Signed by Cowboys Demarcus Lawrence signed, 5 years $105 million

[JJHLH1]

That’s a lot of money to tie up in a DE with a history of injuries. I hope it works out.

 

[Whirlwin]

He’s had 2 major back injuries.

I’ve been against a long term deal with him since last year due to heath concerns. I just think this is way too risky.

It seems in 2014 he did have a back injury he was also benched for amphetamines.. how worried more about Smith back then I do Lawrence but good information

 

[Aven8]

Remember when everyone complained about $60 million guaranteed for Romo?..........

 

[Whirlwin]

Remember when everyone complained about $60 million guaranteed for Romo?..........

You know with all the mathematicians accountants that franchises employee I never seen the salary cap ever being an issue we always found a way around it that doesn't mean some players should not have received their salaries. Like I never would have signed Dez Bryant.

 

[jazzcat22]

So we get 5 years of the Hot Boyz name. Maybe with a ll the money he can hire someone to come up with a better nickname for the D.

 

[Verdict]

How are you guys feeling about this deal? Here are my thoughts on it:

1. I am glad to have him suit up this year from a pure talent/ability point of view.
2. The team probably overpaid him a little, but I get it, in that over time his contract could be worth it on the back end of his deal if he can actually play out his contract.
3. This contract carries substantial risk and lots of red flags. Personally, looking at it strictly based on risk/reward analysis I would have tried to move him for a first round pick, especially since this is a strong DL draft.

 

[dallasdave]

Loved the Fonz

 

[Bullflop]

Many of us (myself included) are relieved DL finally got signed, while many others are wondering if it'll work out (myself included.)

 

[LatinMind]

Only a 25mil sb. This is big because realistically he could have a caphit under 7mil this yr if the team wanted.

 

[glimmerman]

Yea I do not like how owners hold players hostage after all the guaranteed money is gone from a contract. I'm just saying most of the money goes to the owners and they get to be owners for 30 to 50 years where as the average football career is 3 to 5 years. Pay them or let them go. Get rid of the cap too. Tom Brady shouldn't have to take a pay cut to put pieces around him or in Cowboys world Dak should be expected to take less money. If the owners do a bad contract life goes on; the player came up and it doesnt hurt your team long term.

Problem with removing the cap is that the teams or owners will buy a championship team. Lol

 

[gimmesix]

Not a huge fan of this deal if it causes problems extending cooper and Dak . I’m not convinced that lawerence and his injury history makes it worth it

I believe he needs to be dominant now not just good but Mack and miller dominant . I know you can pull up some stats that tank accrued against crappy tackles but watching games he doesn't take over games like Miller did and Mack does especially later in season

That said with addition of Quinn and the hope that Gregory can play and I’m optimistic that taco can get it then all we need is improved secondary play to be a dominant d cause I feel like our 2 LB will be the best in the biz

Dominant is what we need because the problem in my mind exist on the other side of the ball. We need this offensive group to come together and put up 28 pats a game consistently ifcthat can happen then SB is within our grasp

We haven't averaged more than 26 with Dak at quarterback. The last time we average 28 or better (29.2) was 2014. It was in this ball-control scheme, though, so we know it's possible. However, I think if we complete this defense, we could probably average 25 to 26 and be a serious contender.

 

[Little Jr]

IMO all NFL contracts should be completely guaranteed.

If all players would be willing to to sign 3 year or less deals then yes.

 

[ItzKelz]

If all players would be willing to to sign 3 year or less deals then yes.

DLaw is only guaranteed money for the next 3 seasons. MLB the NFL IMO is a good idea

 

[starfan1]

We haven't averaged more than 26 with Dak at quarterback. The last time we average 28 or better (29.2) was 2014. It was in this ball-control scheme, though, so we know it's possible. However, I think if we complete this defense, we could probably average 25 to 26 and be a serious contender.

I have been wrong before but I thought I seen that since coop came aboard we averaged 25 what’s 3 more lol.

Ok so I’m a little optimistic

 

[Little Jr]

DLaw is only guaranteed money for the next 3 seasons. MLB the NFL IMO is a good idea

Yeah if players would sign 3yr or less it could work but they won't so it won't. I'm not giving a player a 5 yr deal for 105m guaranteed. Football isn't mlb or nba. Per game nfl players make more than both.

 

[Verdict]

Let's be honest...It's more likely..It’s a 3 year deal at 65mil. The last 40mil is not guaranteed. It’s 31mil this year and 34 mil over next two years. That 17mil a year for year 2 and 3. He’ll be a free agent at 30 years old.

Dallas could pay him for three years and at that point if he plays well he could be a reasonably fair price for him for the final two years of his contract. He could have some trade value at that time for salvage value.

 

[ItzKelz]

Yeah if players would sign 3yr or less it could work but they won't so it won't. I'm not giving a player a 5 yr deal for 105m guaranteed. Football isn't mlb or nba. Per game nfl players make more than both.

The owners don't get paid per game....Id rather the players get more of that money guaranteed no matter how long the contract is.

 

[gimmesix]

I'm tired of reading this crap about him fading down the stretch. It's as bad as the nonsense about Ware not getting sacks when it counted.

In 2018, Lawrence had two of his 10.5 sacks in the final two games. In the playoffs against Seattle, he had six combined tackles (only three times during the season did he have more) and two tackles for loss (only three times during the season did he have more). His one quarterback hit was better or equal to what he got in 10 of the 16 regular-season games.

Now, against the Rams, his numbers were down, but anyone who paid attention could clearly see that LA's goal was to double and run away from Lawrence and make someone else on defense stop them. It was the right strategy because no one else on the line stepped up.

For those who are going to say an elite defensive end should do better than that (not understanding that fluctuations are typical), Khalil Mack had no sacks in his final two games of the season. He had only one game with six tackles (none with more), and had one or fewer tackles for loss in 12 of 14 games. (I don't think he played in the final game of the season, though.)

In his playoff game, he had six combined tackles, one tackle for loss and two quarterback hits. Very similar numbers to Lawrence.

Now, Mack did have sacks in nine regular-season games, as did Lawrence, while topping Mack in tackles (64 to 47), QB hits (15 to 10) and tackles for loss (23 to 18). However, again, Mack played in fewer games, which skews the totals some.

Mack finished with more sacks than Lawrence (12.5 to 10.5) while Lawrence had two three-game stretches with no sacks, and Mack only had a couple of two-game stretches. If you want to hang your hat on that making Mack elite and Lawrence not, I guess you can. However, we can go back just one season to essentially reverse their sack stats -- Mack had 10.5 sacks with three stretches of two games without a sack, while Lawrence had 14.5 with two stretches of two games without a sack.

These players have been very similar statwise over the last two seasons, and both are now making elite defender money. I don't know if Lawrence will live up to it because health is always a concern with long-term deals, but if he plays like he did last year or the year before, he's an elite end and that's what we are paying for.

 

[Little Jr]

The owners don't get paid per game....Id rather the players get more of that money guaranteed no matter how long the contract is.

Yeah, that won't happen and shouldn't. Once again, NFL players make more per game than mlb and nba players do. I don't care how the owners are paid. People act like NFL players are under paid because of the the mlb and nba contracts. They also play 162 and 82 games. NFL players fight a 18 game schedule.

 

[Bigdog]

IMO all NFL contracts should be completely guaranteed.

Like baseball