R2A battle-plans for the Ware situation

[MichaelWinicki]

If this team is going to actually rebuild the DL, they need to cut Ware.

I don't know if that's mandatory for rebuilding the defensive line. I mean even right now, with Ware on the roster in '14, I'm thinking you're going to have at least 5 new defensive linemen for the start of the '14 season.

That's rebuilding in my book.

 

[Cowboy Brian]

I think if the Cowboys broach the subject of a pay-cut with Ware they would offer something that was a little more than what he would get on the open market. They did something similar with Free offering him $3.5 mil per season for two seasons. Free (prior to knowing how his '13 campaign would shape up) probably wouldn't have been viewed as even being worth $3.5 mil to most Cowboy fans.

I don't think they want to embarrass Ware or force him to say, "No, I won't take it, because I can get more elsewhere. Simply cut me."

If you simply cut Ware, the Cowboys would gain like $7 mil in cap space for this season. But they would still have to replace the guy. I'd rather save $4.5 mil this season and like $7 mil off the cap next season AND still have the guy on the roster.

You're on point. We're not replacing the 8th ranked DE with a veteran min deal guys. We're going to need to bring in someone like Jared Allen to do it... I'd love to be able to keep Ware and bring in Allen to replace Spencer for a few years. Would be very interesting, and likely doable if Ware is willing to renegotiate. Ware, Allen, Selvie on the d-line with two rooks playing DT (Hayden, Wynn competing).

 

[BigStar]

I don't know if that's mandatory for rebuilding the defensive line. I mean even right now, with Ware on the roster in '14, I'm thinking you're going to have at least 5 new defensive linemen for the start of the '14 season.

That's rebuilding in my book.

That's a fair # (5.5) and wouldn't hate it for 2 years. But the ...11 sacks...6 sacks ...just hope we aren't blinded by our loyalty to him as fans. 5.5 the next season would be a good number for the lone vet on a rebuilding DL though.

 

[Texas_Pete]

I don't think the Cowboys are afraid of cutting folks... And I'm sure the players know that. I mean consider they've been down this road with folks like McCray (took the salary cut), Gurode (didn't take the salary cut and was cut), and Free (took the salary cut). The Cowboys have been better at weeding out older players who were no longer worth their contracts .

With all due respect, none of the players you mentioned were of Ware's calibre. Unlike these guys, Ware is a future HOFer. It's much harder to play hardball with HOF players - albeit not impossible.

 

[theSHOW]

Regardless of whats the right figure... $5.5 mil for ;14 or $7.5 mil, I think him taking a salary cut and staying on the roster is better than cutting him.

We need to get the exact figure of him getting cut and the savings for both 2014 and also the savings from 2015. We are talking about 1 roster spot that can be filled for a lot less dough. I don't agree with you MW on keeping him. I don't value his play and think of him as a liability and a humongous question mark. To me giving him his release papers and finding a vet or two (there are many) for upgrading the line rotation makes better sense. And the draft. Great Cowboy player, but could easily become a cap casualty. I say we cut him in March and take the cap hit of $8,571,500 (save over 7 mil) and this helps to get under the cap that we must do. A post June 1 trade or cut hits us for $3,753,750 but kills us in 2015 when we are looking to resign Smith and Bryant and who ever else emerges like Carter. That is an additional $5,317,750 for a player who has been gone a year. We need cap room now and he is way too questionable and over priced. And the more I hear about Sean Lee the more worried I am about another main cog in the defense that may have issues playing. Thankfully Jerry worked that contract out a little better than the Ware deal.

 

[big dog cowboy]

If this team is going to actually rebuild

You could have stopped right there and had a good start.

 

[Nightman]

4 tack on years?

Yes, he has never made even 8m as a base salary before, so it's not really a pay cut is it? His base salary in 2013 was 6m. The highest he ever made was 7.8m in 2010, the uncapped year. They didn't restructure that year so they accounted for as much of his cap hit as possible. The 20m signing bonus in 2009 was more of a reward for outplaying his rookie contract(5yrs/3.04m) then adding to future years.

If Ware was still dominating, then 12.75m might be do-able, but he isn't so it shouldn't be the starting point for negotiations. He was never a 13m a year player, so why would they possibly pay that now that he is in his decline years. They are tack-on years to handle the signing bonus and the all the restructures. It is one of Dallas' best big contracts they ever wrote.

 

[Next Years Champ]

I've been putting a lot of thought into what I think we should do this off-season with our big looming controversy of the DeMarcus Ware situation. I've come up with three solutions that are amicable given Wares' apparent refusal to consider a pay-cut.

1 - Ware agrees to convert 5M in both '14 and '15 into performance based incentives, the exact point in which he receives the entire $12.25M could be determined but likely at 14 sacks. This is ideal for both sides as Ware doesn't necessarily take a paycut while we are able to free up cap space, we also get to put a carrot on the stick to motivate Ware. This seems like a possible solution, likely can get this done by similarly reallocating a large portion of the base salary in each year into guaranteed money.

2 - Outright cut Ware. This is my least favorite option, but nonetheless it is a prevalent option. If Ware is absolutely unreasonable this may be necessary, if so I'd propose signing Jared Allen to a 2-3 year deal. He certainly won't come "cheap", but it won't be an obscene contract either. Allen is still a very good player, and at 31 he still has few good years left. He will likely be seeking a high guarantee on his contract, and Jones is certainly not afraid to do that so this seems plausible. This allows us time to rebuild the d-line as in this scenario we could potentially be losing Ware, Spencer and Hatcher this off-season.

3 - Trade Ware. This seems the most far-fetched, however if we were to package him with another player there could certainly be some interest. There are a few teams with 50m+ in cap room who need to spend money so the contract isn't absolutely prohibitive.

There are a few other potential ways to deal with this that are less likely, such as adding another year to his contract and moving a portion of the money due this year and next to year three, however these three seem to be the most likely, outside of doing absolutely nothing which certainly may be Jones' modus operandi.

#1 and 3 are the way to go.

But #2 is the most logical.

Whatever they do..

in my own mind he is gone..

not the player he once was and will never be again.

 

[BigStar]

You could have stopped right there and had a good start.

The D is basically in rebuild mode. Outside of maybe letting Carr go on top of Ware, I don't see much else to rid of. Romo and Witten would be the obvious casualties on the Offense?

 

[CyberB0b]

I don't see why they need to offer a contract extension:

This is his base salary for the next two seasons:

2014 12,250,000
2015 13,750,000

The team simply reduces his base to $7.5 mil this year and $5 mil next year.

Ware would not make $7.5 mil anywhere in the NFL this year.

Can you reduce his base salary without pushing the difference into guaranteed money, which has to be paid out at a later date?

 

[xwalker]

Yes, he has never made even 8m as a base salary before, so it's not really a pay cut is it? His base salary in 2013 was 6m. The highest he ever made was 7.8m in 2010, the uncapped year. They didn't restructure that year so they accounted for as much of his cap hit as possible. The 20m signing bonus in 2009 was more of a reward for outplaying his rookie contract(5yrs/3.04m) then adding to future years.

If Ware was still dominating, then 12.75m might be do-able, but he isn't so it shouldn't be the starting point for negotiations. He was never a 13m a year player, so why would they possibly pay that now that he is in his decline years. They are tack-on years to handle the signing bonus and the all the restructures. It is one of Dallas' best big contracts they ever wrote.

Very good point. He made 6M in 2013; therefore, if he makes 6M in 2014 it wouldn't really be a pay cut.

Those big salaries at the back end of contracts are really just team voidable years that allow them to spread out the cap hit.

 

[Nirvana]

Let's hope D Ware is not like Elvis Dumervil and his agent who played fax machine games last year with the Broncos. I actually think the high character of Ware will really show up here. Expect to see a pay cut.

 

[Nirvana]

We need to get the exact figure of him getting cut and the savings for both 2014 and also the savings from 2015. We are talking about 1 roster spot that can be filled for a lot less dough. I don't agree with you MW on keeping him. I don't value his play and think of him as a liability and a humongous question mark. To me giving him his release papers and finding a vet or two (there are many) for upgrading the line rotation makes better sense. And the draft. Great Cowboy player, but could easily become a cap casualty. I say we cut him in March and take the cap hit of $8,571,500 (save over 7 mil) and this helps to get under the cap that we must do. A post June 1 trade or cut hits us for $3,753,750 but kills us in 2015 when we are looking to resign Smith and Bryant and who ever else emerges like Carter. That is an additional $5,317,750 for a player who has been gone a year. We need cap room now and he is way too questionable and over priced. And the more I hear about Sean Lee the more worried I am about another main cog in the defense that may have issues playing. Thankfully Jerry worked that contract out a little better than the Ware deal.

It can't be filled for "a lot less dough" as you pointed out it's already a 8.5 mill cap hit to cut him. With a pay cut and new contract, that 8.5 mill can be used on Ware to stay. If you had to sign a pass rushing DE free agent you would be adding to that 8.5 mill and that's not saving any dough. If you go with a draft pick that is taking a significant risk he will measure up against NFL offensive tackles his first year. Aside from Clowney, that's a bad bet to make.

You are forgetting how dominant Ware can be when healthy, and assuming he won't be healthy again. I'm glad Marinelli is not making the same mistake.

 

[theSHOW]

It can't be filled for "a lot less dough" as you pointed out it's already a 8.5 mill cap hit to cut him. With a pay cut and new contract, that 8.5 mill can be used on Ware to stay. If you had to sign a pass rushing DE free agent you would be adding to that 8.5 mill and that's not saving any dough. If you go with a draft pick that is taking a significant risk he will measure up against NFL offensive tackles his first year. Aside from Clowney, that's a bad bet to make.

You are forgetting how dominant Ware can be when healthy, and assuming he won't be healthy again. I'm glad Marinelli is not making the same mistake.

read the savings. It is 7 million this year (2014) if we cut him now. And next year we save 16.75 million cap bucks. How is that for saving Dough?

 

[Nirvana]

read the savings. It is 7 million this year (2014) if we cut him now. And next year we save 16.75 million cap bucks. How is that for saving Dough?

That's why you re-do his contract, as that money can be saved with a pay cut. You don't take into account the loss of a DE and the money needed to fill those shoes.

 

[theSHOW]

That's why you re-do his contract, as that money can be saved with a pay cut. You don't take into account the loss of a DE and the money needed to fill those shoes.

For me, it is time to move on from the lackluster defense of 2013. Ware saves us longterm and as you know he has been hampered. Getting two free agents for less than what we pay DeMarcus could happen for the defensive line starting 2014. Two players that are not nicked up. Rotation guys that count as formable additions. Add a draft of new Dline blood. And in 2015 the major savings kick in. And guess what, we need it then for Smith and Bryant. Ware has had 8 sacks in his last 20 games and 4 of those came in a two game stretch. Poor numbers if you look at those specific games not prior history.

 

[Nirvana]

For me, it is time to move on from the lackluster defense of 2013. Ware saves us longterm and as you know he has been hampered. Getting two free agents for less than what we pay DeMarcus could happen for the defensive line starting 2014. Two players that are not nicked up. Rotation guys that count as formable additions. Add a draft of new Dline blood. And in 2015 the major savings kick in. And guess what, we need it then for Smith and Bryant. Ware has had 8 sacks in his last 20 games and 4 of those came in a two game stretch. Poor numbers if you look at those specific games not prior history.

If we were talking about what to do with Spencer or Hatcher, I would agree with you to let them go. With Ware, there are sunk costs and opportunity costs to consider. There is the dead money you have detailed, and there are other positions that would receive less emphasis in the draft were we to not have Ware. Moreover, I think we fundamentally disagree about Ware's potential future as a player. I will say that I have come to the conclusion it should be pay cut or release, no longer considering a restructure a valuable option.

 

[Bluefin]

Can you reduce his base salary without pushing the difference into guaranteed money, which has to be paid out at a later date?

Yes.

If the team asks Demarcus Ware to take a pay cut, it would reduce his current base salary ($12.25M) to a lower number, thus lowering his cap number.

They wouldn't be giving Ware a new signing bonus, so it wouldn't change anything in future years of the contract.

If Dallas wants Ware to take a pay cut, they will most likely ask for base salary reductions this year and next ($13.75M).

Ware's contract is written to void following the 2015 season, the final two years were added in 2013 to allow for maximum signing bonus proration.

If Ware agrees, his 2014 base salary will probably drop to something like $5.25M, saving $7M, and his 2015 base salary to $5.75M, saving $8M.

In return for doing this, the base salaries would become guaranteed.

The 2014 base salary would be immediately guaranteed, assuring Ware he would not be released this year. The 2015 base salary would become guaranteed early on in that league year. The Cowboys would be able to release Ware before the guarantee took effect if his 2014 play continued on a downward spiral or if the injuries continued.

Still, the chance to $11M the next two years is probably a lot more than he could get on the open market with another team.

I think it's more than fair.

If Ware refuses, the team has to be prepared to release him.

 

[Bluefin]

Nothing new with Ware and Austin's status
By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com

Ware is coming off a six-sack season and the team is thinking of offering him a pay cut or releasing him. The Cowboys would save roughly $7.4 million by releasing Ware or could also create salary cap space with a restructured contract.

Ware has said he's not taking a pay cut.

Dallas will save $6.93725M after adding a 2014 first year salary ($0.495K) if Demarcus Ware gets released.

Ware said he won't take a pay cut, he will probably get cut if he stays true to his word.

For Ware, the Cowboys don't really have someone on the roster to replace him and would have to look toward the draft. Tyrone Crawford, who missed last season with a torn Achilles, is one possibility.

Tyrone Crawford is not an option at weakside defensive end.

He can play strongside end and/or 3 Tech DT while being a possibility at 1 Tech DT depending on how the players sort themselves out.

Everette Brown and Martez Wilson are the current options on the roster for weakside end if Ware is cut. George Selvie can play there, too, but he looks like the starter on the strongside as things stand.


Cowboys to pay attention to Terrell Suggs' deal
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com

The Ravens and outside linebacker Terrell Suggs have agreed on a contract extension that will significantly lower the outside linebacker’s $12.8 million salary-cap figure. He was set to make a $7.8 million base salary in the final year of his deal.

Why would the Cowboys care?

DeMarcus Ware.

Terrell Suggs' new deal has reportedly lowered his 2014 base salary from $7.8M to $1M and dropped his cap number from $12.8M to $7.8M.

The report states Suggs will make $12M this year and is guaranteed $16M overall but doesn't break down how that's happening.

It also shows Suggs' cap numbers for 2015 ($6.6M), 2016 ($6.7M), 2017 ($6M) and 2018 ($6M).

The extension the Ravens give Suggs could serve as something of a blueprint for the Cowboys. Needing salary-cap space, the Cowboys cannot have Ware count $16 million against the cap.

They can restructure his deal again, but all that does is push money into future caps. They can cut him, which leaves them without a pass rusher of note.

They can offer him a cut in pay with the chance to earn money back in incentives.

Extending Ware isn't an option, IMO.

That means the same as a restructure, converting base salary into a signing bonus in order to lower this season's cap number.

And does Ware deserve incentives?

Did Ware offer to pay back any of the $6M he made last season when the injuries continued and production declined?

I want to keep Ware, but he has to be willing to give up some money and help the team out.

I don't think there's any question Ware can make more money with the Cowboys the next two years than he would be able to get on the open market next month.

 

[Beast_from_East]

Even though I think it would be the right move, I just don't see Jerry releasing Ware..................look for a Suggs type restructure.