Cowboys' biggest upcoming roster decisions

[Verdict]

The Cowboys have several difficult roster decisions coming up. Making the right call can be the difference in a super bowl win, or a super Tank. Speaking of Tank....

1. Number one on this list is what to do with Lawrence. Most would want to keep him around. That makes sense from a player "ability" sense, but is less certain from a cap perspective. He has already been suspended once for PEDs. He has been injured, a lot. He really hasn't played all that well, except in wait for it, his contract year.

I would like to see him stay a Cowboy but you have to consider his salary cap hit in what is best for the Cowboys. I think he will be very expensive. If we sign him and he falls off the map due to injury, motivation, or suspension, it would be crippling to the Cowboys.

This is also a player that is worth a lot in the open market. If someone would give you a first round pick for him I would personally take the pick over the player. Use the first round pick to get his replacement at a lower cost. You could even package a pick to move up and target a pass rusher you really like in the teens if you were motivated to do so with far less risk.

2. Can Jaylon play? I personally wouldn't count on Jaylon for anything other than depth next year. But if he can do it all, it lessens the major need at LB.

3. Irving. Do you resign him instead of just renting him for another year? You can rent him cheap for a year, but if he gets away after that it would cost you his services the following year. You could sign him now at a bit of a discount but signing him is risky in that he was also suspended for PEDs. If he is the real deal and you lock him up on a Crawford level pay scale it could be a bargain.

4. Can they/will they/ should they force Dez to take a pay cut or cut him. I think that is a resounding yes based on his cap number vs performance. But Dez would melt down if you ask him to take a pay cut.

Cutting him also carries risk too in that maybe being cut wakes Dez up and gives him motivation to actually work on his craft. I personally would move on from him.

5. Old man Witten. Should we cut him? I personally think so. If our coaches had the balls to limit his snaps and cut his pay that would be fine, but they don't so someone has to go.

6. What do the do with Cooper (OG). Do they resign him or let him walk? Draft his replacement? I doubt he will sign for a cheap journeyman contract. He will want to be paid. If he walks he may net us a 3rd or 4th round pick in return. That's valuable too. My preference would be to resign him but you can't let him hold you hostage and over pay to keep him.

 

[Section446]

Franchise Lawrence, even though it'd be a huge hit, at least it's only a year.

Don't count on Jaylon for anything beyond what he's done this season.

Rent Irving, too risky to give a long-term deal.

Cut Dez.

Cut Witten, he brings nothing to the offense.

Rent Cooper another year.

 

[Verdict]

Franchise Lawrence, even though it'd be a huge hit, at least it's only a year.

Don't count on Jaylon for anything beyond what he's done this season.

Rent Irving, too risky to give a long-term deal.

Cut Dez.

Cut Witten, he brings nothing to the offense.

Rent Cooper another year.

That sounds great. We will have to have Cooper cooperate in a one year rental, and he may not want to play that game.

 

[birdwells1]

Cutting him also carries risk too in that maybe being cut wakes Dez up and gives him motivation to actually work on his craft. I personally would move on from him.

I see you trying create a way out for yourself if Dez goes to a team with a top flight passer and an OC with imagination. Lol.

 

[Section446]

That sounds great. We will have to have Cooper cooperate in a one year rental, and he may not want to play that game.

So be it, he won't have a huge market, and he's found a good thing. He's been good, but he's replaceable.

 

[Section446]

I see you trying create a way out for yourself if Dez goes to a team with a top flight passer and an OC with imagination. Lol.

He could be playing with Brady, he's still a bad WR.

 

[Verdict]

I see you trying create a way out for yourself if Dez goes to a team with a top flight passer and an OC with imagination. Lol.

Not really. I don't hate Dez the person. I don't think that much of Dez the player. He has severely under performed his contract.

There is risk inherent in every decision. There is also risk in doing nothing. You have to evaluate the risk in every decision, including doing nothing. The Cowboys have been trying to get Dez to hone his craft for about 8 years now. So far whatever they have tried hasn't worked. But they haven't tried cutting him yet.

 

[diefree666]

That sounds great. We will have to have Cooper cooperate in a one year rental, and he may not want to play that game.

give cooper a two year contract with decent money. He will then have a chance to really prove himself and still be young enough to get a big contract

 

[dfense]

Funny how everyone wants to win but not want to sign or keep good players.

You want to languish in mediocrity? Lawrence has been hurt, and played through it. He could have sat. He's never loafed. Sign him. He's a possible DPOY. The whole argument of either cutting guys who don't perform and then not signing guys who do at the highest level. It makes your head spin. Don't get cute. Sign him.

And sign Irvin to. These guys are young, hungry. The front office is blowing high draft picks to get a pass rush. And then you don't want to pay for them???

I'd argue Dez needs to take a pay cut because of production.

They need to find Witten's replacement. He can't play forever.

Here's my draft

DT Someone to pair with Collins. The Dline will start to look real good.
RT Collins needs to move back to G. He can't handle speed outside.
TE Youth
LB Depth at least.
S
WR Field stretcher. I can't remember last time Williams went deep.
RB third down guy with speed. Change of pace pass catcher.

 

[CF74]

Can we add Scandrick and Crawford to this discussion? Can or take a pay cut...

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

what about Zach Martin....his 5th year option would cost $9.4M, ouch. I'm no "capologist" but think this worthy discussion should involve reference to how all these converging contracts translate to next/future year cap implications.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

The Cowboys have several difficult roster decisions coming up. Making the right call can be the difference in a super bowl win, or a super Tank. Speaking of Tank....

1. Number one on this list is what to do with Lawrence. Most would want to keep him around. That makes sense from a player "ability" sense, but is less certain from a cap perspective. He has already been suspended once for PEDs. He has been injured, a lot. He really hasn't played all that well, except in wait for it, his contract year.

I would like to see him stay a Cowboy but you have to consider his salary cap hit in what is best for the Cowboys. I think he will be very expensive. If we sign him and he falls off the map due to injury, motivation, or suspension, it would be crippling to the Cowboys.

This is also a player that is worth a lot in the open market. If someone would give you a first round pick for him I would personally take the pick over the player. Use the first round pick to get his replacement at a lower cost. You could even package a pick to move up and target a pass rusher you really like in the teens if you were motivated to do so with far less risk.

2. Can Jaylon play? I personally wouldn't count on Jaylon for anything other than depth next year. But if he can do it all, it lessens the major need at LB.

3. Irving. Do you resign him instead of just renting him for another year? You can rent him cheap for a year, but if he gets away after that it would cost you his services the following year. You could sign him now at a bit of a discount but signing him is risky in that he was also suspended for PEDs. If he is the real deal and you lock him up on a Crawford level pay scale it could be a bargain.

4. Can they/will they/ should they force Dez to take a pay cut or cut him. I think that is a resounding yes based on his cap number vs performance. But Dez would melt down if you ask him to take a pay cut.

Cutting him also carries risk too in that maybe being cut wakes Dez up and gives him motivation to actually work on his craft. I personally would move on from him.

5. Old man Witten. Should we cut him? I personally think so. If our coaches had the balls to limit his snaps and cut his pay that would be fine, but they don't so someone has to go.

6. What do the do with Cooper (OG). Do they resign him or let him walk? Draft his replacement? I doubt he will sign for a cheap journeyman contract. He will want to be paid. If he walks he may net us a 3rd or 4th round pick in return. That's valuable too. My preference would be to resign him but you can't let him hold you hostage and over pay to keep him.

1. No question DLaw is back ........I'm starting to think they may lock him up with the long-term deal rather than the tag. This way they save little money and can focus on Irvin next year. This way they won't have to worry what to do about BOTH AT END 2018.

2. You hear about the glowing reports from Jaylon trainer about next season? Jerry did and it's clear he bought into it. Other words, the FO is excited about this kid's 2018 season. In fact, he could be part of the reason Hitchen walk......

3. Irvin tendered

4. IMO there's going to be a ton of disappointed fans when/if the Cowboys let Dez and his contract stand as it is. No cut, extension or restructure, nothing. That's the way I see it ..........TWill just signed an extension March 2017. Now he and Dez contracts expire 2020. 2019 draft is when I expect this position get major attention.....

5. Witten is here until HE decides not to be here IMO ........future HOFer, Man of Year, ultimate team leader

6. I'd resign Coop to a modest 3-year deal and draft a guy in early rounds

 

[RamziD]

It would be the absolute stupidest move to let Lawrence get to FA. He plays one of the top 3 most important positions in football. You either pay him or franchise him. Even a top 5 draft pick at DE is not certain to do well.

 

[Aven8]

We've let go of both Ware and Romo so I'm not sure if they won't do the same to Witt, but I hope so. They just signed him to a 3 year deal for some off reason last year. I think he will be here until we have an adequate replacement, which could take 20 years with the way this staff picks TE's.......

 

[canters]

Franchise Lawrence, even though it'd be a huge hit, at least it's only a year.

Don't count on Jaylon for anything beyond what he's done this season.

Rent Irving, too risky to give a long-term deal.

Cut Dez.

Cut Witten, he brings nothing to the offense.

Rent Cooper another year.

Agree except with Dez and Witten.

JJ is married to Dez emotionally and is highly unlikely to cut him. A renegotiation is much more likely than cutting him.

Witten will be back if he wants to. He is our best TE and a good blocker still. Gathers has not shown himself to be a blocker and we need to put our resources elsewhere in the off season. Unless a premium TE falls in our laps in the draft, he plays unless he retires.

 

[Sydla]

I immediately reject any plan that involves cutting Dez Bryant.

Holy $%@$#.

 

[LittleD]

Not really. I don't hate Dez the person. I don't think that much of Dez the player. He has severely under performed his contract.

There is risk inherent in every decision. There is also risk in doing nothing. You have to evaluate the risk in every decision, including doing nothing. The Cowboys have been trying to get Dez to hone his craft for about 8 years now. So far whatever they have tried hasn't worked. But they haven't tried cutting him yet.

I don't hate Dez either. He's just way overpaid for his production. If Dez was continuing to improve then I might be more inclined to give him another year but, he seems to be regressing and dropping contested balls. He just does not have the speed to separate from CB's. Time for Dez and Witten to mosey over to some other team.

 

[Verdict]

give cooper a two year contract with decent money. He will then have a chance to really prove himself and still be young enough to get a big contract

I'm all for it, friend. I'm just not sure Cooper will cooperate in that regard.

 

[LittleD]

I immediately reject any plan that involves cutting Dez Bryant.

Holy $%@$#.

We already have a Dez clone on the team and he's paid way less. Time to draft a speedster who can create separation and give
Dak a reasonable target. It's going to take a few years for Dak to be able to thread the needle.

 

[Verdict]

what about Zach Martin....his 5th year option would cost $9.4M, ouch. I'm no "capologist" but think this worthy discussion should involve reference to how all these converging contracts translate to next/future year cap implications.

Yes. I intended to add him to the list, but failed to add him. That's a huge call. It's also a harder call than most people think.

You want to keep him. He is arguably the most dominant player at his position. But at some point even the best player at his position becomes a liability if he eats up too much of the cap. I think he gets resigned. I think he will ply at a very high level. What I don't know is will we eventually rue the contract or lose a more impactful player because of his contract.

People ***** because we don't have significant depth. You can't over pay guys like Witten, Dez, Crawford, etc and have a lot of extra money for depth. Thank goodness we got Hitchens in the 4th round for LB depth or we would be closer to the Giants 2 and 11 record than 7 and 6.