eyes captured my soul. Every night I see you in my dreams..."

That was a good song.

 

[SoupcanSam]

I think Money played a part but I also think if he was playing to an elite level worthy of the money he was making that Dallas would have kept him.

I don't know about that, Dez was still getting up in age, the cowboys could have been looking at locking up young vs locking up old.

Now if dez did play at a high level last year Dallas would have probably traded him for his value.

 

[Doomsday101]

I don't know about that, Dez was still getting up in age, the cowboys could have been looking at locking up young vs locking up old.

Now if dez did play at a high level last year Dallas would have probably traded him for his value.

Hard to say. I think had Dez been playing at a high level Jerry may have stayed with Dez.

 

[big dog cowboy]

They rolled over almost 8m from 2017

DAL is 9.3m under right now
they get 2.4m from OScan on June 1st
the Draft class is signed except for Gallup -300k
they will need 1.1m for Practice Squad

Leaves them with 10.3m under the cap

 

[PAPPYDOG]

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.

Cap 2019

LOL nah not so expensive after all as.....

1.Dak Prescott will be lucky to get a offer that pays him 1 million a year after he's benched this upcoming season.

2. No way they spend 15 million a year for a G ...Williams in the house!

3.Hoping he repeats as we need all the defense we can get!

4.Irvin is still a wild card no way to determine what his situation will be come contract time!


2020

1.Byron Jones has this year to prove he's worth re-signing and don't expect a big contract!

2. Elliot might just be burnt out by the time his contract comes up will depend if inept Dak is still QB.
If he still a Stud pay the MAN as he's pretty much all the offense we have!

3.Collins will get his money esp after Martin signs elsewhere for zillions!

4.Smith who knows right really will depend on how he performs this season .


5. Randy Gregory common now how much would you pay this guy,really now.....unless he gets a zillion sacks and pressures and theres always the Bob Marley issue that could sing again.

 

[SoupcanSam]

Hard to say. I think had Dez been playing at a high level Jerry may have stayed with Dez.

I don't think the cowboys were willing to sacrifice the future for dez. I just believe they have a whole different outlook on the future now.

SJ and co would have been in Jerry's ear anyhow about what's best for the team and the benefits of releasing des.

 

[OmerV]

I’ve gained some new knowledge today so my opinion has been influenced since we can roll over Cap savings this year into 2019.

And I think your right. Doesn’t look like we wanted Dez at any price. Which makes the timing of the release even more suspect.

I didn't say they didn't want Dez at any prize, I said price wasn't the only factor. I suspect they would have kept Dez if he would have taken a 50% pay cut, but that wasn't going to happen. They may have even considered keeping Dez at his current price had they not signed Hurns, and may even have considered it after signing Hurns since Hurns didn't exactly break the bank.

I think your right. We didn’t want Dez at any price .

And intentionally released him late to decrease his Opportunities signing on with another team. No wonder Dez is so upset.

And why would the Cowboys do that? Why is it more plausible to believe the Cowboys held some kind of contempt and spite toward Dez that they would act specifically to make it more difficult to sign with another team than it is to believe they were weighing options, and possibly trying to get some shred of something in a trade? It really doesn't make sense. It's just a fan preferring to inject some soap opera level drama into the situation.

 

[conner01]

no, his time suspended does not count toward FA, nor does it impact his contract status or salary cap.

I didn’t think it did so he is basically a second year player I believe

 

[conner01]

I don't really think Cap played into it to be honest. I think if that were the case, we probably would have never tired to go after Sammie Watkins. JMO

Production didn’t off set perceived distractions
They wanted to go with WR’s who could get open. Like him or not dez can’t get separation. So the majority of passes to him was contested

 

[Diehardblues]

I didn't say they didn't want Dez at any prize, I said price wasn't the only factor. I suspect they would have kept Dez if he would have taken a 50% pay cut, but that wasn't going to happen. They may have even considered keeping Dez at his current price had they not signed Hurns, and may even have considered it after signing Hurns since Hurns didn't exactly break the bank.




And why would the Cowboys do that? Why is it more plausible to believe the Cowboys held some kind of contempt and spite toward Dez that they would act specifically to make it more difficult to sign with another team than it is to believe they were weighing options, and possibly trying to get some shred of something in a trade? It really doesn't make sense. It's just a fan preferring to inject some soap opera level drama into the situation.

A trade was never a real possibility since no one else wanted his contract either.

After weighing all the facts I’ve been presented with my only conclusion until further evidence is we were upset he wouldn’t renegotiate and weren’t going to do him any favors by releasing earlier like we had Murray and Ware which has created this bad blood with Dez. Sorry. That’s how I see it.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

There’s a lot of players on that list I would be weary of paying.

Agreed, it I would say "a lot of players." Some players such as Irving are potentially problematic. Jaylon might fizzle out, eventually.

 

[iceberg]

given that dez is still teamless, the real reason he was cut is likely around performance, but hey - let's keep finding other reasons.

 

[Bobhaze]

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.

Some good cap and contract work here Jumbo, but although I agree there were financial considerations both now and in the future, Dez was simply deemed no longer worth the headaches he often presented. He was mostly popular with teammates but management had clearly soured on the Dez show.

In the end, I think it’s just that simple. Some players just have a team shelf life and this FO decided the Dez expiration date had arrived.

 

[Johnny23]

That was a good song.

Indeed. Hits ya right in the feels.

 

[OmerV]

A trade was never a real possibility since no one else wanted his contract either.

After weighing all the facts I’ve been presented with my only conclusion until further evidence is we were upset he wouldn’t renegotiate and weren’t going to do him any favors by releasing earlier like we had Murray and Ware which has created this bad blood with Dez. Sorry. That’s how I see it.

You are contradicting yourself, in one post arguing the Cowboys didn't want him at any price, and in the next arguing the Cowboys were upset he wouldn't negotiate with them. You can't reasonably waffle back and forth as needed to fit a narrative.

A trade may not have been a likely scenario, but there was no reason to not at least make the effort to see if a team wanted him enough to take the contract for one year. Between that and the team weighing it's options, those are a much better explanations for a 2-3 week delay than simply that the team was being spiteful.

Why do you think Anderson, Worley, Marshall, Fleener and Tyrell Williams were all released even later than Dez? Were the Broncos, Eagles, Giants, Saints and Chargers all acting out of spite too?