Cowboys want Thomas but only if he's cheap

Sydla

Sydla

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So says CBS Sports.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...-in-earl-thomas-but-only-as-bargain-shoppers/

Now, I am certainly not advocating this franchise go stupid here and give Thomas some bizarrely high contract given his age and injuries, but this obsession with sitting out the first two weeks of free agency and bargain bin shopping has not worked and the team continually comes up short, year after year partially because of holes that easily could have been filled in FA on top of using the draft as wisely as they have.

But for some odd reason, Stephen Jones refuses to use FA to help this team.
 
glimmerman said:
If he wants to retire A Cowboy then he better be cheap. And I still dont know if I want him. We have a lot of big contracts coming up to pay.
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He's not a player to lowball. But you're right, he probably would need to accept a lowball offer because our dopey owners think you can get by with no names in the trenches and backend.
 
mattjames2010 said:
Going cheap at both safety and DT has hurt us for years and this philosophy needs to end and end fast.
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We are on the cusp of having an elite defense with better DT and S play. There's no reason to go cheap here. They can also be smart in FA without going crazy. But I fully expect this to play out like the past few years.............

Jones' will go on vacation for the first week or so of FA and then see what stuff slipped through the cracks. Then they'll wait a few more days and let the leftovers get churned up and then what they will be left with will be their sweet spot.
 
Prime21 said:
No, they understand that they have a lot of contracts coming up and the cap space will be eaten up quickly just by signing our own. If vet FAs want to come here they need to take a discount.
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BS. They have been doing this for years - this didn't just start this offseason.
 
Prime21 said:
No, they understand that they have a lot of contracts coming up and the cap space will be eaten up quickly just by signing our own. If vet FAs want to come here they need to take a discount.
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They have the cap space to do all of this.

They have the cap space going forward to keep many of their players and add a key free agent here or there. Every single year there are guys out there that are decent quality players that can help this team that sign fair contracts that won't hurt the cap and this front office says, nah, our roster doesn't need any talent infusion.
 
Sydla said:
We are on the cusp of having an elite defense with better DT and S play. There's no reason to go cheap here. They can also be smart in FA without going crazy. But I fully expect this to play out like the past few years.............

Jones' will go on vacation for the first week or so of FA and then see what stuff slipped through the cracks. Then they'll wait a few more days and let the leftovers get churned up and then what they will be left with will be their sweet spot.
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Wasn't there a quote from Stephen in the past where he pretty much laughed and mocked people suggesting taking a safety high in a draft? I'm gonna have to look for it. But I'm certain it's out there.
 
Don't get into a bidding war that can cost cap space for younger players on the roster...BUT, don't do the team or its fans a disservice by not making a true effort to sign him. The team was going to give Sammy Watkins $14M per so I can't believe that $10M-11M per shouldn't be offered to him on day one of free agency. Dallas should be his 1st and last visit in free agency. Stories like this won't make him stop at the Star 1st.

If he goes elsewhere first, then the numbers will get out of control.

Hope Dallas doesn't sit out the first 2 weeks again. Smh...
 
mattjames2010 said:
Wasn't there a quote from Stephen in the past where he pretty much laughed and mocked people suggesting taking a safety high in a draft? I'm gonna have to look for it. But I'm certain it's out there.
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He also said Tre Boston didn't fit their scheme. Despite the fact Boston has played both FS and SS and while not at an elite level, better than Heath, for example.

I don't know if they just stink at evaluating FAs or they are cheap or they just have a misguided sense of roster building, but at this point, their aversion to spending even mid-level money in FA is bizarre.

I tend to lean towards they just stink at evaluating FAs or they have misplaced values in FA. Stephen wanted to give Sammy Watkins $14MM but apparently here, they want to lowball the hell out of Thomas?
 
slick325 said:
Don't get into a bidding war that can cost cap space for younger players on the roster...BUT, don't do the team or its fans a disservice by not making a true effort to sign him. The team was going to give Sammy Watkins $14M per so I can't believe that $10M-11M per shouldn't be offered to him on day one of free agency. Dallas should be his 1st and last visit in free agency. Stories like this won't make him stop at the Star 1st.

If he goes elsewhere first, then the numbers will get out of control.

Hope Dallas doesn't sit out the first 2 weeks again. Smh...
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If we aren't the first team he visits, this front office has lost it. The dude is right in the backyard, pretty much begging to come in.
 
I would take any media article or news banter with a grain of salt. If Jerry truly wants Earl, they will work out a deal. Earl moving his family to Austin and getting them settled should say he will either be playing for Houston or Dallas and hopefully it is Dallas.

To many people are getting caught up with the salary cap and total amount of the contract which is just crazy. If the Cowboys want Earl, they could sign him to a five year $60 million contract with $30 million in guarantee money and to show people how it would work:
5years $60 million, $30 million guarantees which include $20 million bonus and $10 million in salary guarantee
Year 1 cap hit - Salary $1 million, $4 million of prorated bonus for a total of $5 million cap hit
Year 2 cap hit - Salary $2 million, $4 million of prorated bonus for a total of $6 million cap hit
Year 3 cap hit - Salary $7 million, $4 million of prorated bonus for a total of $11 million cap hit, this would under new CBA where cap is expected to $250 million at a minimum
Year 4 cap hit - Salary $10 million, $4 million of prorated bonus for a total of $14 million cap hit - this is where you could release Earl and actually gain $2 million in cap space
Year 5 cap hit - Salary $20 million, $4 million of prorated bonus for a total of $24 million cap hit - if released then cap would gain $20 million

So the reality is that he could only cost $30 million if the contract is structured correctly. That would be a very doable deal and easily done with the available cap space even with resigning Lawrence and extending Cooper, Elliott, Jones and Prescott while also signing a couple of other cheap free agents and money for the draft. It is all about the contract structure, simply.
 
Sounds about right, but if they were seriously thinking about trading for ET before they should be comfortable with his price tag (8.5M).

So is it a lie now or a lie before?...my guess postering with this DAL source leak. I think ET will be a Cowboy.
 
Someone needs to ask the Jones boys how the safety position is any different than the top-of-the-line yacht and helicopter they've purchased........

Why didn't they go with cheaper models there ?
 
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