The Salary Cap is Dead

[Nightman]

From now on there can be no talk of cap mismanagement being the cause of roster problems

DAL is officially in the clear cap wise...... they are 11.5m under the cap and the whole draft class is signed

They have 65m in cap space in 2019 and 127m under in 2020 with at least 20 real players signed, not including the next 2 Draft classes

Any problems in the past are in the past....it is a clean slate......Tabula Rasa

All decisions made going forward are part of the new process..... they have cut down on FAs, restructures, Dead Money and huge guarantees...... they have big decisions coming up that will make or break the team

DLaw
ZMartin
DIrving
BJones
Dak
Zeke

They will eat up all the cap space, as they should..... they are the guys we invested in...... the arrow is definitely pointed up in Dallas

 

[Toruk_Makto]

It's going to be a sad day when we overpay Zeke.

 

[SlammedZero]

It's going to be a sad day when we overpay Zeke.

I don't know. This feels kind of like a new chapter for Dallas. I feel like those kind of days are gone.

 

[Sydla]

It's going to be a sad day when we overpay Zeke.

Some will rejoice it and then two years later wonder why we have cap problems again.

 

[Bobhaze]

Its been a long time since "good cap management" could be said about the Cowboys. It is certainly a crossroads where this team must make some solid evaluations about fit, value and durability.

IMO, what has killed this team in the past is Jerry would fall in love with some of his "good" players and sign them to long term deals more from his love and loyalty rather than being a cold, clear eyed talent evaluator that can say goodbye to ANYONE on a roster if they don't make long term sense. JJ always seemed to only think about the here and now, and the NFL cap will sting you with venom if you make foolish decisions with your money. We've seen it already.

Looking at your list of players, I would say the best bet for the future "big deal" would be Zach Martin. The team is already working to make that happen. Martin has already proven his talent and durability (which is huge) IMO, Irving is a goner (and should be) after this year because his off field and conditioning issues.

There are several "bubble" guys on the list whose contract will depend on the upcoming season. D-Law has had one outstanding season but his durability is still a question.. Dak's future wll probably hang a ton on what happens this year. Zeke better show some maturity and commitment because long term deals for RBs are few and far between in this league. He must show that he is committed, mature and durable. The talent is there but RBs don't have a very long shelf life. Proceed with caution. Byron Jones has proven to be a durable player with high skill level- just hasn't shown the playmaking skills. He's a "bubble" guy too.

This season will go a long way in defining this team's future core.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Its been a long time since "good cap management" could be said about the Cowboys. It is certainly a crossroads where this team must make some solid evaluations about fit, value and durability.

IMO, what has killed this team in the past is Jerry would fall in love with some of his "good" players and sign them to long term deals more from his love and loyalty rather than being a cold, clear eyed talent evaluator that can say goodbye to ANYONE on a roster if they don't make long term sense. JJ always seemed to only think about the here and now, and the NFL cap will sting you with venom if you make foolish decisions with your money. We've seen it already.

Looking at your list of players, I would say the best bet for the future "big deal" would be Zach Martin. The team is already working to make that happen. Martin has already proven his talent and durability (which is huge) IMO, Irving is a goner (and should be) after this year because his off field and conditioning issues.

There are several "bubble" guys on the list whose contract will depend on the upcoming season. D-Law has had one outstanding season but his durability is still a question.. Dak's future wll probably hang a ton on what happens this year. Zeke better show some maturity and commitment because long term deals for RBs are few and far between in this league. He must show that he is committed, mature and durable. The talent is there but RBs don't have a very long shelf life. Proceed with caution. Byron Jones has proven to be a durable player with high skill level- just hasn't shown the playmaking skills. He's a "bubble" guy too.

This season will go a long way in defining this team's future core.

Outside of the late 90s when Aikman and Irvin got hurt back to back and retired I don't see cap mismanagement. The closest would be 2013 when the league screwed us with that $10m cap penalty. but even then it was not nearly as bad as people were worrying about.

Most of what you are complaining about here is poor scouting not cap management.

 

[Bobhaze]

Outside of the late 90s when Aikman and Irvin got hurt back to back and retired I don't see cap mismanagement. The closest would be 2013 when the league screwed us with that $10m cap penalty. but even then it was not nearly as bad as people were worrying about.

Most of what you are complaining about here is poor scouting not cap management.

Hmmm....I didn't see the word "complaining" in my post.

 

[xwalker]

It's going to be a sad day when we overpay Zeke.

Has there ever been regret on overpaying a player that remained great for the duration of their contract?

All regret that I recall is when players didn't maintain their level of play for the duration of the contract or were never great to begin with.

Zack Martin seems like the safest bet to maintain his level of play as any player I can remember.

I would be 100x more concerned about giving DLaw a long term contract.

 

[hornitosmonster]

It's going to be a sad day when we overpay Zeke.

I don't know. I view the franchise tag as overpaying. Right now the Steelers are overpaying Bell with the tag.

 

[Kaiser]

They will eat up all the cap space, as they should..... they are the guys we invested in...... the arrow is definitely pointed up in Dallas

So your point is this forum will see a 4% decrease in posts saying "Jerruh done put us in cap hell !!!"

 

[ColeBeasley11]

It's going to be a sad day when we overpay Zeke.

All these awful deals we've handed out recently and youre worried about zekes deal? Oh my

I get he has his issues off the field but he leads the league by a wide margin in yards per game since he entered almost 100
Ya let's not pay our best player....appreciate having best RB in pro football.....smh

 

[Point-of-the-Star]

Outside of the late 90s when Aikman and Irvin got hurt back to back and retired I don't see cap mismanagement. The closest would be 2013 when the league screwed us with that $10m cap penalty. but even then it was not nearly as bad as people were worrying about.

Most of what you are complaining about here is poor scouting not cap management.

You don't think Dez was overpaid in 2015 ? What about Carr? I think we spend too much on some of our "deals". Witten was probably being overpaid too.

I think the gist of the OP is there is common sense and more fiscal responsibility at First Cowboy National.

 

[PAPPYDOG]

From now on there can be no talk of cap mismanagement being the cause of roster problems

DAL is officially in the clear cap wise...... they are 11.5m under the cap and the whole draft class is signed

They have 65m in cap space in 2019 and 127m under in 2020 with at least 20 real players signed, not including the next 2 Draft classes

Any problems in the past are in the past....it is a clean slate......Tabula Rasa

All decisions made going forward are part of the new process..... they have cut down on FAs, restructures, Dead Money and huge guarantees...... they have big decisions coming up that will make or break the team

DLaw
ZMartin
DIrving
BJones
Dak
Zeke

They will eat up all the cap space, as they should..... they are the guys we invested in...... the arrow is definitely pointed up in Dallas

DLaw
ZMartin
DIrving
BJones
Dak
Zeke

They will eat up all the cap space, as they should..... they are the guys we invested in...... the arrow is definitely pointed up in Dallas


You sure the above "Investment" is Superbowl Payout paper?
Hey man i got a nice sea-side property in Wyoming...you game?

 

[Nightman]

Outside of the late 90s when Aikman and Irvin got hurt back to back and retired I don't see cap mismanagement. The closest would be 2013 when the league screwed us with that $10m cap penalty. but even then it was not nearly as bad as people were worrying about.

Most of what you are complaining about here is poor scouting not cap management.

Exactly.....and that also coincided when the Owners colluded to keep the Salary Cap artificially low from 2009 to 2013 to win the new CBA

The cap was 123m in 2009 and was still 123m in 2013.... 5 year of 0 growth.....that put the squeeze on DAL who had the 10m cap penalty and didn't dump their bad deals in 2010 when the league was uncapped

Like you said the players didn't live up to their contracts...... MBIII, Ratliff pt2, RWilliams11, RWilliams38, MAustin, KHamlin were a few of the bad ones

But that is all in the past now...... it has no bearing on the future except as a learning tool

DAL has a blank check and the time is now for SJones to prove his mettle......his apprenticeship is over

 

[Aviano90]

Hmmm....I didn't see the word "complaining" in my post.

Haven’t you figured it out yet? A difference of opinion is now complaining. Get with the new message board culture.

 

[Nightman]

So your point is this forum will see a 4% decrease in posts saying "Jerruh done put us in cap hell !!!"

The King is Dead...... long live the King

Topics we can rue no more:
Salary Cap
Darius Jackson
Dez Bryant contract
Jason Witten's YAC
The JSmith brace
Rico's melon

It is put up or shut up time for a lot players and coaches and CZ Members

 

[dsturgeon]

It's going to be a sad day when we overpay Zeke.

They need to run zeke into the ground for the next 3 years, let him go, and draft another.

 

[Nightman]

Has there ever been regret on overpaying a player that remained great for the duration of their contract?

All regret that I recall is when players didn't maintain their level of play for the duration of the contract or were never great to begin with.

Zack Martin seems like the safest bet to maintain his level of play as any player I can remember.

I would be 100x more concerned about giving DLaw a long term contract.

I would sign DLaw and ZMartin(but only up to 12-13m)
I would let DIrving and BJones go....thru Comp Pick
Pick up Zeke's 5th year and maybe Tag one year..... thats it unless we win a couple SBs and he is Emmitt Jr
Sign Dak to a cheaper 4year deal next offseason instead of waiting until 2020

 

[xwalker]

From now on there can be no talk of cap mismanagement being the cause of roster problems

DAL is officially in the clear cap wise...... they are 11.5m under the cap and the whole draft class is signed

They have 65m in cap space in 2019 and 127m under in 2020 with at least 20 real players signed, not including the next 2 Draft classes

Any problems in the past are in the past....it is a clean slate......Tabula Rasa

All decisions made going forward are part of the new process..... they have cut down on FAs, restructures, Dead Money and huge guarantees...... they have big decisions coming up that will make or break the team

DLaw
ZMartin
DIrving
BJones
Dak
Zeke

They will eat up all the cap space, as they should..... they are the guys we invested in...... the arrow is definitely pointed up in Dallas

DLaw:
Very difficult. Two back surgeries are scary even if he has two solid seasons after the last surgery.

ZMartin:
Very High probability to maintain high level of performance. In theory paying big money to OGs is not ideal, but when you have a All-Pro with zero issues, then keep him.

DIrving
The decision has probably already been made not to give him a long term contract. The Franchise Tag could be an option.

BJones
Difficult decision if he plays well at CB. The decision will be affected by the status of other CBs on the roster. If Awuzie and Lewis live up to expectations then it will be hard to justify keeping Jones.

I think some other CB like Brown might really flourish with Kris Richard here.

Dak
Difficult decision to pay him if he is not a Pro-Bowl level performer in 2018 but it would be even more difficult not to sign him. Maybe Franchise Tag for a year at which point his value would be much easier to determine.

Zeke
2018 is just in year 3 of 5.

2016
2017
2018 Age 23 to start the season.
2019
2020 5th year option
2021 Year 1 of new contract. Age 26.

2022, 27
2023, 28
2024, 29
2025, 30
2026, 31

A 5 year contract would put him at age 31 in the final season.

I might Franchise him twice which gets 7 total years from him. At that point he would be 29 going into the next season. The fall-off statistically for a RB with a lot of carries is age 28.

Overall the biggest reason for cleaning up the cap should be to allow them to keep players they've developed.

A plan based on developing a team through the draft would be short sided if they didn't have the cap space to retain those players.

 

[Nightman]

They need to run zeke into the ground for the next 3 years, let him go, and draft another.

That is neither sporting or wise IMO

We have other RBs that can share the load and save some tread on those tires