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Go shopping now or save it for a rainy day?
The Cowboys gained an extra $14 million in salary cap space on Friday when the release of Tony Romo became official. That brings them close $20 million in available cap space for this year, an almost unimaginably large sum for the Cowboys, who many observers still think are in salary cap hell.
So what, if anything, should they do with all that cap space? Here are some options.
Sign Zack Martin to a long-term contract extension
The Cowboys will likely sign Martin to a contract extension some time during training cap this year. But with the way the Cowboys usually structure their contracts, even if Martin gets the biggest contract ever for a guard, his contract likely won't impact the 2017 cap space all that much.
Sign WR Jeremy Maclin
Maclin is the free agent-du-jour, so naturally his name gets linked to Dallas, even if the Cowboys are pretty much set at wide receiver. Still, Maclin could make an already dominant offense even better, though the Cowboys might find themselves competing for Maclin's services with WR-needy teams who might be willing to outpay the Cowboys.
Trade for Richard Sherman
If you feel like this is beginning to sound like a rehash of the previous month's offseason headlines, you're probably right. The Seahawks dangled Sherman as trade bait but didn't get so much as a nibble. Sherman has two $11 million years left on his contract, which wouldn't be an issue for the suddenly flush Cowboys, but the Seahawks' expectations of a high draft pick in a trade scenario remains an issue.
Sign Dwight Freeney or Elvis Dumervil
Such a signing would be a guaranteed crowd pleaser for that part of the Cowboys fan base that has been clamoring for a big-name addition to the pass rush for years, even if it is not immediately clear how a 37-year old and a 33-year old will improve the Cowboys' pass rush. In any case, neither player would be particularly expensive, so if the Cowboys had been interested in either player, they'd have already signed one of them.
Go shopping at the trade deadline
Depending on how the season goes, the Cowboys could be looking for a late addition to bolster their post-season chances. The last big move the Cowboys made close to the trade deadline was the acquisition of Roy E. Williams, which backfired spectacularly but shouldn't rule out all future trades on principle. The issue here will likely be the high price in terms of draft picks for a quality addition.
Roll over the money to next season
Last year, teams averaged $9.18 million in rollover cap space—thanks largely to teams like the Jaguars, who carried over $39.3 million. The Cowboys only carried over a puny $2.4 million, but that number is going to be a lot bigger next year.
Rolling over the money into next season would allow the Cowboys to be more active in free agency than they've been in the past - though their reluctance to spend big in free agency didn't have much to do with the cap in the first place. The Cowboys have traditionally preferred to re-sign their own players, and with Chris Jones, Demarcus Lawrence, Anthony Hitchens, and L.P. Ladouceur scheduled to hit free agency next year, a part of the rollover money could be used on some or all of those players.
The Cowboys could also invest in urinal cakes for AT&T Stadium in the form of an Eagles logo, but unfortunately they can't use their cap space for this and other similarly brilliant ideas.
Over to you: What should the Cowboys do with all their cap space? Let us know in the comments and in the attached poll.
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