BTB:Offseason Headscratcher: Will Kyle Kosier Play Left Guard In 2011?

[cowboyjoe]

Offseason Headscratcher: Will Kyle Kosier Play Left Guard In 2011?
by rabblerousr on Jun 7, 2011 1:51 PM CDT in Dallas Cowboys General

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2011...cher-will-kyle-kosier-play-left-guard-in-2011

One of the most peculiar features of this offseason has been the lack of a free agency period. Usually, free agency takes place in early March, so the Super Bowl dusk is followed hard upon by a free agency dawn. One of the benefits of this schedule is that, at the conclusion of the draft, we have a very clear idea of who will be on the Cowboys 80-man training camp roster--and can thus begin delicious speculation about who will survive training camp well in advance of camp itself.

This year, of course, all of this is changed. Although the names of potential free agent acquisitions have been floating around the blogosphere--with Cullen Jenkins, Nnamdi Asomugha, and Michael Huff getting the most attention in Cowboyland--we have very little idea which players will be available, due to the uncertainty surrounding the collective bargaining act. A player like Doug Free, with four years of service, may fall under several different categories, depending on how the labor agreement plays out--and there are many other players in a similar position. To parse out what will happen to such players is to engage in idle speculation.

 

[Frozen700]

Offseason Headscratcher: Will Kyle Kosier Play Left Guard In 2011?
by rabblerousr on Jun 7, 2011 1:51 PM CDT in Dallas Cowboys General

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2011...cher-will-kyle-kosier-play-left-guard-in-2011

One of the most peculiar features of this offseason has been the lack of a free agency period. Usually, free agency takes place in early March, so the Super Bowl dusk is followed hard upon by a free agency dawn. One of the benefits of this schedule is that, at the conclusion of the draft, we have a very clear idea of who will be on the Cowboys 80-man training camp roster--and can thus begin delicious speculation about who will survive training camp well in advance of camp itself.

This year, of course, all of this is changed. Although the names of potential free agent acquisitions have been floating around the blogosphere--with Cullen Jenkins, Nnamdi Asomugha, and Michael Huff getting the most attention in Cowboyland--we have very little idea which players will be available, due to the uncertainty surrounding the collective bargaining act. A player like Doug Free, with four years of service, may fall under several different categories, depending on how the labor agreement plays out--and there are many other players in a similar position. To parse out what will happen to such players is to engage in idle speculation.

Jerry will pay....and he will stay

 

[Stash]

Put me down for a Yes on Kosier.

I think he returns for at least another year.

I'd like to see a 3-year deal where he transitions from starter to a valuable sixth lineman.

 

[craig71]

If Kosier would return on a one year deal for average money I would bring him back. I would not commit to a multi-year deal with him though. I just have a feeling that he is close to the end of the line. No need to create another Marco Rivera(?) situation.

Craig

 

[xwalker]

Kosier is ok; however, he is not the only FA that will be available for the Cowboys to sign.

 

[Doomsday101]

Put me down for a Yes on Kosier.

I think he returns for at least another year.

I'd like to see a 3-year deal where he transitions from starter to a valuable sixth lineman.

I agree I would like to see a 3 year deal and keep him in Dallas

 

[28 Joker]

I don't think Kosier will be able to get anything more than a 2 year deal on the market, and that deal will really be a one year deal, imo. If the Cowboys want him back, he should be relatively cheap.

Doug Free...

Let's talk about him, because he only has 23 career starts and only 16 career starts at LT. I don't think the rest of the NFL will come close to giving Doug Free big time LT money. In fact, I don't think Free will get big time RT money. I see Free resigning with Dallas, and the total contract should be in the $25 to $ 30 million dollar range. I see a 5 year deal that gives Free guaranteed money in the $ 8 to $ 10 million dollar range. The signing bonus could be as low at $ 5 million dollars.

I think Free's contract should fall between the contracts which Mark Colombo and David Stewart (Titans) signed. (Stewart was second team All-Pro for 2008.) Stewart accumulated 30 starts at RT before his new deal (in 2008). Again, Free has 23 starts. Stewart signed his deal at 26, and Free turned 27 in January. I think the deal should be 5 years and not 6, imo. Free's deal should be closer to Colombo's deal at RT. Colombo started 32 games in 2006 and 2007, and he signed his new deal in December of 2008. He had many more starts than Free.

20 year old Tyron Smith is lurking, and the way the team views him will affect this deal, imo.

I think Garrett and Houck will let Tyron Smith compete for the LT job this year, and I predict that if Smith plays RT his rookie year, the Cowboys will swing him to LT in 2012.

It makes zero sense to way over pay for Free when he will most likely be playing RT during most (if not all) of his new deal. I'm talking about all this talk of "big time" LT money. I think some teams will look at Free for RT and not LT. The market for Free will play to the Cowboys favor, I predict.

 

[RS12]

Welp, if one of last years starting guards has to come back, I'll go with Kosier. I certainly would not give him big money or a long deal, but two years for the right money would be OK. He is on the wrong side of 30 and been nicked up alot.

 

[28 Joker]

Free will get paid pretty good, but I don't see him breaking the bank at RT, much less LT. OTs is a very, very important position, but look at Damien Woody. He may have been the best RT in the NFL for a while. He signed a $ 25.5 million dollar deal in 2008 (Jets). Woody received $ 11 million guaranteed. He was 30 years old, but he was a much more accomplished player than Free. The fact that Woody was 30, probably drove his price down some.

If Free can get some where between $ 25 and $ 30 million dollars for his contract, he would have done very well, imo. Again, Free's resume is short, and Woody was a more accomplished player, by far. Free is gong to get paid based on his age (27 to 31 are prime years for an offensive linemen), potential, and his past 23 starts, imo.

Andre Gurode made the Pro Bowl before he received his contract. Gurode received a 6 year, $ 30 million dollar deal. Also, Gurode received a $ 10 million dollar signing bonus. Gurode was a more accomplished player than Free when he signed his deal, after the 2006 season. Gurode has been one of the best centers in the game.

 

[xwalker]

The highest probability is that the old CBA rules will return and Free will be a restricted FA.

 

[28 Joker]

D'Brickashaw Ferguson signed his new six year, $ 60 million dollar extention in 2010. Ferguson is a top 3 LT.

Ferguson's base salary over the next five years looks like this:

2011: $ 5.615

2012: $ 9.985

2013: $ 7.25

2014: $ 5.95

2015: $ 5.95

That is a total of $ 34.75 million dollars in just base salary.

Ferguson's average base salary for the next 5 years is $ 6.95 million dollars.

This is another contract that should push Doug Free's deal into the $ 25 to $ 30 million dollar range. Colombo's five year deal was worth $ 22.605 million dollars. The Cowboys would probably like for Free's deal to be around what Colombo received or reasonably close to it.

 

[28 Joker]

Bradie James had a 5 year, $ 20 million dollar extension and an $ 8 million dollar signing bonus. James was an up can coming player like Free. Bradie was 25 years old and in a similar situation.

I bet the Cowboys want a 5 year, $ 25 million dollar deal. Colombo's deal probably pushes the Cowboys initial offer to $ 25 million, imo. That is why I start at $ 25 million and not $ 20 million. I don't see the market giving Doug Free a contract over $ 30 million dollars. Again, I bet the Cowboys want this deal in the $ 25 to $ 30 million dollar range. Again, I think that is where the deal ends up. Gurode's contract should help them, too.

 

[AMERICAS_FAN]

We have no backup guards and this thread is questioning wheter or not Kossier should be brought back as a starter? Wow!

 

[rathalarge]

We have no backup guards and this thread is questioning wheter or not Kossier should be brought back as a starter? Wow!

David Arkin is a strong possibility.

 

[Apollo Creed]

I certainly hope so, because if he was a B- or C+ guy last year. That means Leonard Davis was a H-.

Which reminds me, I don't think we've rued quite enough about Davis' performance last year.

We rail Roy pretty good, granted he's such an easy target - but Davis gets a relatively free pass from this fan base and the media considering he got signed for some Jerry bucks mega 70 million dollar deal and hasn't produced. In fact he's been a liability, immobile, lethargic, and inanimate. We would've been better off sending Wade Phillips out there to play guard in his place on a couple of plays, at least Wade would've awkwardly moved. Bigg, or Mediumm as I like to call him, was battling with Alan Ball for LVP last year.

Pardon the rant, back to the thread, I'm pretty sure we're gonna bring Kosier back.