Money for FAs

[neosapien23]

Will Dallas be able to make enough money for free agents without putting their team cap hell in future years?
I see an opportunity for Dallas to cut Ware and Austin and free up some future cap space and maybe sign Linval Joseph and Lamar Houston. At 6'4 and 323 lbs he has the look of an ideal 1 tech. The added bonus of being 25 would mean money being thrown at him will be with him entering his prime. Maybe New York was just letting the market set. It will be interesting now that Marks from Jacksonville signed his 4 year deal worth 22 million with 8 mill guaranteed. Joseph should get a similar deal with NY and if he doesn't Dallas could jump all over him. Lamar Houston is about to be a free agent in Oakland. Unlike Joseph, he states that Oakland is going to let him test the market. He racked up six sacks playing DE in Oakland. He would make an ideal candidate to play the 3 tech position. At 6'3 and 305 lbs, he has the measurements you look for. He is also only 26 so money given to him would be well invested. He has a good first step and should not command big money unlike Melton plus he didn't get caught drinking and driving.

Cutting Ware and Austin and adding both Houston and Joseph would put this team in a very good position. The defense would be greatly improved and Joseph and Houston could be signed with contracts that average about 5 million a year each. This would also allow Dallas to take the best player available even if that player were a guard or tackle. Houston will be a strong possibility as the raiders are looking to go in a different direction. The fact that he played at Texas would make this move more enticing on his part. I don't know about Joseph as most fans and writers are saying the team should prioritize resigning him. He is a good player and fairly young.

If Dallas could pull this off the Dline would no longer be a position of weakness.

RDE George Selvei
1 tech DT Linval Joseph
3 tech DT Lamar Houston
LDE Tyrone Crawford

With Nick Hayden, Ben Bass,Everrette Brown, Jarius Wynn being regulated to rotational players, this team would be much better off. They could also draft the best available player especially if that player is HaHa Dix without neglecting the Dline.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

That defensive line looks worse than this years lol. George Selvie is not a starter in this league and Tyrone Crawford hasn't shown that he is one either.

 

[perrykemp]

RDE George Selvei
1 tech DT Linval Joseph
3 tech DT Lamar Houston
LDE Tyrone Crawford

That there might be the worst 4-3 DL in the NFL if it were to come to pass.

 

[neosapien23]

That defensive line looks worse than this years lol.

The only downgrade is to Houston from Hatcher, and I think Houston will actually be better. He has a quicker burst than Hatcher and is much younger. Joseph is a upgrade over Hayden and Selvie is better than Ware at this point in their careers. Only Crawford would be an unkown at DE, but the team could easily draft a DE like Ray Drew in the 2nd round to cover themselves.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

The only downgrade is to Houston from Hatcher, and I think Houston will actually be better. He has a quicker burst than Hatcher and is much younger. Joseph is a upgrade over Hayden and Selvie is better than Ware at this point in their careers. Only Crawford would be an unkown at DE, but the team could easily draft a DE like Ray Drew in the 2nd round to cover themselves.

Selvie is not better than Ware even a injured Ware. Ware atleast still commands double teams at times.

That D line is not gonna cut it for me. I'd rather address those needs by the draft.

 

[neosapien23]

Selvie is not better than Ware even a injured Ware. Ware atleast still commands double teams at times.

That D line is not gonna cut it for me. I'd rather address those needs by the draft.

Selvie is better than Ware. He has gotten more sacks and played the run much better. Ware has not commanded any double teams since the 2nd half of the season. Take the name off both players Jersey's and its not even close.

I would like to address Dline in the draft as well, but Dallas still has to bring is some mid tier defensive lineman. Joseph and Houston will not break the bank and both are very good players. They aren't sexy FAs but if you look at their play, it is very good. If Dallas can sign both players, it shouldn't stop the team from drafting players like Hageman, Tuitt, Ray Drew, Kony Ealy, or Trent Murphy. It would allow them to address FS though if HaHa Clinton-Dix is still there. Dallas could then use their 2nd and 3rd round picks on the Dline without reaching for need when players like Kelcy Quarles,Anthony Johnson, Aaron Donald, Ray Drew, and Karreem Martin will be there in the 2nd. Taylor Hart, Michael Sam, Jackson Jeffcoat, and Ego Ferguson will all be there in the 3rd. Last thing you want to do is reach for need in the first when you don't have to.

 

[cowboyschmps3]

Ware is staying, Selvie will be depth, Id go with Hageman 1st round if available

 

[xwalker]

Will Dallas be able to make enough money for free agents without putting their team cap hell in future years?
I see an opportunity for Dallas to cut Ware and Austin and free up some future cap space and maybe sign Linval Joseph and Lamar Houston. At 6'4 and 323 lbs he has the look of an ideal 1 tech. The added bonus of being 25 would mean money being thrown at him will be with him entering his prime. Maybe New York was just letting the market set. It will be interesting now that Marks from Jacksonville signed his 4 year deal worth 22 million with 8 mill guaranteed. Joseph should get a similar deal with NY and if he doesn't Dallas could jump all over him. Lamar Houston is about to be a free agent in Oakland. Unlike Joseph, he states that Oakland is going to let him test the market. He racked up six sacks playing DE in Oakland. He would make an ideal candidate to play the 3 tech position. At 6'3 and 305 lbs, he has the measurements you look for. He is also only 26 so money given to him would be well invested. He has a good first step and should not command big money unlike Melton plus he didn't get caught drinking and driving.

Cutting Ware and Austin and adding both Houston and Joseph would put this team in a very good position. The defense would be greatly improved and Joseph and Houston could be signed with contracts that average about 5 million a year each. This would also allow Dallas to take the best player available even if that player were a guard or tackle. Houston will be a strong possibility as the raiders are looking to go in a different direction. The fact that he played at Texas would make this move more enticing on his part. I don't know about Joseph as most fans and writers are saying the team should prioritize resigning him. He is a good player and fairly young.

If Dallas could pull this off the Dline would no longer be a position of weakness.

RDE George Selvei
1 tech DT Linval Joseph
3 tech DT Lamar Houston
LDE Tyrone Crawford

With Nick Hayden, Ben Bass,Everrette Brown, Jarius Wynn being regulated to rotational players, this team would be much better off. They could also draft the best available player especially if that player is HaHa Dix without neglecting the Dline.

That is a reasonable plan. Add a really quick DE in the draft to rotate with Selvie and it would be a decent DL.

They can easily add some free agents if they cut Ware and Austin.

 

[xwalker]

That there might be the worst 4-3 DL in the NFL if it were to come to pass.

I like it; although he needs a DE in the draft.

 

[perrykemp]

Here is where the Cowboys stand in terms of money for Free Agents compared to the 6 NFC teams who are in the playoffs:

2014 Salary Cap Liabilities for NFC Playoff Teams (Source: Over the Cap):

Cowboys: $20 million over the cap

Eagles: $24 million under the cap
49ers: $10 million under the cap
Packers: $28 million under the cap
Seahawks: $5m under the cap
Panthers: $20m under the cap
Saints: $10m over the cap

The Cowboys have $48m more in salary commitments than the Packers for next year and $44m than the Eagles.

The challenge is those team are already better than the Cowboys <AND> they'll have tons of room to spend on their rosters next year.

 

[xwalker]

Selvie is not better than Ware even a injured Ware. Ware atleast still commands double teams at times.

That D line is not gonna cut it for me. I'd rather address those needs by the draft.

Yes, he is better than an injured Ware. Ware rarely saw double teams this season. He couldn't even make a play against Green Bays rookie LT that was blocking Ware 1-on-1 all day.

 

[xwalker]

Here is where the Cowboys stand in terms of money for Free Agents compared to the 6 NFC teams who are in the playoffs:

2014 Salary Cap Liabilities for NFC Playoff Teams (Source: Over the Cap):

Cowboys: $20 million over the cap

Eagles: $24 million under the cap
49ers: $10 million under the cap
Packers: $28 million under the cap
Seahawks: $5m under the cap
Panthers: $20m under the cap
Saints: $10m over the cap

The Cowboys have $48m more in salary commitments than the Packers for next year and $44m than the Eagles.

The challenge is those team are already better than the Cowboys <AND> they'll have tons of room to spend on their rosters next year.

Those number are comparing apples to oranges. A team like Chicago shows a lot of cap space, but they have something like 29 free agents including there #1 QB.

The Panthers top young player (Greg Hardy) is a free agent and does not show up under those numbers; however, he will probably get a 10M per year contract.

You just can't compare a team with only 20 something players under contract to a team with forty something players under contract.

 

[supercowboy8]

Will Dallas be able to make enough money for free agents without putting their team cap hell in future years?


If Dallas could pull this off the Dline would no longer be a position of weakness.

RDE George Selvei
1 tech DT Linval Joseph
3 tech DT Lamar Houston
LDE Tyrone Crawford

With Nick Hayden, Ben Bass,Everrette Brown, Jarius Wynn being regulated to rotational players, this team would be much better off. They could also draft the best available player especially if that player is HaHa Dix without neglecting the Dline.

No way Oakland lets Houston walk away. Oakland had more money than any other team to spend and said they will use the franchise tag if they cannot reach a deal before FA starts.

I would love to get Michael Bennett, Joseph, and Melton. Then with Selvei and Crawford and two draft picks we should be set.

 

[perrykemp]

Those number are comparing apples to oranges. A team like Chicago shows a lot of cap space, but they have something like 29 free agents including there #1 QB.

The Panthers top young player (Greg Hardy) is a free agent and does not show up under those numbers; however, he will probably get a 10M per year contract.

You just can't compare a team with only 20 something players under contract to a team with forty something players under contract.

So instead of comparing the Cowboys to the Bears, compare them to a team with a similar number of players under contract:

As an example, take a look at the Packers:

• 47 players (Cowboys have 50) under contract for 2014
• A whopping $28m under the cap (Cowboys are $20m over the cap) for 2014 despite having the highest paid player in the NFL in Aaron Rodgers and the highest paid LB in the NFL Clay Matthews

Is there ANY scenario in which the Cowboys are handling the cap is better than a playoff team like the Packers who have $48 million more to play with than the Cowboys going into next year?

My point here is folks are fooling themselves if they don't think the Cowboys aren't putting themselves at a major disadvantage vs the teams they somehow need to get better than to make it to the NFL promised land.

 

[xwalker]

So instead of comparing the Cowboys to the Bears, compare them to a team with a similar number of players under contract:

As an example, take a look at the Packers:

• 47 players (Cowboys have 50) under contract for 2014
• A whopping $28m under the cap (Cowboys are $20m over the cap) for 2014 despite having the highest paid player in the NFL in Aaron Rodgers and the highest paid LB in the NFL Clay Matthews

Is there ANY scenario in which the Cowboys are handling the cap is better than a playoff team like the Packers who have $48 million more to play with than the Cowboys going into next year?

My point here is folks are fooling themselves if they don't think the Cowboys aren't putting themselves at a major disadvantage vs the teams they somehow need to get better than to make it to the NFL promised land.

It's not really and advantage to have unused cap space every year. It would be an advantage if the Packers were going to use the 28M in 2014 to acquire more players, but if they just keep the cap space there is no advantage.

 

[xwalker]

No way Oakland lets Houston walk away. Oakland had more money than any other team to spend and said they will use the franchise tag if they cannot reach a deal before FA starts.

I would love to get Michael Bennett, Joseph, and Melton. Then with Selvei and Crawford and two draft picks we should be set.

It's always difficult to predict what team will do.

Michael Bennett will be looking for a starting job which he won't get by staying in Seattle.

Melton could be available because Chicago has about 29 free agents.

Joseph might be available because the Giants don't always retain their free agents for whatever reason.

The other issue with Houston is that he would have to want to play the 3-tech DT position. You don't want to force a free agent into a situation that he does not like.

 

[perrykemp]

It's not really and advantage to have unused cap space every year. It would be an advantage if the Packers were going to use the 28M in 2014 to acquire more players, but if they just keep the cap space there is no advantage.

I guess I don't buy this xwalker. Teams with $25-50 million less in cap commitments than the Cowboys going into next year have options. Options to pursue free agents, options to resign the young talent, option to do both, ie options to do just about anything they want.

When I look at the Cowboys options next year, it sounds like they have no choice but to restructure a bunch of contracts and push the cap hit into the future. They have no choice but to restructure those contacts -- even contracts of aging stars who's performance no longer matches their salary hit.

Having less options forces hard and often decisions -- example -- last offseason (summer of 2012) the Cowboys were forced to restructure Jay Ratliff's contract and push even more money into the future because they had no cap room. This despite Ratliff not being healthy in 2012, despite Ratliff getting a DUI in the offseason, and despite Ratliff having an altercation with the owner/GM.

Not having options means the Cowboys HAVE to restructure Demarcus Ware when in a perfect world the Cowboys might be best to move on. The Cap jail the Cowboys put themselves into makes a big difference on what that their options are to improve the club going into next season.

 

[xwalker]

I guess I don't buy this xwalker. Teams with $25-50 million less in cap commitments than the Cowboys going into next year have options. Options to pursue free agents, options to resign the young talent, option to do both, ie options to do just about anything they want.

When I look at the Cowboys options next year, it sounds like they have no choice but to restructure a bunch of contracts and push the cap hit into the future. They have no choice but to restructure those contacts -- even contracts of aging stars who's performance no longer matches their salary hit.

Having less options forces hard and often decisions -- example -- last offseason (summer of 2012) the Cowboys were forced to restructure Jay Ratliff's contract and push even more money into the future because they had no cap room. This despite Ratliff not being healthy in 2012, despite Ratliff getting a DUI in the offseason, and despite Ratliff having an altercation with the owner/GM.

Not having options means the Cowboys HAVE to restructure Demarcus Ware when in a perfect world the Cowboys might be best to move on. The Cap jail the Cowboys put themselves into makes a big difference on what that their options are to improve the club going into next season.

Yes, it is good to have options; however, a team like the Packers have a self imposed salary cap that is lower than the league salary cap. They don't use the extra space to add players.

The Cowboys did force themselves into the Ratliff situation by franchising Spencer with a tight cap; however, they were not going to get free agents at DE and DT regardless of the cap because they thought Ratliff and Spencer would play. Even if they had not restructured Ratliff's contract and then decided after training camp to cut him, they still wouldn't have had a free agent replacement because everybody was signed by then.

The Cowboys have yet to lose a significant player due to the cap. They can add free agents this year as long as they don't franchise anyone.

The Cowboys talent issues have been more about having the wrong players, not the lack of ability to pay them.

 

[perrykemp]

The Cowboys talent issues have been more about having the wrong players, not the lack of ability to pay them.

That's true.

I wonder how things will play put in the next couple of years as the players need to find the cap space to resign Dez, Tyron Smith, Demarco Murray, etc. I worry about the fact they keep pushing more money into the future by restructuring so many contracts will limit their ability to pay those young building blocks.

We'll see.

 

[xwalker]

That's true.

I wonder how things will play put in the next couple of years as the players need to find the cap space to resign Dez, Tyron Smith, Demarco Murray, etc. I worry about the fact they keep pushing more money into the future by restructuring so many contracts will limit their ability to pay those young building blocks.

We'll see.

They have about 11M in dead-money in 2014 and have had large amounts of dead-money for the past several years. If they cut Ware immediately (prior to June 1st), then the only dead-money in 2015 would be the 2nd portion of the dead-money from making Austin a June 1st cut. It's possible that they could be completely out of the dead-money game in 2016.

It's much better to have big contracts for active players with several more years to play than to have dead-money. The active players contracts can always be manipulated; whereas, the dead-money cannot.

The #1 key is the Ware situation. If they restructure his existing contract it will push about 11M into future years. That's going to make it difficult at some point. If they replace him with a young free agent, even if he were paid the same salary, it wouldn't be as big of an issue because that player can be restructured for many years, whereas Ware tab will be coming due soon.

Back to the Packers discussion, I'm sure that there are teams with better cap management situations than the Cowboys, but I don't see the Packers as a good example because they don't really have options if they never allow themselves to go over their own self-imposed cap. They had a huge amount of cap space years ago when they considered signing Randy Moss, but they declined because they didn't want to go over their own self-imposed cap.