Everyone, it is Time to come to Terms with it. This is the Plan

[gtb1943]

My opinion is based on win results.

yeah we know that to you only regular season results matter

 

[Whiskey Cowboy]

I Think if Dak budged he would honestly. If Dak accepted a 40 million dollar deal or something crazy as that he'd jump on it just so he can say he got a "deal".

I mean, $40m/y would be an excellent deal for the team, and would be a huge win for Jones. That kind of discount at QB allows you to bring in role players that could be the difference between a first round exit and a Super Bowl appearance.

 

[CowboyinMD]

I sort of mentioned this in another thread, and I too and fine with this plan.

People can say 27 years and counting all They want, and they're not wrong. However I want to look at it in terms of windows a playoff opportunity. I'm willing to give Jerry the benefit of basically doing NOTHING for this franchise between 1996-2002. Six or seven wasted years. Fine.

So then it becomes two broad windows of opportunity, one with Tony Romo at the helm at starting QB (2006-2015), the other with Dak (2016-present). So far, and more than likely, the Cowboys are and will be 0-2 in those windows. Had their chances though! 2007 and 2016 #1 seeds in the NFL, while making it to the divisional round 4 times (I think). It didn't work out obviously, but it's not that the table wasn't set a few times at least. Oh well. It's hard. Just ask Detroit or Minnesota.

I'm ready for the next window, probably starting in 2026. Gotta keep trying.

 

[john van brocklin]

I have been seeing post after post talking about how there is no way this team is going to be better than last season. I'm not here to refute this, but rather state that I completely agree with this sentiment. I think we all need to realize that this is not some weak attempt at building another contender, but pretty clearly the start of a a two year rebuilding period. There is a pile of evidence supporting this.

Let's walk through the shotgun barrel the Cowboys are currently staring directly down and the moves made so far this offseason:

- Lame duck head coach and QB. No major contract restructures to clear space. No attempt at signing an impact free agent.

- No earnest attempt at resigning decent starters like Armstrong, Biadasz, Kearse, etc.

- Massive deferred cap hits from stars whose contracts have been restructured multiple times or have recently been released. The most notable of which include:

2024

Martin - $17,991,000

Lawrence - $20,445,000

Gallup - $13,850,000

Dak - $55,132,647

Dead Money

Tyron - $6,005,000

Zeke - $6,040,000

2025

Dak - $40,137,647

Lawrence - $7,445,000

Martin - $10,655,000

Dead Money

Gallup - $8,700,000

It was never even a remote possibility that this team was going to replace the production of all the key departures this offseason (Gallup, Biadasz, Tyron, Pollard, Gilmore, LVE, Hankins, Kearse) and somehow magically improve the roster with nothing but draft picks. It just is not possible. In a great draft you generally can expect to land three good-great starters at most and maybe a handful of quality backups. Even with a great draft, there were going to be a number of obvious holes.

We all need to start to come to terms with it now - This team is going to take a step back for the next two seasons. The plan in 2024 & 2025 is pretty clearly to eat a number of pretty hideous cap hits in the form of deferred contract dollars + dead money while remaining competitive. There just is no other logical path forward than this.

The only thing Dallas is "All in" on right now is rebuilding this roster and churning what's left of some big contracts. 2026 will be the next time this team will be in financial position to even think about making a run.

Agreed, this team had taken a big step back, and with nothing to show for it but play off failure.

 

[diamonddelts]

Yup. The whole "the cap isn't real" concept is BS. You can push cap hits down the road but the more you do it the bigger the burden it becomes.

Dallas is using this year and next year to clear things up. The window closed against Green Bay. Truthfully, I'm glad Dallas is going this direction. The retool should be quick. If they had kicked the can down the road in an attempt for one more run with this current group, it wouldn't have worked and you would have so much dead money it would take years to clear it.

I will say this: Other teams don't use void years quite as liberally as Dallas does. Dallas was able to push a lot of salary off using this but they have created a bigger issue.

Lol. What window?

 

[john van brocklin]

I sort of mentioned this in another thread, and I too and fine with this plan.

People can say 27 years and counting all They want, and they're not wrong. However I want to look at it in terms of windows a playoff opportunity. I'm willing to give Jerry the benefit of basically doing NOTHING for this franchise between 1996-2002. Six or seven wasted years. Fine.

So then it becomes two broad windows of opportunity, one with Tony Romo at the helm at starting QB (2006-2015), the other with Dak (2016-present). So far, and more than likely, the Cowboys are and will be 0-2 in those windows. Had their chances though! 2007 and 2016 #1 seeds in the NFL, while making it to the divisional round 4 times (I think). It didn't work out obviously, but it's not that the table wasn't set a few times at least. Oh well. It's hard. Just ask Detroit or Minnesota.

I'm ready for the next window, probably starting in 2026. Gotta keep trying.

Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

 

[rambo2]

yeah we know that to you only regular season results matter

All wins matter. All of them.

 

[rambo2]

Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Like you saying this over and over. How many times have you said that they will never win with Jerry as the gm? Maybe 100 times?

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I mean, $40m/y would be an excellent deal for the team, and would be a huge win for Jones. That kind of discount at QB allows you to bring in role players that could be the difference between a first round exit and a Super Bowl appearance.

I agree. Now it’s not realistic but for sure it wouldn’t done and I’d probably question his sanity…..to leave 20 million dollars a year on the table is a lot.

 

[Steve007]

That's what makes no sense to me because it's year 8 for Dak. You know what he is. You know what McCarthy is. Now with a head coach it's a little different because you have to go by results as opposed to skill. With Dak they should've known long before now but they are still asking themselves the same question.

I think with Dak they want him at a certain price and he's not budging.

I think thats exactly what it is. Dak's starting price is too high. If they overpay Dak now it's a big mistake. It looks like they already setting up for a retool.

 

[Steve007]

Yeah, it looks like we may Derek Carr him. The Raiders were beyond incredibly stupid for just letting him walk away w/ no compensation. And no, some late 3rd comp pick is not compensation.

The Cowboys have no choice now. Dak has a no trade and no franchise clause. Dak may be looking at Kirk Cousins and wants to test the market. It's time for the Cowboys to move on from Dak.

 

[Whiskey Cowboy]

I agree. Now it’s not realistic but for sure it wouldn’t done and I’d probably question his sanity…..to leave 20 million dollars a year on the table is a lot.

Ya, and his agent would frame it as an insult and walk away, I'm sure. The wild card would be the endorsement money he makes by being the QB of the Cowboys.

I don't have a clue how much he brings home, but I know it's a substantial amount. Would it make sense to sign with another team, lose the endorsement money, and pay state taxes on top of it? What kind of lifetime endorsements could he bring home if he won a SB? What kind of opportunities would open up if he won a championship or two, and managed to earn a gold jacket?

He and his representation have earned the right to ask for top dollar. I wouldn't fault him if he left for that kind of money elsewhere, but he has to be mindful of the potential opportunities he would be passing up if he left.

You start out the negotiations low, and slowly add incentives to see if you can find his pressure point. Throw in escalators for NFC Championship appearances. Double them if he wins a Super Bowl. Promise to rework his deal if he brings home a Lombardi....and he knows Jerry is good for it. Remind him that more money means more taxes just about everywhere else. Remind him that unless he signs with the Jets or another massive market team, the supplemental cash will disappear.

Maybe he bites, maybe he doesn't. The point of negotiations is to find common ground that works for both parties. It's not in the best interest of the Cowboys to sign him to a restrictive deal with so many other big contracts coming up, and both parties know it. Dak will have to make a tough decision. The job of Jerry Jones is to make that decision as difficult as possible.

 

[CowboyoWales]

When I look at Over the Cap and pre June 1 Dak I still see $40mil on the books for 2025, but I could be mistaken. Still trying to learn how to work their cap tool.

Agreed on all fronts.

Yeah, i'm no expert by any means, however, it does look as we can clear the whole CAP hit $66m by a Pre-June cut.

At present it's potentially $55m ($29 m of which is Base Salary) in 2024 + $40 (in 2025, for an accumulation of the Void Years debts). However if we Pre-June (cut) we dont pay the $29m Base Salary*, and so the figures would be.....

$55m - $29m - $40m = $66m (which are accounted for in 2024 (so we'd need to find $11m CAP, part of which is recouped when Gallup's Post June credit is added).

* disclaimer would be that im not sure when Dak's $29M Base Salary becomes Guaranteed.....his $5m Roster Bonus became guaranteed back in March.

 

[CowboyoWales]

Yeah, i'm no expert by any means, however, it does look as we can clear the whole CAP hit $66m by a Pre-June cut.

At present it's potentially $55m ($29 m of which is Base Salary) in 2024 + $40 (in 2025, for an accumulation of the Void Years debts). However if we Pre-June (cut) we dont pay the $29m Base Salary*, and so the figures would be.....

$55m - $29m - $40m = $66m (which are accounted for in 2024 (so we'd need to find $11m CAP, part of which is recouped when Gallup's Post June credit is added).

* disclaimer would be that im not sure when Dak's $29M Base Salary becomes Guaranteed.....his $5m Roster Bonus became guaranteed back in March.

@BleedSilverandBlue ....saying all of that, I dont think it's what Jerry will do (even though he'd pocket $29m in saved salary).

Your point about being decisive is really interesting as it does possibly indicate that Jerry wants Dak (but not on top money/limited no. of years).....otherwise there is a way out (that Pre-June Cut).
....and that's the problem, Jerry's like a book, which France can read. If Jerry wants Dak (on say less money or longer years) then he needs to wrestle some for of the initiative and that's by threatening to cut Dak and make him find somewhere where he can TRY and recoup some of the lost $29m salary he's lost on the Cowboys 2024 salary.

The added issue for Jerry is that if capitulates again, then CeeDee and Micah's agent are going to walk over him. Especially on Micah who's already posted a grievance on the LB/DE classification.

Jerry play hardball or employ someone who can.

 

[Mannix]

Cowboys must have the worst cap management in the league. Teams far better than us are giving their star players extensions and still adding talent in FA and the draft.

We are being relegated to shopping in the cellar of the bargain basement store.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Early candidate for post of week

 

[plymkr]

I have been seeing post after post talking about how there is no way this team is going to be better than last season. I'm not here to refute this, but rather state that I completely agree with this sentiment. I think we all need to realize that this is not some weak attempt at building another contender, but pretty clearly the start of a a two year rebuilding period. There is a pile of evidence supporting this.

Let's walk through the shotgun barrel the Cowboys are currently staring directly down and the moves made so far this offseason:

- Lame duck head coach and QB. No major contract restructures to clear space. No attempt at signing an impact free agent.

- No earnest attempt at resigning decent starters like Armstrong, Biadasz, Kearse, etc.

- Massive deferred cap hits from stars whose contracts have been restructured multiple times or have recently been released. The most notable of which include:

2024

Martin - $17,991,000

Lawrence - $20,445,000

Gallup - $13,850,000

Dak - $55,132,647

Dead Money

Tyron - $6,005,000

Zeke - $6,040,000

2025

Dak - $40,137,647

Lawrence - $7,445,000

Martin - $10,655,000

Dead Money

Gallup - $8,700,000

It was never even a remote possibility that this team was going to replace the production of all the key departures this offseason (Gallup, Biadasz, Tyron, Pollard, Gilmore, LVE, Hankins, Kearse) and somehow magically improve the roster with nothing but draft picks. It just is not possible. In a great draft you generally can expect to land three good-great starters at most and maybe a handful of quality backups. Even with a great draft, there were going to be a number of obvious holes.

We all need to start to come to terms with it now - This team is going to take a step back for the next two seasons. The plan in 2024 & 2025 is pretty clearly to eat a number of pretty hideous cap hits in the form of deferred contract dollars + dead money while remaining competitive. There just is no other logical path forward than this.

The only thing Dallas is "All in" on right now is rebuilding this roster and churning what's left of some big contracts. 2026 will be the next time this team will be in financial position to even think about making a run.

Good post. I agree. I think for the betterment of the franchise we’re going to have to bite the bullet and purge these contracts. I think 2025 we’ll be better and 2016 we’ll be righting the ship. I like our draft this year prepping for the cap purge by drafting offensive linemen to play on rookie deals while we get Martin, Zeke off the books. Kneeland on a rookie deal will offset Lawrence’s dead money. I like this draft if the idea was to prepare to part ways with expensive players and bridge the gap until the contracts are off the books.

I expect very little in 2024 unless some unforeseen players completely shock us and come out of the woodwork, Ala Bass, Hofman, Mazi, Duece, etc. but I’m not counting on that.

 

[CowboyoWales]

Good post. I agree. I think for the betterment of the franchise we’re going to have to bite the bullet and purge these contracts. I think 2025 we’ll be better and 2016 we’ll be righting the ship. I like our draft this year prepping for the cap purge by drafting offensive linemen to play on rookie deals while we get Martin, Zeke off the books. Kneeland on a rookie deal will offset Lawrence’s dead money. I like this draft if the idea was to prepare to part ways with expensive players and bridge the gap until the contracts are off the books.

I expect very little in 2024 unless some unforeseen players completely shock us and come out of the woodwork, Ala Bass, Hofman, Mazi, Duece, etc. but I’m not counting on that.

Yep, if we're of the opinion that we aren't competing in 2024 and the evidence (eg GB game exposing holes, lack of FA improvement, 1st place difficult schedule and improved other teams eg Eagles secondary/running game)......then it's wise to focus on 2025.
Why pay Dak $29m in a lost cause, when clearing his CAP (by Pre-June) (I think) puts us in a better position in 2025.

 

[big dog cowboy]

To not net some form of compensation for losing your franchise QB would be incredibly stupid.

That is a very hard pill for me to swallow.

 

[Coogiguy03]

I have been seeing post after post talking about how there is no way this team is going to be better than last season. I'm not here to refute this, but rather state that I completely agree with this sentiment. I think we all need to realize that this is not some weak attempt at building another contender, but pretty clearly the start of a a two year rebuilding period. There is a pile of evidence supporting this.

Let's walk through the shotgun barrel the Cowboys are currently staring directly down and the moves made so far this offseason:

- Lame duck head coach and QB. No major contract restructures to clear space. No attempt at signing an impact free agent.

- No earnest attempt at resigning decent starters like Armstrong, Biadasz, Kearse, etc.

- Massive deferred cap hits from stars whose contracts have been restructured multiple times or have recently been released. The most notable of which include:

2024

Martin - $17,991,000

Lawrence - $20,445,000

Gallup - $13,850,000

Dak - $55,132,647

Dead Money

Tyron - $6,005,000

Zeke - $6,040,000

2025

Dak - $40,137,647

Lawrence - $7,445,000

Martin - $10,655,000

Dead Money

Gallup - $8,700,000

It was never even a remote possibility that this team was going to replace the production of all the key departures this offseason (Gallup, Biadasz, Tyron, Pollard, Gilmore, LVE, Hankins, Kearse) and somehow magically improve the roster with nothing but draft picks. It just is not possible. In a great draft you generally can expect to land three good-great starters at most and maybe a handful of quality backups. Even with a great draft, there were going to be a number of obvious holes.

We all need to start to come to terms with it now - This team is going to take a step back for the next two seasons. The plan in 2024 & 2025 is pretty clearly to eat a number of pretty hideous cap hits in the form of deferred contract dollars + dead money while remaining competitive. There just is no other logical path forward than this.

The only thing Dallas is "All in" on right now is rebuilding this roster and churning what's left of some big contracts. 2026 will be the next time this team will be in financial position to even think about making a run.

We're going to do all this and sign Ceedee and Micah to record deals??? We'll be back in cap hell in no time soon

 

[blueblood70]

You know what it's time to come to terms with that fans are not experts they're not GM's they never ran a professional team they sit behind the desk or on their phone getting whatever information the team they follow allows you to know you feel like because you watch all the shows you have all the notifications being pushed to your devices that you're an expert somehow on building a professional sports team....

You also feel like you're nostradamus that you can tell the future by what you think you're in the operations of a man's mind you do not know anything unless they want you to know it and unfortunately for us we have a owners and a front office that says too much but a lot of things they say are not always true it's mostly hyperbole it's rhetoric it's them just getting up in their feelings but how you all come to some kind of conclusion that they're gonna blow this team up but yet they kept a quarterback who's gonna count $59 million against our cap they kept it a lame duck head coach when if this was the plan they literally would have made these changes before March they would have asked Prescott if you would like to seek a trade they would have fired Mike McCarthy you can say that Jerry Jones is cheap and he just didn't wanna give Mike McCarthy one year of paid leave and that's a bunch of hooey it's absolute nonsense... Let me get this straight lot of y'all has said that all the only reason to keep Mike McCarthy is I don't like to take coaches what's left on their contracts and yet they fired Mike knowing after one year they've done it in the past as well they all say they don't fire people mid season and that's happened also and literally you're saying that they're only keeping Mike McCarthy because they don't want to pay him to not be here but you're saying they would allow him to have a bad year on purpose by design they're gonna pay Mike McCarthy and they're gonna pay our cornerback$59 million with the intentions of losing so they're not losing money on a lame duck coach please explain the operations of your brains why would they take in make the decisions they have in the offseason or I should say lack of a decision they literally when they kept Prescott and they kept Mike McCarthy their intentions was to give them one more shot bringing it home and maybe blow it up they only have not paid some of these guys because they don't have to the league is set up as such where you can use franchise tags 50 year options where it gives you time to make a decision and they've decided to put a lot of the contracts on hold because they can there's no rush other than losing a few $1,000,000 here or there there is no rush in getting CD lamb Micah Parsons or Prescott paid...

but I could tell you this if this was about money, really would not have made the decisions they have this offseason it makes no sense y'all are talking out the side of your mouth as they say you can't have it both ways if this was just about paying Mike McCarthy so they could sabotage him that makes no sense because now you're paying your guy to have a bad season because you didn't wanna pay him to not be here and you're allowing your quarterback to make $59 million with the all the intentions is to have a bad season to sabotage him by the way you think the off season wins...

None of that makes sense anybody with common sense says none of that makes sense nothing they have done has indicated they're blowing this up this year they do want to do things the way they always have slow off seasons it doesn't look good on paper but somehow we've won 36 games two division titles been to the playoffs 5 at the last eight years they feel that that's the right thing to do whether it is or not Dan tensions are not to lose this year they are not tanking they are looking at this as before we make all these big time decisions with contracts we want them to prove they should get those deals and stay on this team...

If Jerry truly had those type of aspirations that he's not gonna keep any of these guys that he wants to take this year he would have made far different decisions with the head coach and the quarterback. If Jerry was wanting to go in a different direction he would have offered up Prescott to go seek a trade if he wanted to go to a specific handful of teams they would have talked about this in January February and made it happen in March before all the moves were made at quarterback and some of the big moves were already made before the draft they would have fired Mike McCarthy and brought in Bill Belichick or vrabel and he would have started over with hey I wanna be smart Jerry Jones let's see if Trey Lance can do something and they would trade it these other guys already not worrying about 2025 this would have already happened it didn't so Jerry Jones and Steven Jones think they're putting a competitive team on the field this year and until we see otherwise we'll have to take their word for it since the last three seasons they found a way to overcome a very upset fan base that called things historically bad all season type choice of words.. The fan base has been wrong three straight years and maybe this year you're right but in my opinion Sherry is not looking at this as some kind of rebuilding or starting to head towards a complete tear down and rebuild this is not what it is at all it's the complete opposite of that they're going how they've always done things and they're hoping it works. But yes the only thing that's different is they didn't run out and pay some of the contracts early in the offseason but that doesn't mean they don't have the intentions of keeping Prescott or CD lamb they're just put it on hold for now it can get done right before the season and even if Prescott becomes a free agent they can still woo him over here after he sees what his real market is this is no indication to me and most people with common sense that this is a rebuilding year that they're purposely sabotaging their head coach and quarterback by not giving them any kind of weapons when you might wanna relook at our offense and our team with the bigger picture what did they do last year and most of the people we lost are replaceable most of which were already on this team and the rest of it they will do what they always do bargain basement veterans that actually are good enough at least to get you through one year....