Cowboys’ cap “management”

[TwoCentPlain]

No team is going to cut veteran long time players who played their entire career with them in the middle of the season.

Not to mention it would send a terrible message to the locker room.

Their salaries are vested after week one. So cutting them saves no money. Still have to pay them for the whole year. I am guessing that is a HUGE reason.

 

[Flamma]

I applaud the Cowboys for trying to keep Dak’s total cap hit from crippling the team. On the other hand, they stupidly handle other cap numbers. Here are a few for your reviewing chagrin:

1. Tyrone Crawford. I don’t blame the team for signing him to his current contract. They expected him to perform well and the indications were there. On the other hand anyone with any sense at all knew Crawford was not worth his cap hit this past year, yet the team kept him. You could have saved $9m plus by moving on from him. Why this was not done makes very little cap sense.

2. Sean Lee. Fabulous player in his prime. Just a guy now. They could have had a journeyman player playing at the minimum salary for the same level of production.

3. Jason Witten. Yeah he’s gone. So is the money we paid him to suck. Just think where those cap dollars could be going now. We could be paying Dak, or acquiring a stud defender to help this defense with those rolled over cap dollars.

I could go on and on with this list. I don’t fault the Cowboys for using good judgment and “missing” on contracts. I fault them for paying people that everyone knows can’t play anymore top dollar.

You applaud them for trying? I will applaud them for what they do, not what they try to do. If I had to gamble, I'd say Jerry makes Dak the highest paid quarterback in the league.

 

[Flamma]

Their salaries are vested after week one. So cutting them saves no money. Still have to pay them for the whole year. I am guessing that is a HUGE reason.

Plus they're already under the cap, so what's the point? So if they're of some help, regardless of how little, cutting them mid season accomplishes nothing.

 

[Verdict]

You applaud them for trying? I will applaud them for what they do, not what they try to do. If I had to gamble, I'd say Jerry makes Dak the highest paid quarterback in the league.

Jerry and co are only half of this situation. Dak is the other. I’m not sure why people don’t get this.

Dak has been gambling on himself and won, up until last year. Now he is injured and the salary cap is in flux. Neither of those things benefit Dak.

Jerry will probably not use hard leverage on Dak, like he probably should. The word on the street is Jerry will be offering Dak the same deal that he offered him last year, which I think is very fair of Jerry. Moreover Dak TRIED to take that deal last year, but it was too late to get the paperwork in to the league office.

The offer wasn’t a last minute offer by Jerry, so this was really “on Dak” more than the Cowboys.

 

[Creeper]

I applaud the Cowboys for trying to keep Dak’s total cap hit from crippling the team. On the other hand, they stupidly handle other cap numbers. Here are a few for your reviewing chagrin:

1. Tyrone Crawford. I don’t blame the team for signing him to his current contract. They expected him to perform well and the indications were there. On the other hand anyone with any sense at all knew Crawford was not worth his cap hit this past year, yet the team kept him. You could have saved $9m plus by moving on from him. Why this was not done makes very little cap sense.

2. Sean Lee. Fabulous player in his prime. Just a guy now. They could have had a journeyman player playing at the minimum salary for the same level of production.

3. Jason Witten. Yeah he’s gone. So is the money we paid him to suck. Just think where those cap dollars could be going now. We could be paying Dak, or acquiring a stud defender to help this defense with those rolled over cap dollars.

I could go on and on with this list. I don’t fault the Cowboys for using good judgment and “missing” on contracts. I fault them for paying people that everyone knows can’t play anymore top dollar.

These are not great examples, except maybe Crawford. I never understood the infatuation with Crawford, They really like him, and I guess he is a good locker room guy, but on the field he is just another guy to me. I find it hard to believe they could not find anyone better. But Crawford is a free agent now, just when they will need the CAP room to sign Day or someone else.

Lee is the best LB on the Cowboys roster. He is paid nothing comparatively.

Witten was a presence in the locker room. So many players looked up to him. I would pay him just for that.

No, the CAP mismanagement, which has been a perpetual problem for Dallas for years, is better exemplified but DLaw, Zeke, Jaylon and Amari Cooper.

DLaw is a good player. No one disputes that. But he is making over $20 million a year. That's top money and he has, what, 11 sacks in the last 2 years? That's not good enough to get top money. And every times you see him crash down inside only to allow the runner to get outside for a big gain it only shows you why he is not worth that much money. He is grossly overpaid for his production.

Zeke is the same. We saw Zeke slowing down before they signed him His production is way down but he is making over $15 million a year. I never liked the Zeke pick to begin with, but then to pay him $90 million was absurd. Good player, but RBs can be found in the middle rounds of the draft and they are certainly not worth what Zeke is getting. Other teams let their star RBs go and still managed to win games. The Cowboys should have done the same. Don;t get me wrong. I like Zeke and think he is a good RB. But it is about vaue. Zeke is not a good value for $15 million a year.

Jaylon Smith gets paid like a top LB. Does anyone think Jaylon Smith is a top LB in the NFL? His contract is not the worst but let's face it, he is so overpaid for his performance it is a joke.

Then we come to Amari Cooper. Cooper is a great route runner, and a very good WR. But he gets paid $21 million a year. In every year he has played Cooper has disappear for about 50% of his games. Sure he has some big games, but he is not there when you need him. To me, Cooper exemplifies the Cowboys loser mentality. The guy has not fight in him. If Brady made on difference in his team it was showing them how to be competitive, and how to win. Cooper does the opposite. This is why the Raiders gave him up. When I see CeeDee Lamb, using his 150 lb body to fight for a extra yard I see the potential for a guy who will show his teammates how to win. When I see Cooper catch a pass, get touched and fall down a yard short of the 1st down I see a loser. We are paying that loser $20 million a year and will likely restructure him to push his CAP impact out for a few more years - locking the Cowboys into his contract. I am not going to say I'd rather have Gallup than Cooper but I would say Cooper is good trade bait and the Cowboys can find another WR to take his place in this draft. I would rather take his $20 million and spend it on a DT and to sign one of our FA CBs.

Regardless, the Cowboys had a large number of free agents last year and have 20 more this year. This is poor planning and losing all of your starting CBs in 2 years is really bad planning, and it also shows why you cannot build a super bowl team on drafting alone.

 

[zrinkill]

Jerry Jones treats "cap management" like the lottery, he will spend millions of dollars on low class lottery tickets just hoping to hit it big.

Stephan Jones treats "cap management" like a wishing well ...... He throws pennies at the problem areas hoping his wish will come true.

Both are idiots with no understanding on how to build a team.

 

[ICP]

I applaud the Cowboys for trying to keep Dak’s total cap hit from crippling the team. On the other hand, they stupidly handle other cap numbers. Here are a few for your reviewing chagrin:

1. Tyrone Crawford. I don’t blame the team for signing him to his current contract. They expected him to perform well and the indications were there. On the other hand anyone with any sense at all knew Crawford was not worth his cap hit this past year, yet the team kept him. You could have saved $9m plus by moving on from him. Why this was not done makes very little cap sense.

2. Sean Lee. Fabulous player in his prime. Just a guy now. They could have had a journeyman player playing at the minimum salary for the same level of production.

3. Jason Witten. Yeah he’s gone. So is the money we paid him to suck. Just think where those cap dollars could be going now. We could be paying Dak, or acquiring a stud defender to help this defense with those rolled over cap dollars.

I could go on and on with this list. I don’t fault the Cowboys for using good judgment and “missing” on contracts. I fault them for paying people that everyone knows can’t play anymore top dollar.

Please don't forget about the money they are throwing away on Zeke and Jaylon.

 

[Verdict]

Please don't forget about the money they are throwing away on Zeke and Jaylon.

I view the contracts of Zeke and Jaylon differently than Crawford. Crawford clearly was not worth his cap hit, and his dead money was pretty much gone. He was willing to take a pay cut that we did not avail ourself of. That makes very little sense to me.

Zeke and/or Jaylon may not be playing up to their contract, but releasing them at this point poses cap considerations not present with Crawford’s contract. Neither may improve this year, but it is a much more likely possibility than Crawford was at this time last year.

Im more willing to consider Zeke and Jaylon “grey area” where either side of the coin could be considered a reasonable possibility. I did not see Crawford in that light last year.

 

[Verdict]

These are not great examples, except maybe Crawford. I never understood the infatuation with Crawford, They really like him, and I guess he is a good locker room guy, but on the field he is just another guy to me. I find it hard to believe they could not find anyone better. But Crawford is a free agent now, just when they will need the CAP room to sign Day or someone else.

Lee is the best LB on the Cowboys roster. He is paid nothing comparatively.

Witten was a presence in the locker room. So many players looked up to him. I would pay him just for that.

No, the CAP mismanagement, which has been a perpetual problem for Dallas for years, is better exemplified but DLaw, Zeke, Jaylon and Amari Cooper.

DLaw is a good player. No one disputes that. But he is making over $20 million a year. That's top money and he has, what, 11 sacks in the last 2 years? That's not good enough to get top money. And every times you see him crash down inside only to allow the runner to get outside for a big gain it only shows you why he is not worth that much money. He is grossly overpaid for his production.

Zeke is the same. We saw Zeke slowing down before they signed him His production is way down but he is making over $15 million a year. I never liked the Zeke pick to begin with, but then to pay him $90 million was absurd. Good player, but RBs can be found in the middle rounds of the draft and they are certainly not worth what Zeke is getting. Other teams let their star RBs go and still managed to win games. The Cowboys should have done the same. Don;t get me wrong. I like Zeke and think he is a good RB. But it is about vaue. Zeke is not a good value for $15 million a year.

Jaylon Smith gets paid like a top LB. Does anyone think Jaylon Smith is a top LB in the NFL? His contract is not the worst but let's face it, he is so overpaid for his performance it is a joke.

Then we come to Amari Cooper. Cooper is a great route runner, and a very good WR. But he gets paid $21 million a year. In every year he has played Cooper has disappear for about 50% of his games. Sure he has some big games, but he is not there when you need him. To me, Cooper exemplifies the Cowboys loser mentality. The guy has not fight in him. If Brady made on difference in his team it was showing them how to be competitive, and how to win. Cooper does the opposite. This is why the Raiders gave him up. When I see CeeDee Lamb, using his 150 lb body to fight for a extra yard I see the potential for a guy who will show his teammates how to win. When I see Cooper catch a pass, get touched and fall down a yard short of the 1st down I see a loser. We are paying that loser $20 million a year and will likely restructure him to push his CAP impact out for a few more years - locking the Cowboys into his contract. I am not going to say I'd rather have Gallup than Cooper but I would say Cooper is good trade bait and the Cowboys can find another WR to take his place in this draft. I would rather take his $20 million and spend it on a DT and to sign one of our FA CBs.

Regardless, the Cowboys had a large number of free agents last year and have 20 more this year. This is poor planning and losing all of your starting CBs in 2 years is really bad planning, and it also shows why you cannot build a super bowl team on drafting alone.

I think your post is a good post, but you don’t pay PLAYERS to JUST be locker room guys. They should be able to play at a high level or they should not be paid a penny nor tie up a roster spot.