Cowboys re-sign Free **merged**

[burmafrd]

I seem to remember that Bill Gregory was not a bad D Lineman; just not with us, lasted 10 years. Ron Jessie; thought he was decent; lasted 11 years.

So maybe for US it was horrendous.

 

[ZeroClub]

From the 2009 class I would take Victor Butler, Brandon Williams, and David Buehler over Bill Gregory who was the only player in the 1971 class to do anything. I also think McGee and Phillips deserve more than the scorn that class gets.

17 picks in 1971.

1971 was bad. True enough.

But to half-heartedly argue the point - the 1971 team was quite strong. There weren't a bunch of spots available for rookies. A few of the draft picks ended up contributing to other teams (Ron Jesse, Honor Jackson, and Tody Smith).

I remember Ike Thomas. He returned some kickoffs and a couple of them went for touchdowns in 1971. He was with the Cowboys only for a year (then went elsewhere). If I remember right, one of those touchdown returns was a game changer while the other came in a blow out. Thomas didn't make a giant or lasting contribution, but for a rookie DB who was behind guys like Adderley, Green, Harris, Renfro, and Waters (that's quite a list!).... it is sort of amazing that he managed to have any kind of impact at all.

 

[burntricersx]

Nah, I would rather it been a six year deal. That way he is locked up two more years at the same price. If he continues to play the way he is, he will get an even larger contract at the age of 31. I would rather his next contract be at the age of 33 which is bordering the end of his career and can be structured appropriately.

I think a 4 year deal was a pretty smart move. Especially if his one great season turns out to be a fluke, you're not tied to him for 6 years and everyone will want Jerry's head on a platter. Then again, that happens more often than not...

 

[AbeBeta]

The reporter from Dallas camp just said on NFL Network that her sources told her last night that the Tampa rumor from last night not was "not the case".

that doesn't mean our offer was a response to that either, now does it?

 

[jterrell]

I think we got a very good deal on Free and more importantly got it done quickly.

Only 4 years and only 17 mil guaranteed are huge bonuses.

Now we have to re-tool that OL around Free.

 

[AbeBeta]

I think a 4 year deal was a pretty smart move. Especially if his one great season turns out to be a fluke, you're not tied to him for 6 years and everyone will want Jerry's head on a platter. Then again, that happens more often than not...

you have that wrong. any deal over 3 years generally is set up to break even if you cut the guy after year three -- you wouldn't be tied to him for six years.

we would have absolutely given him a 6 or even 7 year deal but that would have been dumb for Free. A four year deal has him UFA again at 31. That means he potentially signs a 2nd very large deal with a big SB. That's why this deal is four years.

 

[AbeBeta]

I think we got a very good deal on Free and more importantly got it done quickly.

Only 4 years and only 17 mil guaranteed are huge bonuses.

Now we have to re-tool that OL around Free.

only 4 years? that isn't a positive for us. my bet is that most of the negotiations here were about length not $$ - we would easily have gone seven years

 

[jterrell]

I think a 4 year deal was a pretty smart move. Especially if his one great season turns out to be a fluke, you're not tied to him for 6 years and everyone will want Jerry's head on a platter. Then again, that happens more often than not...

Even if he does develop nicely the 4 years makes plenty of sense.
In 4 years Tyron Smith needs to be at LT. This realistically gives us 4 years of this combo and then we decide which one stays at LT. We will not be able to pay both guys premium LT dollars.

Tyron's salary under this new rookie scale is cheap for 4 years then we go high in year 5(franchise type dollars) to keep him via team option.

 

[ZeroClub]

only 4 years? that isn't a positive for us. my bet is that most of the negotiations here were about length not $$ - we would easily have gone seven years

Yeah, I'd have preferred a longer term contract too.... but that would have commanded an ever higher price, I suspect.

 

[Cowboy Brian]

Even if he does develop nicely the 4 years makes plenty of sense.
In 4 years Tyron Smith needs to be at LT. This realistically gives us 4 years of this combo and then we decide which one stays at LT. We will not be able to pay both guys premium LT dollars.

Tyron's salary under this new rookie scale is cheap for 4 years then we go high in year 5(franchise type dollars) to keep him via team option.

Free>smith. And thats not insulting smith i went nuts when the pick was announced, so happy about it.

 

[jterrell]

only 4 years? that isn't a positive for us. my bet is that most of the negotiations here were about length not $$ - we would easily have gone seven years

Every additional year would have meant additional guaranteed money.
Also read my post above as to why 4 years made sense for us.

We got the guy for 8 mil per year which is excellent and locked him up til he is 31 which is also perfect. Yes, an LT can play quite well til mid 30's but you do not want to be guys giving up last contracts if you can help it. That's why the Pats let so many guys go. Cheap, young players with ascending arrows is the only way to work in a cap world.

Also, we may well decide in 2 years to extend him. This deal was about getting him resigned and keeping his initial cap hit low. Tossing on a 5th year at 12 million or so might look better on paper but isn't any different than a real 4 year deal.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Even if he does develop nicely the 4 years makes plenty of sense.
In 4 years Tyron Smith needs to be at LT. This realistically gives us 4 years of this combo and then we decide which one stays at LT. We will not be able to pay both guys premium LT dollars.

Tyron's salary under this new rookie scale is cheap for 4 years then we go high in year 5(franchise type dollars) to keep him via team option.

That and if we can get 4 more very good years out of Free...ANY General Manager and HC in this league would take it. I think people don't realize that there are no guarantees in this league, especially on the O-Line.

Was the deal optimal? Probably not. But, I think the deal was a very good one for the Cowboys. And we can always re-do the contract before the 4 years is up.

Why people miss those things just really shows their blind hatred towards Jerry.





YR

 

[jterrell]

Free>smith. And thats not insulting smith i went nuts when the pick was announced, so happy about it.

This year you are almost 100% correct. But in 4 years? No one knows that yet and most actual football evaluators would lean to Smith.

There is zero doubt Smith is more athletic.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

Free>smith. And thats not insulting smith i went nuts when the pick was announced, so happy about it.

Free has a lot of work to do to catch a HOF member

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Good deal and no surprise, at all, that we go Free resigned. I never worried about that. That was going to happen, for sure.

 

[burntricersx]

Every additional year would have meant additional guaranteed money.
Also read my post above as to why 4 years made sense for us.

We got the guy for 8 mil per year which is excellent and locked him up til he is 31 which is also perfect. Yes, an LT can play quite well til mid 30's but you do not want to be guys giving up last contracts if you can help it. That's why the Pats let so many guys go. Cheap, young players with ascending arrows is the only way to work in a cap world.

Also, we may well decide in 2 years to extend him. This deal was about getting him resigned and keeping his initial cap hit low. Tossing on a 5th year at 12 million or so might look better on paper but isn't any different than a real 4 year deal.

That's what I was getting at but you articulated it much better! :gent:

 

[AbeBeta]

Every additional year would have meant additional guaranteed money.
Also read my post above as to why 4 years made sense for us.

We got the guy for 8 mil per year which is excellent and locked him up til he is 31 which is also perfect. Yes, an LT can play quite well til mid 30's but you do not want to be guys giving up last contracts if you can help it. That's why the Pats let so many guys go. Cheap, young players with ascending arrows is the only way to work in a cap world.

Also, we may well decide in 2 years to extend him. This deal was about getting him resigned and keeping his initial cap hit low. Tossing on a 5th year at 12 million or so might look better on paper but isn't any different than a real 4 year deal.

More guaranteed money? Sure -- but you take that risk every time. This was all about Free being a UFA again at a young age. That could mean another 30 mill guaranteed on his next deal. We clearly would prefer paying an extra 6-8 mill or so now compared to 30 later

 

[Deep_Freeze]

Didn't know Philly was trying to get Free too last night.

 

[Hostile]

This year you are almost 100% correct. But in 4 years? No one knows that yet and most actual football evaluators would lean to Smith.

There is zero doubt Smith is more athletic.

Smith is an athletic freak. I predict he will have this entire forum salivating like the days of Big E by week 4.

Yeah, he'll make some rookie mistakes and knee jerkers will proclaim him a liability, but once he gets his sea legs he will dominate people. I watch a lot of Pac-10 football and he hits people 10 to 20 yards downfield on a regular basis and usually drives his guy backwards 4 to 5 yards per run play. Highlights of him will show him hitting 2 and sometimes even 3 guys on one play if he has momentum.

 

[CCBoy]

Even if he does develop nicely the 4 years makes plenty of sense.
In 4 years Tyron Smith needs to be at LT. This realistically gives us 4 years of this combo and then we decide which one stays at LT. We will not be able to pay both guys premium LT dollars.

Tyron's salary under this new rookie scale is cheap for 4 years then we go high in year 5(franchise type dollars) to keep him via team option.

And this puts Tyron and Doug in cap negotiations at about the same point in time in the future...