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George: Quarterback or cornerback? Why Cowboys need to focus on latter for 2016 season
By Brandon George , Staff Writer Contact Brandon George on Twitter: @DMN_George
MOBILE, Ala. - The Cowboys have spent all week at Senior Bowl practices. They're only in the early stages of their draft preparation.
And yet, it seems, everyone is already daydreaming about them using their fourth overall pick on a quarterback.
But if the Cowboys are in a win-now mode - and that certainly is the reality for a team led on offense by an aging quarterback and tight end - they have to consider waiting another year to add Tony Romo's potential successor.
With Romo signed through 2019, adding a quarterback with a high draft pick now would be a luxury. More of a necessity for the Cowboys in April will be looking for their next cornerback.
The Cowboys could start training camp without their two starting cornerbacks in 2015. Morris Claiborne, the sixth overall pick in 2012, is an unrestricted free agent. Brandon Carr could be cut to save salary cap space.
The Cowboys will get back Orlando Scandrick in 2016 after he missed all of last season with a right knee injury. They seem to be convinced 2015 first-round pick Byron Jones is a better fit at safety.
The Cowboys could look to address their cornerback need in free agency. They finally have the salary cap space to add some punch to the roster.
However, the last time they went all-in on a free agent cornerback it didn't turn out so well.
The Cowboys signed Carr to a five-year, $50.1 million contract in 2012. He'll be entering the final year of his deal in 2016.
Over the first four seasons of the deal, Carr has started every game for the Cowboys but hasn't provided much impact on the field. He had three interceptions in each of his first two seasons in Dallas but doesn't have a pick since Thanksgiving 2013.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was asked this week if he's gotten his money's worth out of Carr.
"Well, he was like a No. 1 pick, when you get that kind of contract the expectations and the bar is really in everybody's mind, including his own, set very high," Jones said. "He had some days where he looked like he was underpaid, but he also had some days I'm sure that he was frustrated, so we'll see how we address that as we move forward."
Carr has a base salary of $9.1 million in 2016 with a salary cap hit of $13.8 million.
If the Cowboys designate Carr as a post-June 1 cut, they can save $9.1 million against the cap this year, while having him count $4.7 million against the cap in 2017 as dead money.
The Cowboys could approach Carr about taking a pay cut, which would save them cash and cap dollars.
The Cowboys considered leveraging Carr to take a pay cut last year or face the possibility of being released, but they never pushed the issue.
And with their salary cap situation in much better shape this offseason, they don't need to release Carr. But absorbing an almost-$14 million salary cap hit for a player who doesn't have an interception since 2013 isn't ideal for maximizing their roster.
http://sportsday.***BANNED-URL***/d...rterback-cornerback-cowboys-need-focus-latter
By Brandon George , Staff Writer Contact Brandon George on Twitter: @DMN_George
MOBILE, Ala. - The Cowboys have spent all week at Senior Bowl practices. They're only in the early stages of their draft preparation.
And yet, it seems, everyone is already daydreaming about them using their fourth overall pick on a quarterback.
But if the Cowboys are in a win-now mode - and that certainly is the reality for a team led on offense by an aging quarterback and tight end - they have to consider waiting another year to add Tony Romo's potential successor.
With Romo signed through 2019, adding a quarterback with a high draft pick now would be a luxury. More of a necessity for the Cowboys in April will be looking for their next cornerback.
The Cowboys could start training camp without their two starting cornerbacks in 2015. Morris Claiborne, the sixth overall pick in 2012, is an unrestricted free agent. Brandon Carr could be cut to save salary cap space.
The Cowboys will get back Orlando Scandrick in 2016 after he missed all of last season with a right knee injury. They seem to be convinced 2015 first-round pick Byron Jones is a better fit at safety.
The Cowboys could look to address their cornerback need in free agency. They finally have the salary cap space to add some punch to the roster.
However, the last time they went all-in on a free agent cornerback it didn't turn out so well.
The Cowboys signed Carr to a five-year, $50.1 million contract in 2012. He'll be entering the final year of his deal in 2016.
Over the first four seasons of the deal, Carr has started every game for the Cowboys but hasn't provided much impact on the field. He had three interceptions in each of his first two seasons in Dallas but doesn't have a pick since Thanksgiving 2013.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was asked this week if he's gotten his money's worth out of Carr.
"Well, he was like a No. 1 pick, when you get that kind of contract the expectations and the bar is really in everybody's mind, including his own, set very high," Jones said. "He had some days where he looked like he was underpaid, but he also had some days I'm sure that he was frustrated, so we'll see how we address that as we move forward."
Carr has a base salary of $9.1 million in 2016 with a salary cap hit of $13.8 million.
If the Cowboys designate Carr as a post-June 1 cut, they can save $9.1 million against the cap this year, while having him count $4.7 million against the cap in 2017 as dead money.
The Cowboys could approach Carr about taking a pay cut, which would save them cash and cap dollars.
The Cowboys considered leveraging Carr to take a pay cut last year or face the possibility of being released, but they never pushed the issue.
And with their salary cap situation in much better shape this offseason, they don't need to release Carr. But absorbing an almost-$14 million salary cap hit for a player who doesn't have an interception since 2013 isn't ideal for maximizing their roster.
http://sportsday.***BANNED-URL***/d...rterback-cornerback-cowboys-need-focus-latter
