Solving the Cowboys head scratchers in restricted free agency
4:33 PM Fri, Feb 26, 2010 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Todd Archer/Reporter Bio | E-mail | News tips
Stephen Jones said Thursday from Indianapolis that the team has some decisions to make regarding the 13 restricted free agents, saying there are some "head scratchers" in terms of whether to tender a player a deal or not.
Who is Jones referring to? Not Miles Austin, Stephen Bowen, Marcus Spears, Jason Hatcher or Gerald Sensabaugh. They will all be tendered and likely the high tender if not the highest (Austin). Cletis Gordon and Shaun Suisham are the easy non-tenders.
Then you get into guys like Cory Procter, Sam Hurd, Duke Preston, Junior Siavii and Pat Watkins and Pat McQuistan.
Procter has value because he can play guard and both center spots. Hurd is among the Cowboys best special teamers and has made plays at wide receiver too. Watkins is a good special teamer and is a decent backup safety. Siavii had a solid season as Jay Ratliff's backup at nose tackle. McQuistan has been around for four years so you don't want to give up on an investment. Preston didn't play a snap last season but he can play two spots, like Procter.
Hurd and Procter were given second-round tenders last year and no team made a play on them. That cost the Cowboys $1.545 million last year and would cost them $1.759 million this year.
If the Cowboys make a move on Ken Hamlin, would they like to have Watkins around as insurance in 2010? If they don't tender Siavii, then the Cowboys do not have a backup nose tackle on the current roster and would have to look in the draft or the lower end of the free agency pool.
McQuistan and Preston at least offer some familiarity but would cost at least $1.176 million to keep both of them. Would you want that much in a backup O-lineman that could be inactive every game? Well, they paid $2.5 million to Montrae Holland last year and got zero snaps from him, so there is a track record.
Just a guess, but in the end I think Procter, Hurd, Watkins and McQuistan get tendered. I think they try to sign the other guys to the minimum worth $630,000.
