DMN Blog: Jerry Jones on Miles Austin: He's going nowhere...won't use franchise tag

[Jon88]

Say what you want, Jerry pays his guys, and keeps players that belong in Dallas, in Dallas. I can't think of the last guy that got to the open market from Dallas that was a great player and a great Cowboy.

Randall Godfrey. Never let it happen again. That stung for a while. Jerrry screwed him over.

 

[Rynie]

I say Ogletree/Austin next season.

 

[HoleInTheRoof]

Great, albeit somewhat obvious, news!

 

[BIGDen]

But, but, but Jerry doesn't know anything about football.

Exactly. Didn't you know this roster just happened all by itself?!
Actually, I'm sure it's the coaches and everyone else that put it together by themselves. Those coaches hired themselves as well.
We're one of the best teams in football - only 4 teams went further. We've shown an uncanny ability to find diamonds in the rough (no we're not talking about you Emmitt - that would be amongst "trash" ) and we should be contenders for the next few years (at least).

Jerry has made some BAD mistakes over the years and we've all cursed him, but he most certainly deserves credit for the current state of the Cowboys - which is very good.

 

[DCBoysfan]

Jerry is very good at keeping young talent.

 

[Doomsday101]

There goes Jerry butting in once again. You would think he is a GM or something. :laugh2:

 

[dmq]

You know if I was another team, I would consider paying a 1st and 3rd for him. He is young, athletic and can make plays. He is only now scratching the surface. The draft is a crap shoot and you could only hope that your #1 would turn out to be as good a player as Austin. Heck, didn't the Jets almost offer a #2 when he was somewhat of an unknown.

 

[Doomsday101]

You know if I was another team, I would consider paying a 1st and 3rd for him. He is young, athletic and can make plays. He is only now scratching the surface. The draft is a crap shoot and you could only hope that your #1 would turn out to be as good a player as Austin. Heck, didn't the Jets almost offer a #2 when he was somewhat of an unknown.

True but Dallas would get the chance to match the offer if not mistaken.

 

[zrinkill]

There goes Jerry butting in once again. You would think he is a GM or something. :laugh2:

 

[Gzus]

Austin ain't goin anywhere. They're not going to franchise tag him because the $9.5 million associated with that is way too much, even for Austin. You tag him for $9.5 million and you just shot yourself in the foot because you set the floor for his new contract at a minimum of $9.5 million a year, right now Austin is worth at most $7 million a year. He only has one good season to show for his whole career and the seasons before it have been garbage, so they're not going to shell out $9.5 million a year. If anything what JJ will end up doing is just slapping Austin with a 1st & 3rd round tender, a lil over $3M this next year, and work out a long term deal from now till the middle of the season for around $6-7M a year, maybe $8M if they get into the middle of the season and he's playing at such a high level that his value is going up. Very few teams will even want to consider signing Austin to a deal and give up a 1st & 3rd, because those are very valuable picks, and even if they do I doubt it will be more than a $8M/year contract which Jerry would be willing to match and retain Austin. And if for some reason they put in a poison pill clause where Austin must be the highest paid WR on the team, I wouldn't put it past Jerry to cut RW11 in order to retain Austin, I would.

 

[WoodysGirl]

Cowboys won't franchise Austin

Posted by Mike Florio on February 17, 2010 5:46 PM ET

On Tuesday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that receiver Miles Austin won't be leaving Dallas.

On Wednesday, Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones told Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the franchise tag won't be applied to Austin to ensure that he stays put.

"We don't need to use the franchise tag," Stephen Jones said. "How many times have seen another team give up a one and a three?"

But Stephen Jones is overlooking the point we made earlier today, echoing Howard Balzer's assessment of the NFL calendar leading up to the uncapped year. If the Cowboys don't apply the franchise tag to Austin by February 25 and if a new CBA is finalized before March 5 and if the new CBA sets the minimum years of service for unrestricted free agency from six years back to four, Austin will hit the open market.

Besides, even though the highest RFA tender will cost the Cowboys more than $6 million less than the franchise tag, it can't be assumed that a receiver-needy team picking at the bottom of round one (e.g., the Ravens) wouldn't decide to devote that low first-round pick and a low third-round pick on a guy who has shown that he can be a dominant receiver.

Throw in a Hutchinson-Burleson poison pill that makes the full amount of a six-year, $53.999 million contract guaranteed if Austin plays more than five games in any year in the state of Texas or if at any moment he doesn't have the highest annual average compensation for any receiver on the team, and the Cowboys would have a hard time matching the deal.

So if the Cowboys are serious about keeping Austin, there are only two ways to make it close to a sure thing -- use the franchise tag, or sign him to a long-term deal.

 

[Fletch]

Atta boy, Jerry.

Miles is the type of guy that you just cannot let go elsewhere.

Not to mention the fact that it looks really good on everyone involved when you turn a UDFA into a Pro Bowler.

I remember a former UDFA that had a really nice career in Denver. I think Miles is our Rod Smith, only bigger and faster.

 

[Eskimo]

Cowboys won't franchise Austin

Posted by Mike Florio on February 17, 2010 5:46 PM ET

On Tuesday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that receiver Miles Austin won't be leaving Dallas.

On Wednesday, Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones told Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the franchise tag won't be applied to Austin to ensure that he stays put.

"We don't need to use the franchise tag," Stephen Jones said. "How many times have seen another team give up a one and a three?"

But Stephen Jones is overlooking the point we made earlier today, echoing Howard Balzer's assessment of the NFL calendar leading up to the uncapped year. If the Cowboys don't apply the franchise tag to Austin by February 25 and if a new CBA is finalized before March 5 and if the new CBA sets the minimum years of service for unrestricted free agency from six years back to four, Austin will hit the open market.

Besides, even though the highest RFA tender will cost the Cowboys more than $6 million less than the franchise tag, it can't be assumed that a receiver-needy team picking at the bottom of round one (e.g., the Ravens) wouldn't decide to devote that low first-round pick and a low third-round pick on a guy who has shown that he can be a dominant receiver.

Throw in a Hutchinson-Burleson poison pill that makes the full amount of a six-year, $53.999 million contract guaranteed if Austin plays more than five games in any year in the state of Texas or if at any moment he doesn't have the highest annual average compensation for any receiver on the team, and the Cowboys would have a hard time matching the deal.

So if the Cowboys are serious about keeping Austin, there are only two ways to make it close to a sure thing -- use the franchise tag, or sign him to a long-term deal.

This is the logic that escapes our Front Office. I do honestly scratch my head sometimes at their stupidity. Just use the franchise tag and the case is almost closed. Don't let some team poison pill you into a terrible contract in order to keep Miles on the team when you can set those terms on your own.

If they really want to do a long-term deal and avoid using the franchise tag, then just get him signed this week.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

But there's no chance of that happening. The Joneses know with 100% certainty that a new CBA will not be reached in those eight days.

 

[Future]

Randall Godfrey. Never let it happen again. That stung for a while. Jerrry screwed him over.

I don't even remember him being that good...? lol what year did he even play?

How did Jerry screw him over?

 

[dcfanatic]

Didn't really see anyone talking about his on here.

The Cowboys have pretty much let the cat out of the bag that they won't be using the franchise tag on Miles Austin, read here.

There will be no franchise tag and possibly no long-term deal for breakout receiver Miles Austin, according to Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones.​

While keeping Austin in Dallas is one of the team's top priorities of the off season, Jones shot down any thoughts of the Cowboys putting the franchise tag on the restricted free agent to help ensure he remains with the Cowboys.​

A franchise tag would cost the Cowboys a $9.521 million salary for next year and require two first round picks as compensation if another team signed him to a long deal. However, Jones said there no reason to do that when the highest restricted free agent tender of $3.168 million with a first- and third-round draft pick compensation will do.​

"We don't need to use the franchise tag," Jones said. "How many times have seen another team give up a one and a three?"​

I guess Stephen Jones is banking on the idea that no other NFL team sees Miles as being worthy of a 1st and a 3rd round draft pick.

And he pretty much says what his father said yesterday by telling Hill that in any case he does not see the Cowboys letting him play anywhere else next season...

The strategy seems tenuous considering Austin's sensational season and the number of teams, including the Miami Dolphins and former Cowboys coach Bill Parcells, looking for a No. 1 receiver.​

But the Cowboys have the right to match any offer and Jones reiterated as owner Jerry Jones did on the radio on Tuesday that they don't plan on letting Austin go anywhere.​

There is one thing that bothers me here. The Cowboys may be setting themselves up for a giving Miles a big deal that is not really on their terms if another team throws out some crazy deal.

All I ask is that the Cowboys don't screw this up by trying to avoid having all kinds of big money tied up at the WR spot because if that happens then it means Roy Williams and his salary would be the #1 reason Miles is gone.

I also got a chance to talk today with Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan about this issue on NFL SiriusXM Radio...

Miles Austin talk - Feb 17

If the Dolphins come after Miles then Jerry is going to have to match the offer no matter what the amount. This is why I was surprised to hear they had no interest in using the franchise tag.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

*shocked*

Yeah that was my exact thought as well.

 

[jobberone]

Say what you want, Jerry pays his guys, and keeps players that belong in Dallas, in Dallas. I can't think of the last guy that got to the open market from Dallas that was a great player and a great Cowboy.

Ken Norton

 

[Arch Stanton]

ESPN Insider is reporting a rumor that the Dolphins could nab Austin.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/feat...es/rumors?campaign=rss&source=DALLASHeadlines

I don't have access to read the whole "article".

 

[utrunner07]

No ****.

Without him we win 9 games last year. Maybe.

Thanks Emmitt.