DMN: Moore: Restructuring DeMarcus Ware's contract is Cowboys' trickiest off-season deal

[Super_Kazuya]

reading your posts, i have to think that you are either related to the joneses or work for the cowboys

I can't read your posts for the lack of punctuation. And you didn't answer the question. Try again.

 

[Parcells4Life]

The problem with Ware is the offseason won't help. He'll start off the year great and then by week 4 his body will break down like the last 2 years. He won't get 10 sacks because he can't be more than a 3rd down rusher at this point of his career.

 

[jterrell]

We were so good at DE with Ware off the field that I can easily see why the fan base wants to cut him and move on....

Ware actually had a solid game week 17. He held outside contain on McCoy most of the night and eventually Philly just stopped running that way.

Ware is not worth 12.5m next year so his base needs to drop but he's also got pride so isn't dropping like Free did to peanuts.

The team needs to make it clear it is simply a market correction due to the new CBA and get Ware down to about 7.5m in base.
If Dallas adds a year to his deal, hands him 6.5m in cash, makes this base 1m he is now is a 5.75m cap hit for almost 10m in cap relief.
And you have a starting DE/OLB who is coming off 6 sacks.

This isn't easy as Moore notes but there is a spot where it is worth more to us to keep Ware then cut him. Paying him 8-9m to play elsewhere is stupid.
Paying him to play elsewhere is as bad as it was losing to Jay Ratliff and the Bears.

If Ware wants no part of a reduction you have to weight cutting him now and eating all that cap hit this year or waiting til June 2nd for the cap relief by cutting him then.

If I am the GM I want to have a pretty good idea that decades best pass rusher is done before I eat 8-9m in cap hits to watch him play elsewhere but I would do that before I gave him 12.5m this year. So I'd want to meet somewhere in the middle.

 

[jterrell]

The problem with Ware is the offseason won't help. He'll start off the year great and then by week 4 his body will break down like the last 2 years. He won't get 10 sacks because he can't be more than a 3rd down rusher at this point of his career.

Even if what you suggest is true Ware has value in this league.
Do you want to eat 8.5m in cap hit for him to be a 3rd down pass rusher for another team?

That is the option before us. The bonus check has long since cleared and it is about decisions now not some ideal free do over world.

 

[tm1119]

No idea how Ware became the scapegoat for the D....if we cut every guy who under performed due to injury there wouldn't be many guys left on the team....Ware or his agent aren't stupid, a restructure will be worked out that cuts his salary enough to help the team. Cutting Ware and trying to replace him isn't going to solve anything. Do people really think he's completely done and won't get 10+ sacks if healthy?

 

[Common Sense]

No idea how Ware became the scapegoat for the D....if we cut every guy who under performed due to injury there wouldn't be many guys left on the team....Ware or his agent aren't stupid, a restructure will be worked out that cuts his salary enough to help the team. Cutting Ware and trying to replace him isn't going to solve anything. Do people really think he's completely done and won't get 10+ sacks if healthy?

It depends on what his injuries are, and we'll never know. It's certainly possible that he's done, in which case it's time to move on.

 

[Parcells4Life]

The point is he won't stay healthy! He said the 4-3 is too much of a constant grind. Like Freeney and Osi time catches up.

 

[visionary]

The team needs to make it clear it is simply a market correction due to the new CBA and get Ware down to about 7.5m in base.
If Dallas adds a year to his deal, hands him 6.5m in cash, makes this base 1m he is now is a 5.75m cap hit for almost 10m in cap relief.
And you have a starting DE/OLB who is coming off 6 sacks.

.

i am fine with this as long as we have plans to addrss the DL in a serious way besides this

the reality is that this is the best case realistic option anyway

no way jerry cuts/releases the one guy he was "right" on and has been the face of the franchise
the PR and marketing hit would be too great

 

[jterrell]

It depends on what his injuries are, and we'll never know. It's certainly possible that he's done, in which case it's time to move on.

Last I checked he played a heck of a lot more games than Crawford and Bass combined....
Are they done too?

I wouldn't be in a rush to sign Ware to some long-term deal but we already have and have to live with that reality.
You don't want to make a bad decision worse by being foolish.
In an alteration of a Jerry saying. "Don't let your cap money get mad".

6-8 sacks is hardly of zero value in the NFL.

The fans who can't wash their hands quick enough of Ware are not using "common sense" and following all the moves to their likely outcomes.

 

[jnday]

We were so good at DE with Ware off the field that I can easily see why the fan base wants to cut him and move on....

Ware actually had a solid game week 17. He held outside contain on McCoy most of the night and eventually Philly just stopped running that way.

Ware is not worth 12.5m next year so his base needs to drop but he's also got pride so isn't dropping like Free did to peanuts.

The team needs to make it clear it is simply a market correction due to the new CBA and get Ware down to about 7.5m in base.
If Dallas adds a year to his deal, hands him 6.5m in cash, makes this base 1m he is now is a 5.75m cap hit for almost 10m in cap relief.
And you have a starting DE/OLB who is coming off 6 sacks.

This isn't easy as Moore notes but there is a spot where it is worth more to us to keep Ware then cut him. Paying him 8-9m to play elsewhere is stupid.
Paying him to play elsewhere is as bad as it was losing to Jay Ratliff and the Bears.

If Ware wants no part of a reduction you have to weight cutting him now and eating all that cap hit this year or waiting til June 2nd for the cap relief by cutting him then.

If I am the GM I want to have a pretty good idea that decades best pass rusher is done before I eat 8-9m in cap hits to watch him play elsewhere but I would do that before I gave him 12.5m this year. So I'd want to meet somewhere in the middle.

Losing Rat to the Bears was a good thing. It came about three years late though.

 

[jterrell]

i am fine with this as long as we have plans to addrss the DL in a serious way besides this

the reality is that this is the best case realistic option anyway

no way jerry cuts/releases the one guy he was "right" on and has been the face of the franchise
the PR and marketing hit would be too great

Stephen already stated the front 7 was his key concern this off-season.
They kept Miles last year but still drafted TWill.

But I'd like part of that solution to be a cheaper, cap-friendlier Ware

If he is dug in on 12m I cut him but that's a fate 99% as bad as paying him because I hate eating large sums of dead money for guys who could be hitting Tony Romo.

Ideally we can reduce his cap hit significantly in March and use that money to help add actual NFL talent across the defense.
Cutting him gives us less money (or much later money in June when FA is largely done) and creates one more hole.

Part of the deal with paying guys in FA is keeping them away from your rivals.
Can you imagine how fast Snyder would try to sign Ware?

 

[jterrell]

Losing Rat to the Bears was a good thing. It came about three years late though.

No, it wasn't.

We were paying him to play against us and he played well in a game we needed but lost.
A game that would have gotten us off of 8-8 and shut a lot of people up.

It would have been smarter to keep him the final 6 weeks and let him sulk than that.

 

[tm1119]

Why no call for Lee's head by the way? Is his body breaking down and his career essentially over as well?

I've said it a bunch of times, but at some point a finger needs to be pointed at the strength and conditioning team. The amount of muscle pulls/tears in the lower body that have occurred in the past 2-3 years is almost comical. Maybe its not these guys breaking down, but instead them not being properly prepared to play football over a 17 week season?

 

[Rockport]

So now Ware is a bum.

I am glad nobody on these boards is a GM.

No one ANYWHERE on this thread said Ware is a bum. But he's not performing, and hasn't for 2 years now, up to his contract. Not even close.

 

[tm1119]

No one ANYWHERE on this thread said Ware is a bum. But he's not performing, and hasn't for 2 years now, up to his contract. Not even close.

Tied for 9th in the NFL in sacks doesn't meet your expectations? He was more than productive in 2012. This was the 1st year he didn't have 10+ sacks since his 1st year in the league and it was because he tore his quad. I think people got way too spoiled my Demarcus' greatness that if he ONLY gets 11 or 12 sacks it will be a disappointing year. Like jterrell has been saying, if he's dead set on his full salary he is indeed a candidate to be cut, but Ware at 7 or 8 million next year represents a more than good enough value to warrant keeping him.

 

[slomoxn]

What recent precedent do we have for the fantasy of cutting Ware? I'm trying to think of similar situations, where you have an elite player not far removed from greatness that also had a long, face of franchise history with the team.

Obviously, the Patriots let Welker go, and he was still an elite player at the time. The Bears told Urlacher to take a walk, but he was older and more past his prime than Ware. What else?

Ware's greatness is in numbers, he has never really been an impact player. There were years where he would have multi sack games but they never hardly came in the fourth quarter, game in the line and need to make a play situations. He never really developed a signature move and relies mostly on speed rushing which even back ups and rooks now know to let him run himself out if the play. He may be a HOF but when I look back on defensive players with his numbers they were also game changers. Reggie White, Haley, Taylor, and the guys he actually compares to were game changers and made QBs fear them, he is very good to great but somehow still not in their level. Unless it's just stats, but we need meaningful plays and not a sack 3 min before half time or the end if the game when it's garbage time and it no longer matters. That's my problem with his pay, what he give can be had cheaper.

 

[Smith22]

What recent precedent do we have for the fantasy of cutting Ware? I'm trying to think of similar situations, where you have an elite player not far removed from greatness that also had a long, face of franchise history with the team.

Obviously, the Patriots let Welker go, and he was still an elite player at the time. The Bears told Urlacher to take a walk, but he was older and more past his prime than Ware. What else?

Ravens are considering cutting T. Suggs for cap room. Would save them 7 mil and he has been there quite some time.

 

[Rockport]

Tied for 9th in the NFL in sacks doesn't meet your expectations? He was more than productive in 2012. This was the 1st year he didn't have 10+ sacks since his 1st year in the league and it was because he tore his quad. I think people got way too spoiled my Demarcus' greatness that if he ONLY gets 11 or 12 sacks it will be a disappointing year. Like jterrell has been saying, if he's dead set on his full salary he is indeed a candidate to be cut, but Ware at 7 or 8 million next year represents a more than good enough value to warrant keeping him.

So you think not getting 10+ sacks is worthy of a 12 million base salary? He's also too small to play DE in the 4-3. Evidence of his many injuries this year.

 

[tm1119]

So you think not getting 10+ sacks is worthy of a 12 million base salary? He's also too small to play DE in the 4-3. Evidence of his many injuries this year.

Did I not clearly state that $12 M is too much and that cutting him would be a good option if he refused to take a pay cut? And he tore his quad muscle, an injury that can happen to anyone of any age.

 

[tm1119]

Ware's greatness is in numbers, he has never really been an impact player. There were years where he would have multi sack games but they never hardly came in the fourth quarter, game in the line and need to make a play situations. He never really developed a signature move and relies mostly on speed rushing which even back ups and rooks now know to let him run himself out if the play. He may be a HOF but when I look back on defensive players with his numbers they were also game changers. Reggie White, Haley, Taylor, and the guys he actually compares to were game changers and made QBs fear them, he is very good to great but somehow still not in their level. Unless it's just stats, but we need meaningful plays and not a sack 3 min before half time or the end if the game when it's garbage time and it no longer matters. That's my problem with his pay, what he give can be had cheaper.

Please tell me this post is a joke