Twitter: Cowboys create cap room with Zeke's contract

[conner01]

I would have waited a month or so to see if he looked better this season before doing this. The timing doesn't make sense. Make all the excuses you want for why, but he wasn't much more than average last year. I do fully expect him to bounce back, but why not wait to see it?

With this restructure it looks like Zeke will be here until after the 2024 season with $1.7M dead money in 2025.I doubt we pay him that 2025 or 2026 salary. Personally I liked the option (doesn't mean he had to do it) of cutting him after 2022. Now if we did that it's almost $12M in dead money. I guess we could still cut him after 2023 with reasonable dead money if no longer performing. Hopefully Zeke bounces back to what we all know he can be.

It doesn’t change the ability to get out in any significant way

 

[Risen Star]

Anyone else wondering why they chose to restructure Zeke before Amari, when Amari's contract is just begging to be restructured?

Because Cooper is playing his last year in Dallas.

 

[conner01]

I don’t think they could restructure his contract once the season started.

That would seem logical

 

[gimmesix]

Anyone else wondering why they chose to restructure Zeke before Amari, when Amari's contract is just begging to be restructured?

Health. Elliott has been very durable while Amari has lower-body issues that seem to cause him problems every season. If he misses time because of them this year, then Dallas will have to consider letting him go and re-signing Gallup instead. The team saves $16 million against the cap next year by cutting Cooper, so that would be plenty to re-sign Gallup.

Also, even if Dallas had not restructured Elliott, it would have taken a cap hit to cut and replace him, so generally the players you want to restructure are ones that there's no way you can cut anyway.

 

[Stash]

I believe Elliott, Lawrence and Cooper were the only candidates who didn't already do this.

Of those, Elliott is the only one whose 2022 salary is already guaranteed.

I figure that to be a big factor.

It probably would have changed the teams options much more greatly to do the same with the other two.

I think they've already reworked Lawrence's deal. More than once, if I remember correctly.

 

[Plankton]

Anyone else wondering why they chose to restructure Zeke before Amari, when Amari's contract is just begging to be restructured?

He's likely getting cut next year. The Cowboys are slated to be $25 million over the cap in 2022, and they can save $14M by cutting Cooper before June 1 next year, $18M if done as a post-June 1. His salary has an injury guarantee, and fully guarantees after the fifth day of the 2022 league year.

 

[John813]

I don’t think that’s after the restructure but I could be wrong
I don’t see anything noting the restructure

They had no note yet by his base salary was at 1mil and his cap hit dropped to ~6.8mil

 

[DanA]

It is in addition to what the numbers would have been before the restructure.

If they had not touched his base salary this year, that $8.6MM cap hit would have been taken THIS YEAR. His dead money hit in 2023 would have been less than it is now. But by converting $8.6MM of his base salary to a bonus, they spread that over 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 league years. If they cut him after 2022, they still have to account for the annual remaining $1.72MM added cap hits for 2023, 2024, and 2025. Hence, they increased their dead money hit in 2023 by restructuring now. If they cut him that league year his dead money hit is now larger by $5.1MM compared to what it would have been if they cut him 2023 before the restructure.

Yes, they can designate him a June 1 cut in 2023 which would spread the overall cap hit over the 2023 and 2024 season. But that doesn't change the fact that if they cut him in 2023 after this restructure, they now would have to account for $5.1MM in extra dead money.

We were something like 20m over the cap for 2022 so something had to be done to smooth the salary cap, it was inevitable that somehow we would have to push money into 2023 and beyond.

This isn’t an issue unique to the cowboys either. The whole leagues salary cap is super low for 2021 and 2022 and that’s causing a lot of cuts and restructures.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

I wonder who we are bringing in? I saw we were working out a few DTs.

 

[USArmyVet]

Seems like a perfectly structured contract. The out year is right before the normal huge fall off year of age 30.

Typical fall off for running back is age 28.

 

[OmerV]

That's what the Dak fans say any time someone brings up Dak's stupid contract.

Jerry wouldn't need this flexibility if he would grow the nads to tell these spoiled jackwagons 'no'.

The only way that works is if all teams are willing to tell players no because otherwise someone will always pay for the better players that you wont pay for. And, of course, the teams can't all do that because it would be collusion.

 

[USArmyVet]

Fans look at these numbers wrong. They look at the dead money hit and think about whether that makes a player uncuttable when what matters is the gains and whether you can upgrade the team more with those gains. For example, in 2023 there is 4.9m in savings to be had by cutting Zeke. Now it is very unlikely you can upgrade the team for 4.9m over Zeke but if he falls off a cliff by then, then of course they will take the savings. It is possible they can upgrade in 2024 with the 8.3m (which sounds like a lot but will probably be what 6m is now so enough for one averageish veteran) which is possible but far from a certainty. There is almost no way though that he says the last 2 years of that deal.

I look at the fact that is 2022 the combination of Dak, Zeke, and Cooper account for a total cap hit of $73.4M (dead money of $108.88M).......that is one hell of a cap hit for 3 players.

 

[fivetwos]

I think they've already reworked Lawrence's deal. More than once, if I remember correctly.

They probably have and know that doing it again may keep him here longer than they would like.

I dunno here....I can't stand Jerry beyond belief, and Elliott and his antics are right behind him.

I take shots whenever possible, but I don't see this as a move they shouldn't have made.

6.8 now is better than 5.1 spread over two years two years down the road.

If it all kept Elliott here a minute longer than otherwise, then I'm against it....but I don't think that's the case.

 

[fivetwos]

I look at the fact that is 2022 the combination of Dak, Zeke, and Cooper account for a total cap hit of $73.4M (dead money of $108.88M).......that is one hell of a cap hit for 3 players.

Teams structure big contracts with the idea of probable restructure in mind.

I feel like I'm defending the two buffoons today. I dont like it lol.

As much as those two irritate me, I dont at all think they have seriously mismanaged the cap.

Yes, they have given out absurd contracts to guys who have underperformed them, but I just don't get the impression that these restructures are obvious stupid moves.

Let's say we make a remarkable improvement this season but still fall short.

Do we want to be in a spot to get over the hump in the coming offseason or do we want to worry about an extra 2.5m in dead money on the 23 and 24 cap?

 

[quickccc]

Makes sense. If they don't sign anyone, they technically gain 4.96mil more cap space in 2022 factoring in the slight increase from his cap hit.

Small amount, but it adds up.

At first i thought could this be for a trade for a reserve OT ..or actually backup QB Nick Foles - and make a trade deal manuever in much of the similar way we did with Robert Quinn trade, ..where Rams would eat a part of the players' contract, while Cowboys agree to take on a certain amount, while also agreeing on a compensating a conditional pick that go from late to mid round.
(But never a straight up trade for Foles with the big contract he has with Bears)

but then again Cowboys tend to tinker and move around cap space like this on an every year basis. .. it's nuthin' new

 

[BHendri5]

I never understood caving to his 2nd contract and don’t get why they restructure when not needed. The quicker he is off the team, the better.

you are an idiot my friend

 

[BHendri5]

This ‘mouth breather’ prefers Pollard.

Yep you are son idiot also

 

[Whirlwin]

So you're a fortune teller now?

Madam Whirlwin is his name and fortune telling is his game!!!

It’s been throughout the history of the league, why should they change now. Go back and take a nap

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Insulting to who? Insulting to you? Or Elliott? Or Pollard?
I did not receive a memo that Elliott is gifted the RB position and any other thoughts or opinions or criticism on the RB issue are irrelevant and not welcome.

Its insulting to anyone who actually is a Cowboy or football fan.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Yep you are son idiot also