Ok, that one's gonna leave a mark.
Not sure what the reason is for the bias against Anthony Spencer from Cowboys fans. He was a good player for us on a value contract for most of his time here. And the team and the owner love him. He definitely didn't deliver a ton of sacks, and I think that's probably what the issue is with some, but he handles his responsibilities well and delivered very good value with the exception of his injured franchise year. And it seems kinda uncool to hold a career-threatening injury against a guy.
I think he'll likely be back on an incentive-laden deal again, too. And I think that's an ok move. Unlike in other years where he'd have been a challenge to replace, we'll probably have other reasonably-priced options available to us if he gets a better long-term deal elsewhere, but given that he'll be able to go through a full offseason camp again, and given that he did seem to play better for us as the season wore on, I think he's a good fit as a veteran rotational player with some upside for us. I imagine we'll have an easier time upgrading some other DL spots and we'll stick with the status quo here unless a bluebird falls into our laps from somewhere.
I get that fans have guys that annoy them. We all dealt with Matt Johnson's potential and other players development or overpaid status or drama... so I can somewhat understand.
But as we move beyond opinion into fact we probably need to nail that part of it so we can at least discuss it.
Spencer has been almost exactly what he was supposed to be. A very solid starter for most of his career with a peak of the Pro Bowl once as a key position. Pretty much dead in line with a late first round pick value.
He's never been handed massive amounts of money and when offers were equal he returned here even after we franchised him twice limiting his guaranteed dollars significantly.
Last season to me he looked done around mid-season. Rep guy who got stopped the run but zero pressure. BUT he actually improved as the season wore on and came up big in the playoffs as a starter.
I'd have zero issues giving him a deal very similar to last year with a 2nd season attached.
As fans we gotta accept the grass isn't always greener.
A lot of times the guys we bring in for FA are truly JAGs.
Mickey Spagnola's hilarious "if they are so good why are they available mantra" is becoming more and more true.
At the same time if the team goes another direction, so be it.
If any team deserves front office leeway it is this one.
This was a team projected to win 6 or 7 games by the vast majority and we won 12.
So they should get the benefit of the doubt.
