Cowboys sign Darren McFadden - 2yr deal worth up to $5.85m (200k bonus)

[perrykemp]

Who were oaklands offensive threats again?... I think he is going to be plenty good playing behind this line with dez on the outside. Whatever it is, I think you will get his best effort. The Raiders have been pretty horrific for a while now.

Yes, but the others RBs on the Raiders roster the past 3 years consistently performed better than him (at least as measured by yards per carry).

I suspect the Cowboys OL will make him a better player, but the honest truth is he just didn't play as well as a bunch of the Raider's journeyman RBs the past 3 years.

Hopefully the change of scenery makes a difference.

 

[KJJ]

That is part of the problem. How can it be a value deal if you do not have a strong opinion that he can play?

Value implies worth.

I'm sure he's looking at what he signed for and the injury risk he presents. McFadden played in all 16 games last season and did virtually nothing averaging over 4.0 a carry in only 4 games. Based on all the injuries he's had and how little he produced this past season it's not real clear if he can play. We'll find out this summer.

 

[Western]

Low risk. High reward.
Prudent & competent move by the Cowboys front office.

 

[vaturkey]

We have beat this subject like a rented mule.

 

[Ratmatt]

Truer words half never been spoken or written about Murray/McFadden and what the heck we are doing for 2015.
The anxiom should be this: Never give up a 1,8000-yard back for a 600-yard back.
Also, don't expect quality from the Raiders.
We are truly settling for mediocrity (if dat) in our running game -- and that aint good for our passing game. And it certainly aint good for a ground-control game that lactates the clock and keeps the good offenses out there off the field.
OK, yes, we needed cap space and we could not give Murray the moon. But hail, jerra, we needed someonly slightly better than McFadden, a rundown Raider reject.

I am depressed and am thinking of going over to jack's pool room and video game center where they serve sandwiches from a machine. And that aint good.

That's called fine dining from where I come from!

 

[vicjagger]

We have beat this subject like a rented mule.

Nearly 50 pages....

 

[ConstantReboot]

And if McFadden is as inept as the article states, then you cut him, give him his $200K check and you end the experiment.

What's the harm in that? Explain to me, exactly, what's the harm in kicking the tires on this guy? Don't give me "he takes up practice time". That's a lame excuse given that we waste practice time too on UDFAs and camp invitees who have no shot at making the team either and I doubt you get worked up over those guys "taking up practice time".

So what is the harm in giving this guy an extremely team friendly deal and just kick the tires on the guy?

Because the harm in this is that the Jone's get comfortable and stop bring in top talent to Dallas. They want a bargain and they got it. Now if McFadden fails whats our option? Randle? Be serious. McFadden is not an option. If he fails we have nothing to fall back to. The Jone's will just say "oh well, we tried - sorry". McFadden is nothing more than a EXCUSE clause for the Jone's to use for the failure of not getting Murray signed.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Obviously they went with the cheapest replacement possible. It's clear they're likely looking to draft someone this year and they're going to go with runningback by committee for the year at the very least.

Tells me Dallas is 100% sold that they believe their O-line is going to be more than good enough that they're going to get quality running production out of the group and not worry about 1 guy getting 1800+ yards.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

People seem to be certain that Gurley will be a great RB. I don't watch enough college football to agree or disagree. I just know that people were saying the same thing about McFadden. He best physical potential at RB probably since Bo Jackson and he had a great college career. I wouldn't be upset if we waited until the 3rd round to get a RB. I'd be comfortable with four guys who could potentially start: 3rd round rookie, McFadden, Randle, Williams. We didn't get to see how anyone else besides Murray could do behind this O-line last year since they never gave anyone else a chance. When they did give the ball to Randle and Dunbar, they broke off big gains. But they never gave either more than a handful of carries in a game.

 

[wileedog]

Does not matter when there is zero downside.

Or something.

The downside is we were foolish enough to sign him in the first place.

Wow, you are really going off the deep end for what is the baseball equivalent of a minor league contract.

 

[mattjames2010]

Because the harm in this is that the Jone's get comfortable and stop bring in top talent to Dallas. They want a bargain and they got it. Now if McFadden fails whats our option? Randle? Be serious. McFadden is not an option. If he fails we have nothing to fall back to. The Jone's will just say "oh well, we tried - sorry". McFadden is nothing more than a EXCUSE clause for the Jone's to use for the failure of not getting Murray signed.

WE ARE DRAFTING AN RB PEOPLE!

Our coaching staff is not stupid, they are not thinking McFadden is our starter and can last 16 games with the workload. There are plenty of RBs in this draft we can grab. Want to know why Murray didn't get a big offer? It wasn't just because of the cap, it's also because we have our eyes on a couple RBs in the draft. Read a couple threads from the past week, me and a few others already predicted McFadden would be brought in as a backup to whatever RB we draft.

And that is absolutely idiotic to say Jones will get too comfortable and not bring in top level talent any longer. And that's also idiotic to stop bringing in risk/reward players too. We'll bring in top level talent on reasonable deals, we just won't overspend. And yes, that is possible.

We are not going through 7 rounds of the draft without grabbing one of the top RBs. If I'm wrong, I'll come right back to this thread and eat my crow. But as of now, it's almost a certainty that's what we'll do. Coleman will most likely be our guy, so have some fun and watch his highlights and familiarize yourself with him.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Now that the contract details come out...this is even a bigger steal for the Cowboys. Man people gnashing their teeth. Wow.

 

[Jason 82 Witten]

WE ARE DRAFTING AN RB PEOPLE!

Our coaching staff is not stupid, they are not thinking McFadden is our starter and can last 16 games with the workload. There are plenty of RBs in this draft we can grab. Want to know why Murray didn't get a big offer? It wasn't just because of the cap, it's also because we have our eyes on a couple RBs in the draft. Read a couple threads from the past week, me and a few others already predicted McFadden would be brought in as a backup to whatever RB we draft.

And that is absolutely idiotic to say Jones will get too comfortable and not bring in top level talent any longer. And that's also idiotic to stop bringing in risk/reward players too. We'll bring in top level talent on reasonable deals, we just won't overspend. And yes, that is possible.

We are not going through 7 rounds of the draft without grabbing one of the top RBs. If I'm wrong, I'll come right back to this thread and eat my crow. But as of now, it's almost a certainty that's what we'll do. Coleman will most likely be our guy, so have some fun and watch his highlights and familiarize yourself with him.

I have absolutely no idea why people can't understand this

 

[Bluestang]

Now that the contract details come out...this is even a bigger steal for the Cowboys. Man people gnashing their teeth. Wow.

For once we agree, $900K base and $200K signing bonus...$3M over two years...so that makes it $1.9M base next year with 100K bonus.

$2.85M in incentives only if he has back to back 1600+ yds...which is not likely happening.

This puts all the onus on McFadden to stay healthy and be productive.

 

[dguinta1]

Newest Dallas Cowboy Darren McFadden is in the house at the #DALvsLAC game at the AAC! #cowboyszone

 

[Bluestang]

That is part of the problem. How can it be a value deal if you do not have a strong opinion that he can play?

Value implies worth.

If he fails to rush for 1,000 yards in either season, the base value of the contract is $3 million.

McFadden received a $200,000 signing bonus and will receive a $900,000 base salary in 2015 for a $1.15 million cap figure. He earns $9,375 for every game he is on the 46-man roster. In 2016, he will earn a base salary of $1.25 million and has per-game roster bonuses that can earn him an extra $500,000. If he does not play in eight games in 2015, then the max he could earn on those per-game bonuses in 2016 is $250,000.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4741138/base-value-of-mcfadden-deal-is-3-million

This is a good contract based on the way the incentives are layed out.

 

[boysfanindc]

If he fails to rush for 1,000 yards in either season, the base value of the contract is $3 million.

McFadden received a $200,000 signing bonus and will receive a $900,000 base salary in 2015 for a $1.15 million cap figure. He earns $9,375 for every game he is on the 46-man roster. In 2016, he will earn a base salary of $1.25 million and has per-game roster bonuses that can earn him an extra $500,000. If he does not play in eight games in 2015, then the max he could earn on those per-game bonuses in 2016 is $250,000.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4741138/base-value-of-mcfadden-deal-is-3-million

This is a good contract based on the way the incentives are layed out.

Incentives are good because they incentivize him to perform.

 

[Bluestang]

Obviously they went with the cheapest replacement possible. It's clear they're likely looking to draft someone this year and they're going to go with runningback by committee for the year at the very least.

Tells me Dallas is 100% sold that they believe their O-line is going to be more than good enough that they're going to get quality running production out of the group and not worry about 1 guy getting 1800+ yards.

The likelihood of anyone reaching the record is very slim, unless we find a feature back like Murray again. I think it would take someone like Gurley a couple years in the system to reach that mark.

Once they brought back Dunbar, kept Randle and Williams, the committee approach was best situation. McFadden is another option at a low price to probably be the penciled in 3rd down guy.

 

[MonsterD]

We have beat this subject like a rented mule.

No no let's keep going McFadden is sooo controversial we need to talk all the way through to Sept about only him.

 

[Hoofbite]

Now that the contract details come out...this is even a bigger steal for the Cowboys. Man people gnashing their teeth. Wow.

Yeah. I can't see where the disappointment is coming from.

If not Murray for dirt cheap then who?

I honestly like this move a lot.