Randy White;3834878 said:
That is true, BUT, when the #2 receiver is making peanuts, and the depth behind #3 is not exactly great, it wouldn't be a wise move at this point. If you don't look at the names next to the salaries, you'll see the Cowboys have 1 highly paid receiver, 1 medium range paid receiver, and several low paid receivers. That's, pretty much, the norm for every other team in the league with the real difference being that the top 2 highly paid receivers are usually the top 2 starters.
First, the #2 receiver isn't "making peanuts." Dez is getting paid as follows: Five-year, $11.8 million contract. The deal contains $8.63 million guaranteed, including a $1.95 million signing bonus and a $570,000 first-year roster bonus. Another $3.185 million is available through a "likely to be earned" onetime incentive clause. In actuality, Dez is getting paid roughly what an average #3 WR (and some teams #2) around the league is getting paid.
Second, your claim that Dallas has "1 medium range paid receiver" is a gross exageration. Austin is getting paid: Seven-year,
$57.168 million contract (
$18 million guaranteed).
If you meant Roy's contract as the "medium range paid receiver," it's just as a ridiculous statement:
Six-year, $54 million (
$26.6085 million guaranteed).
You would be hard-pressed to find another pair of receivers on the same team that are getting paid in similiar fashion. Care to dispute? Please show the numbers and names.
So it can be glibly claimed that the aggregate sum of the Cowboys receiver salaries are not that much different than most other teams, but it simply isn't true.
The Cowboys went heavy (salary-wise) at receiver, but they had to go cheap at other positions...see safety.
Looking at it from a strickly football point of view, we have Miles and Dez at the top. Dez is a rook coming out of an injury. He's a superstar in the making, but he hasn't played an entire season yet. Even if he's healthy as a horse, nobody can predict when, where, or to whom the next injury is going to happen, so if either one of the top 2 goes down, it's nice to know you have a Roy Williams to fill the gap. This past season, because of injuries, down the stretch we were down to: Miles, RW, Jesse Holley, Manuel Johnson and Teddy Williams at the receiver position. It didn't matter because they Cowboys had nothing to play for, but if they did, they'd be in huge trouble with that group heading into the playoffs.
I love the fearful "what if" angle. Why don't we play the "what if" game at every position? Why don't we somehow finagle a trade for Matt Ryan to be the back up to Romo's backup, Jon Kitna? After all, nobody knows or can predict when, where, or to whom the next injury is going to happen.
Patrick Crayton at $2 million (2010 salary) was a viable insurance policy as your #3 or #4 WR. Roy Williams at $9.35 million isn't.
In terms of " real cash ", 5 millions is the avg salary for a solid veteran in the NFL, so it's not as if he's making an absurd figure.
Absolute nonsensical vaguery.
Even if I was to consider your statement as halfway valid it fails even a preliminary barstool test. What do you consider Patrick Crayton? A solid NFL veteran? What's he getting paid? Compare that to Roy Williams.
The Cowboys (or any other NFL team) aren't scouring the FA/trade phone lines itching to spend $5 million for a "solid veteran."
Here's how it works; veteran players get paid according to their anticipated role, expected production and relevant position. When their salary grossly contrasts those factors (whether for the bad or good), that player becomes either overpaid or underpaid.
If Roy Williams was producing as an elite receiver in a #1 WR role, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
Because we all know he hasn't, his contract becomes an issue. NFL owners aren't saying "ah well, we're making it up elsewhere so it all balances out."
