Complete Offseason - FA/DRAFT/ROMO TRADE

[Killerinstinct]

This is what I would like to see the offseason look like.

Our FA's

QB Kellen Moore Re-signed Need a backup and he should be fairly cheap and has some skills.
QB Mark Sanchez Gone Don't need him. Showers on PS is no 3
RB Lance Dunbar Gone No longer a role for him and he was never a big part.
RB Darren McFadden Re-signed Good no 2 RB and shldn't break the bank.
WR Brice Butler Gone Not impressed
WR Terrance Williams Gone Will cost too much
TE Gavin Escobar Gone Hated the pick and time to say so long.
G Jonathan Cooper Re-signed Reclamation project that shldn't cost much with high upside.
G Ronald Leary Gone Can't afford him
DT Richard Ash Gone Anyone really going to miss him?
DT Jack Crawford Gone If he couldn't find playing time last year then he has no shot now.
DE Ryan Davis Gone Same as Jack Crawford.
DT Terrell McClain Re-signed Shldn't break the bank. Short term deal to keep him hungry.
LB Andrew Gachkar Gone Too expensive for what he provides.
LB Justin Durant Gone Decent signing last year as a stop gap but no longer needed.
LB Rolando McClain Long Gone Nothing needs to be said.
CB Brandon Carr Gone Will want more than I would be willing to pay.
S Barry Church Re-signed Church's role as an in the box safety is hard to replace.
CB Morris Claiborne Gone Someone will spend for him.
S J.J. Wilcox Gone Tempted to keep him but I am ready for Heath to be the pri back up.

Irving Is restricted rights and shld be kept at a reasonable cost.

Outside Free agents.

Instead of signing a few cheap players I go for one real impact player.

Eric Berry - Chiefs can't sign him and Poe both. Some think Poe will be the one to go but they tried to sign Berry to a long term deal last year and were not able to. We tried to sign Weddle so we clearly understand the need to have a legit safety. He would be a great team leader that would improve the entire secondary. I know he will be expensive but well worth it. I know Berry is not an ideal SS in our system. He will be playing FS for us and Byron is moving back to CB.

How do we get the money?

Tron and Fredericks contracts were written for cap manipulation. Convert salary to bonuses in future years and something like 17 mil is created in cap space for this year. It will happen and again their contracts were specifically written for this. We could do some cap manipulation with Dez, Sean Lee, and Tyrone Crawford as well but it is a bit riskier. If needed I would do so with Lee but I don't think it would be needed because I am also cutting Free, Wilber and Alfred Morris. These moves would create close to 8 mil in cap space. In addition to that I will be trading Romo and that frees up another 5.1 mil.

Romo trade -

I have spent a ton of time trying to figure out who to trade Romo to and I have finally decided what makes the most sense. I considered all of the teams being thrown around, Denver, Houston, Jax, Jets, Chicago, SF, Cle, K.C. etc. etc.

Denver wants him for free. Houston would end up with too much cap space designated towards the QB position. 3 of the teams picking early will just draft a QB since they are not in win now mode. Another will sign Cutler(Jets are my guess).

I even considered Washington. They love ex Cowboys and who knows if they will be able to come to a deal with Cousins?

I finally decided on the Rams. I know it doesn't seem to make sense at first but hear me out. They just hired a new coach and Wade Phillips was hired as D Coordinator. They just moved back to LA and fans are already antsy. They already drafted their QB of the future but he is not ready now. They have a great defense, a stud RB, and some good young receivers. They actually might be in a win now mode with the right QB. Romo would make a ton of extra money with the big city endorsement deals. Wade knows Romo well and I could see him in the meetings pushing for it. Their GM was lucky not to get canned along with the last coach and he is going to want to show some real improvement. Goff could learn a lot spending 2 or 3 years behind Romo. I think it makes a ton of sense.

So what do we get for him?

The hiring of Wade as D Coordinator means they will be shifting to the 3-4 defense. Robert Quinn is not an ideal DE to try to convert to OLB. He has dealt with injuries the last couple of years and has had down years but all signs are that he will be fully healed by next year. This is a guy that had 19 sacks a few years ago. If he can stay healthy he is a great reclamation project and exactly what we need. When I first looked at his contract I thought it might be too much risk for us to take on. He is signed through 2019 meaning we would have him for 3 years. The best part is his contract is written in a way that if he did not work out we could cut him following next year and he would have almost no dead money in 2018 and 2019. It is a great fit for us for a high impact, proven pass rushing reclamation project but one with low risk because if he didn't work out we could cut him with minimal damage. 2018 dead money would be 955k and 2019 would be zero.

So that is the trade. Romo to the Rams for Robert Quinn. He will no longer fit in their defensive plans.

So we have added Eric Berry and Robert Quinn.

Now comes the draft.

1. Sidney Jones CB - I have seen him on a lot of mocks and have been dismissive due to wanting an edge rusher. With Carr and Claiborne gone and the addition of Robert Quinn CB is now the bigger need.

2. Jordon Willis DE - quarterback killer. Enough said.

3. Malachi Dupree WR - Need someone on to replace Williams at WR.

4. Donta Foreman RB - Wasn't looking for a RB but when I went through Fanspeak mock draft he was there in the 4th. Geeze. What a great pick up.

6. Carlos Henderson WR - Kick returner to replace Lucky

7. Riley Bullough LB - Depth and special teams.

7. Storm Norton OT - Huge tackle for Oline depth

We will have comp picks and UDFA's to consider but hard to guess that.

Lineup

QB
DAK, Moore and Jamiell Showers as emergency back up.

RB
Zeke, Mcfadden and Donta Foreman

WR
DEZ, Beasely, Dupree , Carlos Henderson and Andy Jones

TE
Witten, Hanna, Swaim, Gaethers

FB Smith

Oline
Tron, Collins, Fred, Martin, Chaz Green, Jonathan Cooper, Looney, Cleary and Storm Norton

DE
Robert Quinn, Dlaw, Jordon Willis, Irving, Tapper, Mayowa and Gregory

DT
Maleik Collins, Tyrone Crawford, Terrell Mcclain, Thornton(Irving in a pinch)

LB's
LEE, Jaylon Smith, Damien Wilson, Hitchens, Nacho, Riley Bullough

CB
Sidney Jones, Byron Jones, Scandrick, Anthony Brown and Leon Mcfadden

FS
Eric Berry, Jeff Heath

SS
Church, Kavon Frazier

LS Ladoucier
P Jones
K Money Bailey

There you go.

Upgraded the positions that needed it. Imagine Robert Quinn and Jordan Willis added to the pass rush. The new secondary is scary good. Easily fit under the salary cap. Didn't try to get a 1st rd pick for Romo. Just a reclamation project with a high upside that no longer fits the Rams defense. Replaced Williams with a better receiver. Got rid of a lot of dead weight. Improved the kick returner. Even added a stud RB just in case.

I know some wont like letting Free go. I think between Chaz Green and Cleary we are ok. If Green couldn't stay healthy and Cleary didn't work out and the newly drafted Storm Norton wasn't ready we could alway in a pinch put Looney or Cooper at G and move either Collins or Martin to RT.

I know some wont like moving Byron Jones back to CB. Eric Berry is a huge upgrade and if Jones can't beat out Sidney Jones, Scandrick or Anthony Brown then he will just have to be a backup CB and Backup FS. Seems like a waste of a 1st rd pick I know but if he is not good enough to start then so be it. I'll tell you this much. Eric Berry wouldn't let Cook get behind him on a 35 yard completion to win the game.

This is realistic and would tremendously improve the team. IMO

 

[stilltheguru88]

It's realistic but I hope we don't do most of what you posted. No offense

 

[Killerinstinct]

It's realistic but I hope we don't do most of what you posted. No offense

Is there a particular part you don't like?

 

[The Realist]

You said something about Jack Crawford and not getting any playing time?

 

[Killerinstinct]

You said something about Jack Crawford and not getting any playing time?

The point was with a weak defensive line Jack Crawford was not able to push his way into significant playing time. With the addition of Robert Quinn and Jordan Willis he would have an even harder time seeing the field.

 

[The Realist]

The point was with a weak defensive line Jack Crawford was not able to push his way into significant playing time. With the addition of Robert Quinn and Jordan Willis he would have an even harder time seeing the field.

I'm not defending Jack Crawford cuz he's mediocre, but do you realize he started 10 games?

 

[gmoney112]

I really, really want Berry. It kills two birds with one stone if you move Jones back to CB, and I like Jones more than most. Jones would be really big CB, if you can get him pressing he could become a legit starting corner that matches up against anybody.

 

[RandyOh]

The only unrealistic part is Eric Berry. It ain't gonna happen no matter how much we want it to.

 

[stilltheguru88]

Is there a particular part you don't like?

I don't want Church back here. He overachieved and had a nice career but we should at least try to upgrade.

If we get Berry he should be with Byron. Instead of moving Byron we should just sign a proven corner if it's not going to break the bank.

I just didn't like the draft picks. No big deal bro

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

I doubt we pay for Berry and keep in mind that this off season might, probably will be, when they resign Z. Martin.

 

[UncleOscar]

Very nice work. I just don't see Romo going to the Rams. I think Texans or Broncos more probable despite denials. I do like your boldness of cutting all the underperformed dead wood. I think I would keep Alfred Morris. Also love signing Berry and moving Jones to CBS. Also think Tyrone Crawford falls into under performing and his contract needs to be addressed.

 

[RandyOh]

I doubt we pay for Berry and keep in mind that this off season might, probably will be, when they resign Z. Martin.

Actually ran some numbers and the chiefs could easily keep both Berry and Poe if they want. Just cutting that dead weight Nick foles takes them from 4 mil to 15 million in cap space. they also have contracts that can be restructured &/or extended to get the rest. Doubt he want's to leave KC either.

 

[GroundZero1970]

I would prefer this:. Resign Leary and Mo, trade Romo, Collins and pick 28 to Cleveland,s 1 and Draft Myles Garrett....Ahhhh a man can dream....That trade is good for both teams

 

[Leadbelly]

This is what I would like to see the offseason look like.

Our FA's

QB Kellen Moore Re-signed Need a backup and he should be fairly cheap and has some skills.
QB Mark Sanchez Gone Don't need him. Showers on PS is no 3
RB Lance Dunbar Gone No longer a role for him and he was never a big part.
RB Darren McFadden Re-signed Good no 2 RB and shldn't break the bank.
WR Brice Butler Gone Not impressed
WR Terrance Williams Gone Will cost too much
TE Gavin Escobar Gone Hated the pick and time to say so long.
G Jonathan Cooper Re-signed Reclamation project that shldn't cost much with high upside.
G Ronald Leary Gone Can't afford him
DT Richard Ash Gone Anyone really going to miss him?
DT Jack Crawford Gone If he couldn't find playing time last year then he has no shot now.
DE Ryan Davis Gone Same as Jack Crawford.
DT Terrell McClain Re-signed Shldn't break the bank. Short term deal to keep him hungry.
LB Andrew Gachkar Gone Too expensive for what he provides.
LB Justin Durant Gone Decent signing last year as a stop gap but no longer needed.
LB Rolando McClain Long Gone Nothing needs to be said.
CB Brandon Carr Gone Will want more than I would be willing to pay.
S Barry Church Re-signed Church's role as an in the box safety is hard to replace.
CB Morris Claiborne Gone Someone will spend for him.
S J.J. Wilcox Gone Tempted to keep him but I am ready for Heath to be the pri back up.

Irving Is restricted rights and shld be kept at a reasonable cost.

Outside Free agents.

Instead of signing a few cheap players I go for one real impact player.

Eric Berry - Chiefs can't sign him and Poe both. Some think Poe will be the one to go but they tried to sign Berry to a long term deal last year and were not able to. We tried to sign Weddle so we clearly understand the need to have a legit safety. He would be a great team leader that would improve the entire secondary. I know he will be expensive but well worth it. I know Berry is not an ideal SS in our system. He will be playing FS for us and Byron is moving back to CB.

How do we get the money?

Tron and Fredericks contracts were written for cap manipulation. Convert salary to bonuses in future years and something like 17 mil is created in cap space for this year. It will happen and again their contracts were specifically written for this. We could do some cap manipulation with Dez, Sean Lee, and Tyrone Crawford as well but it is a bit riskier. If needed I would do so with Lee but I don't think it would be needed because I am also cutting Free, Wilber and Alfred Morris. These moves would create close to 8 mil in cap space. In addition to that I will be trading Romo and that frees up another 5.1 mil.

Romo trade -

I have spent a ton of time trying to figure out who to trade Romo to and I have finally decided what makes the most sense. I considered all of the teams being thrown around, Denver, Houston, Jax, Jets, Chicago, SF, Cle, K.C. etc. etc.

Denver wants him for free. Houston would end up with too much cap space designated towards the QB position. 3 of the teams picking early will just draft a QB since they are not in win now mode. Another will sign Cutler(Jets are my guess).

I even considered Washington. They love ex Cowboys and who knows if they will be able to come to a deal with Cousins?

I finally decided on the Rams. I know it doesn't seem to make sense at first but hear me out. They just hired a new coach and Wade Phillips was hired as D Coordinator. They just moved back to LA and fans are already antsy. They already drafted their QB of the future but he is not ready now. They have a great defense, a stud RB, and some good young receivers. They actually might be in a win now mode with the right QB. Romo would make a ton of extra money with the big city endorsement deals. Wade knows Romo well and I could see him in the meetings pushing for it. Their GM was lucky not to get canned along with the last coach and he is going to want to show some real improvement. Goff could learn a lot spending 2 or 3 years behind Romo. I think it makes a ton of sense.

So what do we get for him?

The hiring of Wade as D Coordinator means they will be shifting to the 3-4 defense. Robert Quinn is not an ideal DE to try to convert to OLB. He has dealt with injuries the last couple of years and has had down years but all signs are that he will be fully healed by next year. This is a guy that had 19 sacks a few years ago. If he can stay healthy he is a great reclamation project and exactly what we need. When I first looked at his contract I thought it might be too much risk for us to take on. He is signed through 2019 meaning we would have him for 3 years. The best part is his contract is written in a way that if he did not work out we could cut him following next year and he would have almost no dead money in 2018 and 2019. It is a great fit for us for a high impact, proven pass rushing reclamation project but one with low risk because if he didn't work out we could cut him with minimal damage. 2018 dead money would be 955k and 2019 would be zero.

So that is the trade. Romo to the Rams for Robert Quinn. He will no longer fit in their defensive plans.

So we have added Eric Berry and Robert Quinn.

Now comes the draft.

1. Sidney Jones CB - I have seen him on a lot of mocks and have been dismissive due to wanting an edge rusher. With Carr and Claiborne gone and the addition of Robert Quinn CB is now the bigger need.

2. Jordon Willis DE - quarterback killer. Enough said.

3. Malachi Dupree WR - Need someone on to replace Williams at WR.

4. Donta Foreman RB - Wasn't looking for a RB but when I went through Fanspeak mock draft he was there in the 4th. Geeze. What a great pick up.

6. Carlos Henderson WR - Kick returner to replace Lucky

7. Riley Bullough LB - Depth and special teams.

7. Storm Norton OT - Huge tackle for Oline depth

We will have comp picks and UDFA's to consider but hard to guess that.

Lineup

QB
DAK, Moore and Jamiell Showers as emergency back up.

RB
Zeke, Mcfadden and Donta Foreman

WR
DEZ, Beasely, Dupree , Carlos Henderson and Andy Jones

TE
Witten, Hanna, Swaim, Gaethers

FB Smith

Oline
Tron, Collins, Fred, Martin, Chaz Green, Jonathan Cooper, Looney, Cleary and Storm Norton

DE
Robert Quinn, Dlaw, Jordon Willis, Irving, Tapper, Mayowa and Gregory

DT
Maleik Collins, Tyrone Crawford, Terrell Mcclain, Thornton(Irving in a pinch)

LB's
LEE, Jaylon Smith, Damien Wilson, Hitchens, Nacho, Riley Bullough

CB
Sidney Jones, Byron Jones, Scandrick, Anthony Brown and Leon Mcfadden

FS
Eric Berry, Jeff Heath

SS
Church, Kavon Frazier

LS Ladoucier
P Jones
K Money Bailey

There you go.

Upgraded the positions that needed it. Imagine Robert Quinn and Jordan Willis added to the pass rush. The new secondary is scary good. Easily fit under the salary cap. Didn't try to get a 1st rd pick for Romo. Just a reclamation project with a high upside that no longer fits the Rams defense. Replaced Williams with a better receiver. Got rid of a lot of dead weight. Improved the kick returner. Even added a stud RB just in case.

I know some wont like letting Free go. I think between Chaz Green and Cleary we are ok. If Green couldn't stay healthy and Cleary didn't work out and the newly drafted Storm Norton wasn't ready we could alway in a pinch put Looney or Cooper at G and move either Collins or Martin to RT.

I know some wont like moving Byron Jones back to CB. Eric Berry is a huge upgrade and if Jones can't beat out Sidney Jones, Scandrick or Anthony Brown then he will just have to be a backup CB and Backup FS. Seems like a waste of a 1st rd pick I know but if he is not good enough to start then so be it. I'll tell you this much. Eric Berry wouldn't let Cook get behind him on a 35 yard completion to win the game.

This is realistic and would tremendously improve the team. IMO

I don't like the draft but some good, complete stuff.

The Rams were my sleeper pick for Romo as a possible landing spot in another thread a few days ago. I wasn't aware Wade Phillips was there. Good hire. A few other factors that could favor the Rams:

• The new HC, Sean McVey, was the OC with the Skins and is familiar with Romo
• Former Cowboys offensive assistant and Skins TE Coach, Wes Phillips, is joining the coaching staff.
• LA is essentially a longtime 2nd home for the Cowboys; Romo-friendly fanbase that the team wants to convert to Rams fans
• I don't know if he lives out there but Tony's wife's brother is an actor and could make the transition more attractive to the family
• They have $39mil in cap space, 57 players under contract, and no first rounder to sign

I like the thought on Quinn, but I doubt the Rams give him up for what amounts to a 2-yr lease on Romo. He's still not even 27. There's not really a reason for them to move on this year. They'd be selling low. It would throw up serious red flags with me about his injuries, the concussion, and the mystery illness he had this year.

Also don't agree that he doesn't fit a 34. He seems pretty ideal for a Wade 34 that doesn't ask the OLBs to do much in coverage. Now Aaron Donald in a 34...??? Should be interesting to see how Wade uses them.

- - -

I think T McClain will be hard to sign due to Thornton's contract. That contract is the floor for McClain and McClain is better. Thornton's 2017 base salary becomes guaranteed if he's still on the roster 3/13, so he's probably gone. We gave him a prove it deal and he didn't. Also, McClain's lack of durability makes giving him a similar multi-million contract hard to trust. He's not that hard to replace in any case.

I expect J Crawford is a post-draft decision, depending who we pick. Can play LDE and 3tech. Good vs the run. Plays multiple special teams units. In a rotation system he's a pretty good down-the-roster utility DL who's easy to have active on game day. Like K Wilber, saves the coaches a bunch of spots.

 

[Hailmary]

The only unrealistic part is Eric Berry. It ain't gonna happen no matter how much we want it to.

I tend to agree with you that Berry ends up signing a long term deal with the Chiefs, but I do wonder if there may still be a little bad blood from the last time they tried to hammer out a long term deal. For those unfamiliar, some think the reason that they were unable to reach a long term deal last off season was due to the fact that the Chiefs asked Berry to pay for a disability insurance policy that didn't sit well with him.

https://www.___GET_REAL_URL___/www....al-disability-policy?client=ms-android-google

 

[tm1119]

I think people are getting their hopes way too high for a Romo trade. The odds of us getting an established player back are pretty slim imo. When do you ever see it in the NFL? Plus it doesn't make sense for a very young, very bad Rams team to trade for an old QB looking to ride off into the sunset after a year, maybe 2. Romo isn't a miracle worker, especially with their WR's. They might be able to get to 8-8 with Romo. Goff is going to be their QB whether McVay likes it or not.

I'll keep my fingers crossed on Berry but have very little hope for any big splash signing.

 

[Killerinstinct]

I doubt we pay for Berry and keep in mind that this off season might, probably will be, when they resign Z. Martin.

Martin doesn't need to be re-signed this offseason. Best to wait til next year when Romo's huge cap hit is no longer around.

 

[Killerinstinct]

I don't like the draft but some good, complete stuff.

The Rams were my sleeper pick for Romo as a possible landing spot in another thread a few days ago. I wasn't aware Wade Phillips was there. Good hire. A few other factors that could favor the Rams:

• The new HC, Sean McVey, was the OC with the Skins and is familiar with Romo
• Former Cowboys offensive assistant and Skins TE Coach, Wes Phillips, is joining the coaching staff.
• LA is essentially a longtime 2nd home for the Cowboys; Romo-friendly fanbase that the team wants to convert to Rams fans
• I don't know if he lives out there but Tony's wife's brother is an actor and could make the transition more attractive to the family
• They have $39mil in cap space, 57 players under contract, and no first rounder to sign

I like the thought on Quinn, but I doubt the Rams give him up for what amounts to a 2-yr lease on Romo. He's still not even 27. There's not really a reason for them to move on this year. They'd be selling low. It would throw up serious red flags with me about his injuries, the concussion, and the mystery illness he had this year.

Also don't agree that he doesn't fit a 34. He seems pretty ideal for a Wade 34 that doesn't ask the OLBs to do much in coverage. Now Aaron Donald in a 34...??? Should be interesting to see how Wade uses them.

- - -

I think T McClain will be hard to sign due to Thornton's contract. That contract is the floor for McClain and McClain is better. Thornton's 2017 base salary becomes guaranteed if he's still on the roster 3/13, so he's probably gone. We gave him a prove it deal and he didn't. Also, McClain's lack of durability makes giving him a similar multi-million contract hard to trust. He's not that hard to replace in any case.

I expect J Crawford is a post-draft decision, depending who we pick. Can play LDE and 3tech. Good vs the run. Plays multiple special teams units. In a rotation system he's a pretty good down-the-roster utility DL who's easy to have active on game day. Like K Wilber, saves the coaches a bunch of spots.

Hmmmm DT is more of a concern than I thought. I didn't realize Thorntons deal was a prove it deal with guarantees kicking in if he is still here 3/13. I agree that he should be let go if that is the case. That does make it more important to sign Mcclain though. Mcclain may be better than Thornton but he hardly has huge stats that should make him expensive. I guess we will see what other teams offer.

I thought Quinn made sense for a lot of reasons that I listed previously. I agree he is young and previously proven and even if not an ideal 3-4 olb he's not terribly out of his element playing there. If not Quinn then maybe Brockers. I would love to say Donald but there is no way that is happening. Brockers makes some sense for us if Thorntons contract makes him a cut before 3/13.

 

[Killerinstinct]

I don't want Church back here. He overachieved and had a nice career but we should at least try to upgrade.

If we get Berry he should be with Byron. Instead of moving Byron we should just sign a proven corner if it's not going to break the bank.

I just didn't like the draft picks. No big deal bro

Berry is not an ideal SS for our defense. KC uses basically two FS's but we use an in the box safety which is practically a LB whos first responsibility is to stop the run.

 

[DFWJC]

Thanks for the effort.

I suspect one of their top priorities this offseason is to extend Martin, btw.

Romo to LA seems far-fetched, but you made your case pretty well anyway.

The new OC is a ground and pound guy, Anthony Lynn. His offense is supposedly very simple, so they may think Goff can give it a go.