Recommended Free Agent DLinemen

[xwalker]

Free costs us almost as much to release as he does to keep now for 2014. (we'd save 480k)
It would actually cost us money to cut him and plug in an R1 RT. (who'd cost us about 1M) --and that R1 RT would probably struggle to measure up to Free in year 1--

That's why OL is really not a target in R1.
Combine our cap situation, with our roster situation and OL is not really in the mix in R1 IMHO.
We'd be far more likely to trade up or down to get a DL/LB/S.

Free is FAR more likely to be restructured than cut.
Lower his base again to minimum and his cap hit drops to ~4.8m

They don't need to restructure Free's contract; therefore, they could cut him in training camp if they find better options. That would free up about 3M in 2014 because it would hit the cap the same as a June 1st cut. Someone said that they might have guaranteed Free's contract when they gave him the pay cut, but I have not seen that documented anywhere.

The top 4 OTs in the draft could all play Guard in the beginning which is a bigger need than OT in 2014. They played Flozell at Guard initially. They currently have zero depth at Guard and Bernadeau and Leary both have injury histories/concerns.

 

[jterrell]

I don't see him saying that at all. I see a blizzard of posts saying "Cap Hell!! We won't sign anyone and will have to cut players!!!". I see XWalker showing the basic numbers that prove that is false, not touting a return to the early 90's teams.

And not to nitpick, but Waters and Spencer are All Pro players and Carr wasn't that far off it when he signed. Waters wasn't cheap either at 3MM, it was just split between salary and incentives - which is why the team finished the year with more than 2MM in cap space set aside for the 1.5MM in incentives he had.

Like I mentioned before, the team has has 5MM each of the last two years on an NFL penalty that was complete nonsense and paid Anthony Spencer 10MM each year. Every year there are million posts about us going backwards because of "Cap Hell" and every year we have the money for significant signings.

That's simply not true.
Waters wasn't 3m because his deal was pro-rated and non-guaranteed and he didn't last. Had little to do with incentives.
And again Waters was a weird case who had been out of football for over 1 year that would only play in Texas.
I've already stated he could/should easily do the same with him again.

Spencer was not All Pro. He was a Pro Bowler though and we owned his rights which is what made his case different as I noted all last year.

And in any thread you read that says we cant sign anyone and the NFL is going to fold the team for being over the cap there will just as many posts touting the insane the other direction.

In XW's FA DL thread he cut off guys 30 or over as if we are too good or too rich in cap space to sign those guys, ROFL.
That's not a service, it is silliness.

 

[xwalker]

no offense but are really saying nothing.
dead money is always zero 2 years out.

your plan has 5m because you've only made 1 June 1st cut for 2014.
but their will VERY likely be more via through injury or performance which is exactly what I stated previously.

And what we do with Carr/Witten/Romo/Free is where large post 2014 dead money comes into play.
Those players could all be gone by 2015. And all 4 being here in 2015 is unlikely at best.
Which means the 2015 season wouldn't have a mere 5m in dead money now would it?

You planning on them cutting Romo before 2015?

 

[LatinMind]

You are simply insane if you believe what you post is logically applied.
We had the same discussions last year with you saying nonsensical things.
The spreadsheet apparently has a flaw between screen and the part of your logical processor.

Everyone knew Dallas would get under the cap.
In fact the moves to do so were well documented; lead by a Romo extension that held the team hostage in the meantime.
So they re-structured EVERYONE else including a quite sweet to the team pay decrease for Doug Free.
Including restructures were guys like Miles/Ratliff who would have been far wiser as releases.

Justin Durant cost us 750k in base, and under 1 million in total cap hit. He is owed all of 400k in dead money.
Waters cost us 1.5million dollars and came after the season started.
Those two signings mean absolutely nothing.

Spencer was the only guy who cost us money. And we owe him 0 dollars for 2014.

So yes we spent 12.1 M in cap space. And extended Ratliff/Miles to do so.
It was bad GMing.

You didn't have them signing Justin Durant types last off-season , you had them signing top 5 FA at OC and OG.
Yet sit here and try to talk about being right?
ROFL!!!

My post from basically this time last year:

I wish fans would quit ignoring reality. It makes them look stupid when they are clearly not.

We absolutely will not be making big splashes in free agency because of our cap situation. I am quoting Stephen Jones. You are quoting wishful thinking.

Stephen Jones "We are tight up against it. I mean real tight." Stephen Jones has acknowledged there will be cap issues in 2013 -- and he's usually the most optimistic about having enough money to improve in free agency.

People who have done the exercise have certainly shown we CAN get under the cap. But getting under the cap by large amounts means wholesale cap juggling and this team has been unwilling to do so. They are likely even more unwilling to do so coming off of an 8-8 season. You mortgage the cap future for one last run with an elite team. Not in an effort to improve a mediocre but aging one.

This team will obviously climb out of the cap hole and create some wiggle room. But they aren't creating loads of space to go sign other players.

The Cowboys may well own the most coveted free agent of all in Anthony Spencer. Pro Bowl pass rusher who can play the run coming off his best year and still on the right side of 30.

He is the best talent Dallas can hope to get from the free agent pool.
And if they do we are right back at the Nate Livings and Dan Connor's of the word for additional help.

If we don't re-sign Spencer we can add 1 sure-fire starting player.

But people with these lists of 5 and 6 big-name free agents are living in lalaland.

I agree. If the Cowboys were smart they would release Ware and resign Spencer if they could to something friendly. Not only that but releasing Ware does alot for freeing up cap for 2015. Dallas has to get under the cap which they will. But will also have to create about just under 5 mil for rookie contracts, and about 3-4 mil for inseason changes that can come up due to inuries. Thats 8-9 mil that you can take away from any Fa signings. Then there is Bailey and Jones tenders which both will probably cost the team around 2.8 mil. thats 11-12 mil thats needed.

Thats 42-43 mil in total cap shavings this team needs to do this yr far more then last yr when Dallas was able to sign modest FAs. And one franchised player. Stephen Jones is already on record saying they will be strapped this yr. He basically said they couldnt afford a player like Hatcher without literally saying it. If they cant afford hatcher people think they'd be able to afford melton?

 

[Kaiser]

That's simply not true.
Waters wasn't 3m because his deal was pro-rated and non-guaranteed and he didn't last. Had little to do with incentives.

If Waters had stayed healthy it would have been 3MM. If you are arguing that cap management is done by a clairvoyant ability to know who will get hurt and not achieve incentives, I'm afraid I disagree.

 

[LatinMind]

You can get a lot more than that in restructures if you want to do it. You can get 10MM from Romo, 5MM from Brandon Carr, 3MM from Witten, etc. Ware is a special case obviously but I think they will get at least 5MM in cap space there, but likely give some of it back in incentives.

Im talking about 6-8 mil avail to sign Freeagents. if that

 

[Kaiser]

Only if I can remain anonymous. I would never want the whiny media and fans to know my name. If I were in Jerry's position some of the local media members would mysteriously start disappearing.

I hereby nominate JJ Taylor for the first shallow grave. Any reenactment of the last 20 minutes of the movie "Casino" are greatly appreciated.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

I hereby nominate JJ Taylor for the first shallow grave. Any reenactment of the last 20 minutes of the movie "Casino" are greatly appreciated.

While not a big fan of Gene-Jock Tailor, I do not think he should be sleeping with the fishes, LOL!

 

[Kaiser]

While not a big fan of Gene-Jock Tailor, I do not think he should be sleeping with the fishes, LOL!

Yeah, I don't hate the guy but I really dislike the "roll out of bed and write a column based on the first rant he found on a web posting" style some of these guys use. its funny too because one year at training camp all the writers were in front of me. Spags was polite but totally focused on the field. Clarence Hill was really nice to the fans and answered a lot of questions while watching. JJT walked out with a chip on his shoulder because he knew fans were going to call him an idiot... and it only took a few minutes for it to happen.

 

[jterrell]

They don't need to restructure Free's contract; therefore, they could cut him in training camp if they find better options. That would free up about 3M in 2014 because it would hit the cap the same as a June 1st cut. Someone said that they might have guaranteed Free's contract when they gave him the pay cut, but I have not seen that documented anywhere.

The top 4 OTs in the draft could all play Guard in the beginning which is a bigger need than OT in 2014. They played Flozell at Guard initially. They currently have zero depth at Guard and Bernadeau and Leary both have injury histories/concerns.

Whether or not they "need" Free's money in restructure depends upon what else they do.
It is 1.5m and could very well matter. Cutting him June 1st saves you a whopping 1.7m of that would be restructured cap number(4.7m) and basically doubles your infamous 5m dead money in 2015 plan.

As to the OT's/OG's you are entitled to your opinion but that is all it is.
Bern and Leary played well enough this year to be counted on in 2014 and are unlikely to be beaten out by a rookie playing out of position.
But again if they want insurance there they can sign Waters or another vet for as little as 2m next year.

Using a draft pick there is dangerously stupid given the lack of players at others positions.
I realize it is your plan but it simply a bad one.
And using Larry Allen to discuss anything is why we have these arguments. We are for more likely to draft Jacob Rogers than Larry Allen which any sane person realizes.

The cap and roster limitations remove that as a reasonable move for this team in 2014.
An OL in rounds 4 or 5 make sense if that player is deemed worth the slot; but no way in R1.
If they can get a guy who is on a rookie base that can beat out Costa, sweet but that's about the only reasonably forecasted change.

 

[jterrell]

Yeah, I don't hate the guy but I really dislike the "roll out of bed and write a column based on the first rant he found on a web posting" style some of these guys use. its funny too because one year at training camp all the writers were in front of me. Spags was polite but totally focused on the field. Clarence Hill was really nice to the fans and answered a lot of questions while watching. JJT walked out with a chip on his shoulder because he knew fans were going to call him an idiot... and it only took a few minutes for it to happen.

Had similar experience way back in Wichita Falls.
JJT was only media guy on his cell the portion of practice he attended.
Maybe he had a legit reason but it struck me quite that he cared less about the actuality of this team and far more about what sensationalist stuff he could write about.
Some like Skip Bayless would agree with him.

i was always more of an Albert Breer type reader.

 

[jterrell]

You planning on them cutting Romo before 2015?

I do not. But if his back was for some reason done they'd have to make that move in 2015 which hits that cap like a ton of C4.
But Witten/Free/Carr you have all those guys suiting up in 2015?

What we plan to do and what we have to plan for are two very different things.
I'd hate to see the way personally you budget as if nothing untoward ever occurs.

If we want to reduce future dead money best way is stop giving out risky contracts that push crazy dead money forward.
stop doing "scheduled" restructures.

Since the worst contracts on the team are Ware/Romo/Carr/Witten it seems VERY unlikely we'll get relief in a short period.

 

[Kaiser]

Had similar experience way back in Wichita Falls.
JJT was only media guy on his cell the portion of practice he attended.
Maybe he had a legit reason but it struck me quite that he cared less about the actuality of this team and far more about what sensationalist stuff he could write about.

Yup. I've known some journalists that are very bright, hard working people. But my first impression seeing JJT was "Journalism has to be the major of last resort at Ohio State".

 

[KingintheNorth]

I want Everson Griffen. Not for the obvious USC homering but more for what he's done with Minnesota the past few years. Would start at LDE and slides down to LDT on passing downs. He's only 26 and has had 17.5 sacks the last 3 years, all as a non-starter. Would cost a third of the contract of Anthony Spencer.

 

[jterrell]

If Waters had stayed healthy it would have been 3MM. If you are arguing that cap management is done by a clairvoyant ability to know who will get hurt and not achieve incentives, I'm afraid I disagree.

No, I am nominating Waters as the best contract of the off-season.
All the possible occurrences favored cap relief not more cost.
The ONLY type of non-guaranteed money the NFL can hand out is on in-season veteran signings.
Something Dallas should consider again in 2014 for Waters or other proven vets who need longer to get healthy or just want to avoid camp.

 

[BigStar]

Free costs us almost as much to release as he does to keep now for 2014. (we'd save 480k)
It would actually cost us money to cut him and plug in an R1 RT. (who'd cost us about 1M) --and that R1 RT would probably struggle to measure up to Free in year 1--

That's why OL is really not a target in R1.
Combine our cap situation, with our roster situation and OL is not really in the mix in R1 IMHO.
We'd be far more likely to trade up or down to get a DL/LB/S.

Free is FAR more likely to be restructured than cut.
Lower his base again to minimum and his cap hit drops to ~4.8m

So cap wise it isn't the right move (T) seeing how strapped we are? With that in mind, DL are the most expensive FAs so it would make sense to go that way in the draft early and often. Just hope a Safety is in play early. I know your head will probably explode with this question, so no chance of Ward from CLE?

 

[LatinMind]

I want Everson Griffen. Not for the obvious USC homering but more for what he's done with Minnesota the past few years. Would start at LDE and slides down to LDT on passing downs. He's only 26 and has had 17.5 sacks the last 3 years, all as a non-starter. Would cost a third of the contract of Anthony Spencer.

Nice, kind of player under the radar that the team would be looking at.

 

[jterrell]

I want Everson Griffen. Not for the obvious USC homering but more for what he's done with Minnesota the past few years. Would start at LDE and slides down to LDT on passing downs. He's only 26 and has had 17.5 sacks the last 3 years, all as a non-starter. Would cost a third of the contract of Anthony Spencer.

Griffin is going to be coveted. 6 sacks a season for a 26 year old is not going to sign for peanuts.
I'd be shocked if he signed for less than half of Spencer and that first year may be 85% of the cap cost.

But I agree he is appealing.

Wouldn't surprise me to see him end up in Seattle obviously for his old Coach.

 

[BigStar]

I hereby nominate JJ Taylor for the first shallow grave. Any reenactment of the last 20 minutes of the movie "Casino" are greatly appreciated.

Epic movie and like you said, everyone and their brother got theirs in the last 20, hated Pesci had to go.
Joe doing what he does

 

[jterrell]

So cap wise it isn't the right move (T) seeing how strapped we are? With that in mind, DL are the most expensive FAs so it would make sense to go that way in the draft early and often. Just hope a Safety is in play early. I know your head will probably explode with this question, so no chance of Ward from CLE?

I think DT/DE is the obvious draft preference.
Safety should be a consideration given on-field performance there.

OT-wise Dallas likes Parnell and Weems. You'd like one to replace Free in 2015. Parnell looked solid there in 2012 so you'd hope he is ready by 2015 for sure.

We know it is going to be costly but mandatory to resign Smith.
Tossing another R1 at RT is overkill in that group considering the state of everything else is pretty friggin bad.

I get that Dallas fans hated neglecting the OL for a long time then it fell apart to be junk but as we saw it takes years to address even when using high picks.
Dallas needs to keep the OL improving with good coaching and a yearly draft selection somewhere; but if it is round 1 that's because you suck at drafting IMHO.