Complete offseason if I were GM

[Killerinstinct]

Cuts

Mayowa - Done
Witten - It's time to move on
Bailey - This team doesn't have the luxury of a 4 mil a year kicker and he is starting to slip.
Beasley - I try to trade him to N.E. but for the sake of this exercise I will assume a cut. It's time to see what Switzer can do.

Small re-signs

Looney, Keith Smith and Brice Butler

Franchise Tag - Lawrence - I hate that we finally have a std pass rusher but it just happens to coincide with him being ready for a new contract. I agree with the F.O. approach and he should have to prove he is legit. 17.1 mil is a big hit but it is what it is.

1st rd tender for Irving. I don't want to see him go and he just might if we put a 2nd rd tender on him.

Trades

I trade Byron Jones to Seattle for Earl Thomas. Jones has the option year and is more affordable. Seattle may believe that putting him in one place and keeping him there might be the route to go. They save some money, add a player with more years of control and Byron Jones does have some freakish athletic ability. We get the Safety we have long wanted.

I trade Dez to the Bears. Swap 1st rd picks. He only costs them 12.5 compared to the 16 it costs us plus they have 50 mil in cap space. They would still have a 1st rd pick (pick 19) so they can resolve two issues at once.

Major re-singing

Martin long term deal with big bonus spread out creates a bunch more cap room.

Restructure

At this point we have plenty of cap space so Fred is the only one restructured and quite frankly he is the only player I would want to play that game with.

Free agency

Moncrief WR - Speed receiver that shouldn't cost a ton and his receiver coach is now with Dallas.

Joe Klein OG - Affordable vet. Solid but not spectacular.


Draft

1 from Bears - Derwin James - Paired with Thomas and we have the best secondary we have seen in forever.

2nd - Anthony Miller WR

3rd - Ragnow OG

4th - Christian Sam LB

4th - Jerome Baker LB

5th - Nathan Shepherd DT

5th - Joseph Noteboom OT

6th - Antonio Callaway WR

6th - Phillip Lindsay RB

7th - A freaking Kicker I am not even going to go through them to figure out which ones.



Things I didn't do that others believe will happen.

Didn't cut Scandrick - Only save 1.4 mil and with Byron Jones gone he is an important back up or starter if he beats out Brown and Xavier Woods.

Didn't cut Hanna - Cut Witten so we can see what Hanna and Rico can do.

Things people may have a problem with. Callaway - bad seed. Took a shot on a high upside wide receiver at a reduced cost. Also drafted Miller, Signed Moncrief and re-signed Butler so Callaway can be sent packing if he causes any problems.

Would the Bears trade for Dez? Why not? If I were them I would. The only reason we are considering cutting him at 16 mil is because we are up against the cap. It doesn't even preclude them from drafting another WR at 19 if they so choose.

Would Seattle take Byron Jones instead of a draft pick? Why not? Former 1st rd pick that they may have a better plan for.


Anyway - This is what I would try to do. The cap situation would be resolved and all of the positions fixed.
We could actually afford more F.A. signings but I just wanted to keep it simple and have some cap carryover for next year when we have to figure out Lawrence, Irving, and maybe Dak and Zeke.

 

[kiheikiwi]

Gave you a "like" cause you've thought about this for a while - obviously. Probably not exactly how I would attack it - but I like your thinking outside the box.
Good job.

 

[Killerinstinct]

Gave you a "like" cause you've thought about this for a while - obviously. Probably not exactly how I would attack it - but I like your thinking outside the box.
Good job.

Thanks. The F.O. needs to get creative.

 

[canters]

Why would Seattle want Jones unless we through in some picks?

Dez to Chicago? Dez would retire first.

 

[waving monkey]

cut Baily maybe I misunderstood?

 

[Irvin88_4life]

Bears are at 8. I would trade back a few spots and pick up an extra pick, maybe 2nd but most likely 3rd. We get extra picks plus still get James. I would use the extra 3rd on M.J Stewart and let Scandrick go

 

[conner01]

Don’t agree with every move or that some are possible but well thought out. Bailey is going nowhere
But overall great work

 

[Johnny23]

cut Baily maybe I misunderstood?

He doesn't want to pay bailey 4 mill so cut hik for a cheap seventh rounder or udfa kicker.

 

[RS12]

I trade Byron Jones to Seattle for Earl Thomas.

If you could trade this JAG for Earl Thomas I would appoint you GM for life.

 

[RS12]

I trade Dez to the Bears. Swap 1st rd picks

For this I'd make you king of Dallas.

 

[bleachedwheat]

I like how the secondary would look. The bears would't go for that trade you would have to throw in a few picks at least. Going from 19 to 8 is a 525 point jump in value that comes out to a top 5 pick in the second round, Dez is worth maybe a low 3rd/ high 4th tops; with his contract. Our pick at 50 is worth 400 an let's say Dez is worth a really low 3rd that's about 125pts so that would be a fair trade but they would probably fleece you for a compensatory 4th as well. So no Miller and No Baker but I would still think about doing that trade.

 

[reddyuta]

I have no problem with trading Beasley but kickers are hard to find,no way am i cutting Bailey.

 

[waving monkey]

He doesn't want to pay bailey 4 mill so cut hik for a cheap seventh rounder or udfa kicker.

Now thats the way to build a team . Cut the best kicker in the game.

 

[Oh_Canada]

I like most of the ideas, but Bears aren’t trading #8 for Dez.

 

[Parcells4Life]

Dez with Trubisky would be the same as Dez with Dak. Chicago’s not doing that. Dez needs a vet QB if a team is trading for him.

Witten if he will only be on field on 1st and 2nd downs has value. He won’t be cut.

For a team that lacks explosive players you need to rely on your FG kicker. Bailey is here at least through preseason.

 

[Killerinstinct]

It seems like a lot of push back in regards to the cutting Bailey idea. He count's over 4 mil against the cap. He had a really bad year last year and it could be the beginning of the decline. But the most important reason I would cut him is kickers are a dime a dozen and his contract is just ridiculous. Look around the league and you see that every team has a decent kicker and they can be had for cheap.

 

[xwalker]

Cuts

Mayowa - Done
Witten - It's time to move on
Bailey - This team doesn't have the luxury of a 4 mil a year kicker and he is starting to slip.
Beasley - I try to trade him to N.E. but for the sake of this exercise I will assume a cut. It's time to see what Switzer can do.

Small re-signs

Looney, Keith Smith and Brice Butler

Franchise Tag - Lawrence - I hate that we finally have a std pass rusher but it just happens to coincide with him being ready for a new contract. I agree with the F.O. approach and he should have to prove he is legit. 17.1 mil is a big hit but it is what it is.

1st rd tender for Irving. I don't want to see him go and he just might if we put a 2nd rd tender on him.

Trades

I trade Byron Jones to Seattle for Earl Thomas. Jones has the option year and is more affordable. Seattle may believe that putting him in one place and keeping him there might be the route to go. They save some money, add a player with more years of control and Byron Jones does have some freakish athletic ability. We get the Safety we have long wanted.

I trade Dez to the Bears. Swap 1st rd picks. He only costs them 12.5 compared to the 16 it costs us plus they have 50 mil in cap space. They would still have a 1st rd pick (pick 19) so they can resolve two issues at once.

Major re-singing

Martin long term deal with big bonus spread out creates a bunch more cap room.

Restructure

At this point we have plenty of cap space so Fred is the only one restructured and quite frankly he is the only player I would want to play that game with.

Free agency

Moncrief WR - Speed receiver that shouldn't cost a ton and his receiver coach is now with Dallas.

Joe Klein OG - Affordable vet. Solid but not spectacular.


Draft

1 from Bears - Derwin James - Paired with Thomas and we have the best secondary we have seen in forever.

2nd - Anthony Miller WR

3rd - Ragnow OG

4th - Christian Sam LB

4th - Jerome Baker LB

5th - Nathan Shepherd DT

5th - Joseph Noteboom OT

6th - Antonio Callaway WR

6th - Phillip Lindsay RB

7th - A freaking Kicker I am not even going to go through them to figure out which ones.



Things I didn't do that others believe will happen.

Didn't cut Scandrick - Only save 1.4 mil and with Byron Jones gone he is an important back up or starter if he beats out Brown and Xavier Woods.

Didn't cut Hanna - Cut Witten so we can see what Hanna and Rico can do.

Things people may have a problem with. Callaway - bad seed. Took a shot on a high upside wide receiver at a reduced cost. Also drafted Miller, Signed Moncrief and re-signed Butler so Callaway can be sent packing if he causes any problems.

Would the Bears trade for Dez? Why not? If I were them I would. The only reason we are considering cutting him at 16 mil is because we are up against the cap. It doesn't even preclude them from drafting another WR at 19 if they so choose.

Would Seattle take Byron Jones instead of a draft pick? Why not? Former 1st rd pick that they may have a better plan for.


Anyway - This is what I would try to do. The cap situation would be resolved and all of the positions fixed.
We could actually afford more F.A. signings but I just wanted to keep it simple and have some cap carryover for next year when we have to figure out Lawrence, Irving, and maybe Dak and Zeke.

You managed to hit on every possible sterotype of the point of view of average fans.

It's sterotypical that I wonder if you're just joking around.

Cowboys players are always worth more to fans in trades than than how any NFL team would value them.

Fans always get their favorite player in the first.

The cap hit is only X when in reality what is important is how much the Cowboys save when ALL years are considered in regards to the cap.

Kickers are not that important.

The Cowboys always get the fan concensus favorite player in a trade and the fact that player will require a big contract is not part of the thought process.

There's always somebody to cut despite despite a trivial salary (Cole Beasley) and it can't wait until after training camp to see how the replacements are faring.

There's an awesome hidden gem mid/late that just needs to work though some character/other issue.

There's often used quote about veteran being cut - This year it "Time to move on for Witten".

There is always a player to look at even though they'll only been a role player for many years (Hanna).

There is always a reference to only wanting to restructure a "safe" player when in reality all a restructure does is give the player a bonus in the spring that replaces most of the upcoming season's salary which would be guaranteed after game 1 anyway. There is a mythical belief that which player has dead-money if cut really makes a big difference when in reality it's just a convenience issue.

 

[Killerinstinct]

You managed to hit on every possible sterotype of the point of view of average fans.
I don't know what a sterotype is.

It's sterotypical that I wonder if you're just joking around.
Again I don't know what sterotypical is.

Cowboys players are always worth more to fans in trades than than how any NFL team would value them.
Can you cite an example of where I overvalued a Cowboys player?

Fans always get their favorite player in the first.
Guilty of finding a way to get the most impactful player as charged.

The cap hit is only X when in reality what is important is how much the Cowboys save when ALL years are considered in regards to the cap.
Agreed, maybe you can cite an example of how I didn't consider future years.

Kickers are not that important.
There are more than 32 good kickers in the world so there is no need to pay one over 4 mil a year. Especially one who just had a bad year and may be on the downward slide.

The Cowboys always get the fan concensus favorite player in a trade and the fact that player will require a big contract is not part of the thought process.
I never made a con argument against the 10 year census.

There's always somebody to cut despite despite a trivial salary (Cole Beasley) and it can't wait until after training camp to see how the replacements are faring.
Cole Beasley's salary is not trivial and they had a year of practice and a training camp to see how the replacement was faring.

There's an awesome hidden gem mid/late that just needs to work though some character/other issue.
A 6th round pick when you have 10 picks can be used to take a gamble on a player with character issues.

There's often used quote about veteran being cut - This year it "Time to move on for Witten".
It is in fact time to move on from Witten.

There is always a player to look at even though they'll only been a role player for many years (Hanna).
Hanna has never been given a chance to have a bigger role. Similar to Fasano and Bennet.

There is always a reference to only wanting to restructure a "safe" player when in reality all a restructure does is give the player a bonus in the spring that replaces most of the upcoming season's salary which would be guaranteed after game 1 anyway. There is a mythical belief that which player has dead-money if cut really makes a big difference when in reality it's just a convenience issue.

A restructure pushes larger cap hits into the future so I would only want to do with a player that has a track record of being healthy and there is little fear of the caliber of play falling off a cliff. Having dead money is an issue and it is not about convenience. I hear this argument a lot from people that really have no idea what they are talking about.

Each point was addressed bullet by bullet. Enjoy.
Toodles.

 

[RodeoJake]

Interesting ideas, but I can't go along with cutting Beasley and Bailey. Bailey should return to form. Get a number 2 receiver with speed and good hands, and cut Williams. A solid number 2 will take away the double and triple teams on Beasley.

 

[Killerinstinct]

Interesting ideas, but I can't go along with cutting Beasley and Bailey. Bailey should return to form. Get a number 2 receiver with speed and good hands, and cut Williams. A solid number 2 will take away the double and triple teams on Beasley.

It would be hard to cut Williams with the way his contract is structured.