Clayton: The best play in NFL free agency is to be in position to pass

[Clarkson]

Leodis Mckelvin at 3 mill would have been good. Jaye Howard and Matt Forte. All those deals are fair.

Howard stayed at home, and we got Thornton who is very similar.

Forte would've been fine, I guess, but I'm ok not paying an old RB with lots of wear and tear.

 

[Idgit]

I think right now is the time to start negotiating with Carr... as slots for corners start filling in across the league and teams are tightening up what they'll spend.

The Church signing (for that amount) was probably as much to do with desperation and need at the position as much as anything else.

Carr had us over a barrel last year. It'd have been dumb for him to renegotiate. This year, once we sign Claiborne or his replacement, we have Carr over the barrel. He'll make a deal, or we'll bring in Claiborne *and* a replacement and end up in basically the same spot.

I have to go back and look at Church's contract. I didn't realize he was overpaid that significantly.

 

[Clarkson]

I thought that Jerry got every player he wanted?

Ah, so we're not focusing on real life, ok.

 

[StarBoyz83]

false.
do people really still not understand how the cap works in the NFL?

If we wanted to pay Lamar Miller $6.5M, we could have. I'm glad we didn't. We can pay a younger version $1M in the 3rd round.

If thats case that further proves dallas is not playing to win.

I'm sure the broncos would love to have romo.

 

[gmoney112]

Chung was dreadful in Philly. Dreadfully bad. That's why he came cheap and he happened to play well.

Haha yeah, that's exactly my point.

A well run organization used its resources to find and take an underperforming asset from a poorly run organization and were able to get a decent return on it. That's what good organizations do. What they don't do is keep over paid players (unless they're actually worth it) because they're desperate or scared.

Not saying anything yet since there's obviously still time, but in the second instance it shows you lack serious faith in your scouts or player acquisition if you're fearful you can't replace Barry Church for less than 4 million + a year. You can talk about process, and how we've changed our stance on contracts. But, less bad isn't good. Actions talk, ******** walks, so to speak.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Cowboys aren't in a position to pass. They just have too many positions to upgrade and not enough money.

Its fun as fans to make fun of the lack of activity on day but reality is timing is crucial in FA. Alot of good headlines are made on Day 1 but most of those headlines turn into bad moves. Day 1 of FA os when teams in reality build there franchise around guys that another team didnt want to build there franchise around.

 

[Plankton]

Carr had us over a barrel last year. It'd have been dumb for him to renegotiate. This year, once we sign Claiborne or his replacement, we have Carr over the barrel. He'll make a deal, or we'll bring in Claiborne *and* a replacement and end up in basically the same spot.

I have to go back and look at Church's contract. I didn't realize he was overpaid that significantly.

Church makes $4.25M as a base salary this year. If they cut him, they free up $3.75M.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Haha yeah, that's exactly my point.

A well run organization used its resources to find and take an underperforming asset from a poorly run organization and were able to get a decent return on it. That's what good organizations do. What they don't do is keep over paid players (unless they're actually worth it) because they're desperate or scared.

Not saying anything yet since there's obviously still time, but in the second instance it shows you lack serious faith in your scouts or player acquisition if you're fearful you can't replace Barry Church for less than 4 million + a year. You can talk about process, and how we've changed our stance on contracts. But, less bad isn't good. Actions talk, bull**** walks, so to speak.

Chung also returned to the team that draft and developed him

 

[Idgit]

Church makes $4.25M as a base salary this year. If they cut him, they free up $3.75M.

Thanks. That's not really that bad for the last year of his deal. Puts him 11th in the league this season, which is overpaid, but overall, that deal was a good one for the club.

 

[gmoney112]

Carr had us over a barrel last year. It'd have been dumb for him to renegotiate. This year, once we sign Claiborne or his replacement, we have Carr over the barrel. He'll make a deal, or we'll bring in Claiborne *and* a replacement and end up in basically the same spot.

I have to go back and look at Church's contract. I didn't realize he was overpaid that significantly.

I don't really mind Carr's retention last year. It irked me, but it was forgivable. He did have us over a barrel and well, they wanted to keep the band together after a good season, while trying to add to the pass rush. That's cool with me.

What won't be cool, is if this "renegotiation" drags on. Any "renegotiation" that doesn't involve an outright cut immediately will involve us having to obtain leverage, and that means at least bringing in one CB. That's probably why we're trying to hammer a deal out with Nolan ASAP. Carr's agent, and rightfully so, isn't going to begin serious negotiations until that CB is brought in. His client is under contract, he knows he's not going to be released until Dallas has brought in someone, and he knows his client can enter the market anytime and still get a decent contract.

That hurts us. Every day agents and lawyers are in negotiation is detrimental. The last thing we want is for Carr's agent to drag this out, which he'll attempt to do to balance the leverage.

I hope we're able to show strength, give him a timetable, and then release him if need be. The last thing I want is for the buffalo to be picked dry because we wanted to renegotiate with Carr.

Thanks. That's not really that bad for the last year of his deal. Puts him 11th in the league this season, which is overpaid, but overall, that deal was a good one for the club.

I see a cap savings of 4.25 according to overthecap. His cap hit is 4.75.

Maybe I'm just a little more cold, (I like to think I'm objective), but players get cut in the last year of their contracts all the time. That's the business. Nostalgia and because it was a good deal previously don't factor into my thinking when I see that. He also got laid 2.75 mill last year, which was a good deal for him, so it's not like he "took one for the team".

I'm honestly looking at that 4.25 figure after he got 2.75 last year and I'm shocked. It's a foolish number. It honestly makes me laugh a little. There's no justification for it given Barry's performance. It tells me that we are either too lazy to find a replacement, or really just don't give a ****. Which is fine I guess, but from a business standpoint it just makes you look dumb.

 

[Plankton]

Thanks. That's not really that bad for the last year of his deal. Puts him 11th in the league this season, which is overpaid, but overall, that deal was a good one for the club.

I would hope that they can find a better option at SS than Church. I also wish that J.J. Wilcox was a competent option, so they could release Church and have nearly 4M to spend for another safety option, or to help fill other areas of need.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

Where was this article when we weren't signing anybody and everyone else was passing us by?

 

[jwooten15]

who did you want to sign, and to what contract?
you want a name like Janoris Jenkins, just because he's a name you know? He isn't good. And it will be a poopy contract after a year. He won't last two years there.

So are you wanting me to answer that question or are you satisfied with the answer you put in my mouth?

 

[perrykemp]

There is a counter-point to this. The article starts out with the fairly common-place and somewhat worn-out mention of Ted Thompson's (Green Bay) almost maniacal avoidance of free agency and fairly single-minded focused on building through the draft and UDFA only.

I know quite a few Packer fans who are constantly lamenting the fact that while the Packers are always good in the playoffs Thompson consistently fails to make a any meaningful FA acquisitions that would put the team over the top. Yes they draft well, however, no single strategy is 100%. In summary, they believe the Packers would have reached 1 or 2 more Superbowls if Thompson wasn't so bullheaded and almost proud of his avoidance of FA.

Food for thought anyway.

 

[Plankton]

There is a counter-point to this. The article starts out with the fairly common-place and somewhat worn-out mention of Ted Thompson's (Green Bay) almost maniacal avoidance of free agency and fairly single-minded focused on building through the draft and UDFA only.

I know quite a few Packer fans who are constantly lamenting the fact that while the Packers are always good in the playoffs Thompson consistently fails to make a any meaningful FA acquisitions that would put the team over the top. Yes they draft well, however, no single strategy is 100%. In summary, they believe the Packers would have reached 1 or 2 more Superbowls if Thompson wasn't so bullheaded and almost proud of his avoidance of FA.

Food for thought anyway.

Counter to that, though, is the two times that he waded in, he was rewarded - Charles Woodson and Julius Peppers.

 

[TwoCentPlain]

There are teams that have poor records exactly because they failed to 'pass' enough in FA.

I can assure you that if the Giants lose Eli for 13 games and Beckham for 9 games this year, they will struggle to get 4 wins even though they were active in FA now. Sorry, but JPP, CB Jenkins, and some 350 lb DL from the Jets won't make up for it. And even if they sign Okung, it might not help a whole lot when your QB and star WR are out for extended periods.

 

[JeffInDC]

If your top 5 qb and top 5 WR are out for most of the season.. Yes.

I think people have really underestimated this fact. Of the 12 losses, how many were 7 points or less? Half of them. Then, you had games like the ATL game where Dallas had a 28-14 lead, but Weeden couldn't create anymore offense and the defense wore down. The Bills game was closer than the 10 point deficit until the final moments. That's 8 games right there that just having a healthy Romo and Dez could've made all the difference in getting that game-winning drive.

 

[Rockport]

This article would make me feel better if we were one of the teams who were in that "position to pass", but we aren't.

We don't have enough talent on this roster to sit back and see how free agency pans out.

If we want to win, we need more talent. Sitting back and doing nothing will keep us drowning in mediocrity.

At 12-4 just a year ago we most certainly are in a position to pass.

 

[Rockport]

If this roster was as good as you think, they would have won a game or two without those guys.

Problem is people overrate our roster, hanging onto 2014 as if that's the standard when in reality this team was probably more .500 than anything else.

Whiners will whine no matter the facts. You forget we were 12-4 just a year ago.

 

[Daillest88]

I think people have really underestimated this fact. Of the 12 losses, how many were 7 points or less? Half of them. Then, you had games like the ATL game where Dallas had a 28-14 lead, but Weeden couldn't create anymore offense and the defense wore down. The Bills game was closer than the 10 point deficit until the final moments. That's 8 games right there that just having a healthy Romo and Dez could've made all the difference in getting that game-winning drive.

oh and Orlando scandrick forgot about our best corner :/