The Two Year Plan

doomsday9084

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There is a lot of discussion about what the team should do going forward, obviously. IMO a lot of it isn't based in reality. Mostly due to contracts.

Some things to consider:
- McCarthy just got a huge contract and isn't going to be fired after 1 year.
- Zeke, Jaylon and Tank have a lot of guaranteed money left and even if you cut them, it leaves a hole with no cap gained.
- Dallas' offensive line is older but isn't going to be super easy to replace. Also, they are on pretty good contracts for this day and age . . . if they could stay healthy.

Given these realities, I would give Dak exactly what he wanted. He wanted a 4 year deal ending in 2023 last year. Give him a 3 year deal ending in 2023 this year. If you have to overpay him to do it, fine. Restructure contracts to fit everyone but don't extend anyone past 2023.

Then draft defense. A lot of defense.

You basically give the current core 2 years. Hope that you can fix the defense with the draft and that you get lucky with health, particularly on the o-line.

If after 2 years, it doesn't work and Dallas is still mired in mediocrity, you fire McCarthy and start cutting all of these players who's contracts will be near expiring. Trade Dak with 1 year left on his deal to a team looking for a QB to make a run. The team could then start fresh with high draft picks, a new coach and a clean cap.

I'm not sure it works but a rebuild now or even a new QB is just messy. Dallas is somewhat tied to this group so you might as well make the most of it.

I would not try to force Dak to take a 5 year deal and give him a ridiculous amount of money to do it. That would just make it harder to put together a team now and you would be tied to a 30 some year old QB in the middle of a rebuild in a few years. If you want to extend Dak in 3 years, go ahead.
 

GMO415

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I'm with you. Give Dak a 3-4 year deal and let's move on. Take comfort in the fact that Dak is better than Goff and Wentz.

Time to win is now. Dak doesn't win you a SB in three years move on from him.

Brady got Tampa to a SB in one year.
 

Dak_Attack_09

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There is a lot of discussion about what the team should do going forward, obviously. IMO a lot of it isn't based in reality. Mostly due to contracts.

Some things to consider:
- McCarthy just got a huge contract and isn't going to be fired after 1 year.
- Zeke, Jaylon and Tank have a lot of guaranteed money left and even if you cut them, it leaves a hole with no cap gained.
- Dallas' offensive line is older but isn't going to be super easy to replace. Also, they are on pretty good contracts for this day and age . . . if they could stay healthy.

Given these realities, I would give Dak exactly what he wanted. He wanted a 4 year deal ending in 2023 last year. Give him a 3 year deal ending in 2023 this year. If you have to overpay him to do it, fine. Restructure contracts to fit everyone but don't extend anyone past 2023.

Then draft defense. A lot of defense.

You basically give the current core 2 years. Hope that you can fix the defense with the draft and that you get lucky with health, particularly on the o-line.

If after 2 years, it doesn't work and Dallas is still mired in mediocrity, you fire McCarthy and start cutting all of these players who's contracts will be near expiring. Trade Dak with 1 year left on his deal to a team looking for a QB to make a run. The team could then start fresh with high draft picks, a new coach and a clean cap.

I'm not sure it works but a rebuild now or even a new QB is just messy. Dallas is somewhat tied to this group so you might as well make the most of it.

I would not try to force Dak to take a 5 year deal and give him a ridiculous amount of money to do it. That would just make it harder to put together a team now and you would be tied to a 30 some year old QB in the middle of a rebuild in a few years. If you want to extend Dak in 3 years, go ahead.


Dak will win two SB in two years.
 

Flamma

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Sounds good, but there's a problem. If I'm Dak, and I think we all know I'm not a big fan. But if I'm Dak and all of my guaranteed money is going to be within the first two years of my contract, I'll ask for 90 million in those first two years. Why not? Dallas would have two choices. Either let him go, or franchise tag him for two years which would add up to 90 million. What's stopping him from doing that?
 

doomsday9084

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Sounds good, but there's a problem. If I'm Dak, and I think we all know I'm not a big fan. But if I'm Dak and all of my guaranteed money is going to be within the first two years of my contract, I'll ask for 90 million in those first two years. Why not? Dallas would have two choices. Either let him go, or franchise tag him for two years which would add up to 90 million. What's stopping him from doing that?

Honestly, that would be fine. Its not like you are going to cut Dak anyways. His money is functionally guaranteed at first and his signing bonus would be spread over only 3 years. Here is a ballpark offer:

3 years 110m. 51m signing bonus. 81m guaranteed. Cap hits:
Year 1 = $10m salary guaranteed $17m signing = $27m cap hit.
Year 2 = $20m salary guaranteed $17m signing = $37m cap hit
Year 3 = $29m salary non guaranteed $17m siging = $46m cap hit

If you want to keep him, renegotiate before year 3.
 

doomsday9084

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I’d rather have Stafford for the next 2 years at a much lower cap hit.

I'm generally with you on not giving Dak a huge amount of money but at this point, I'm not sure what the gain is due to the rest of the roster. If you look above, I did a sample deal for Dak that doesn't give him that much of a cap hit for the next two years. You get to keep all of the assets you would give up for Stafford to build the defense.
 

The Quest for Six

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GMO415, post: 10778899, member: 40081 Take comfort in the fact that Dak is better than Goff and Wentz.

But not by much and the Goff and Wentz contracts are proof positive why you don't give huge deals to questionable franchise quarterbacks.....
 

fivetwos

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There is a lot of discussion about what the team should do going forward, obviously. IMO a lot of it isn't based in reality. Mostly due to contracts.

Some things to consider:
- McCarthy just got a huge contract and isn't going to be fired after 1 year.
- Zeke, Jaylon and Tank have a lot of guaranteed money left and even if you cut them, it leaves a hole with no cap gained.
- Dallas' offensive line is older but isn't going to be super easy to replace. Also, they are on pretty good contracts for this day and age . . . if they could stay healthy.

Given these realities, I would give Dak exactly what he wanted. He wanted a 4 year deal ending in 2023 last year. Give him a 3 year deal ending in 2023 this year. If you have to overpay him to do it, fine. Restructure contracts to fit everyone but don't extend anyone past 2023.

Then draft defense. A lot of defense.

You basically give the current core 2 years. Hope that you can fix the defense with the draft and that you get lucky with health, particularly on the o-line.

If after 2 years, it doesn't work and Dallas is still mired in mediocrity, you fire McCarthy and start cutting all of these players who's contracts will be near expiring. Trade Dak with 1 year left on his deal to a team looking for a QB to make a run. The team could then start fresh with high draft picks, a new coach and a clean cap.

I'm not sure it works but a rebuild now or even a new QB is just messy. Dallas is somewhat tied to this group so you might as well make the most of it.

I would not try to force Dak to take a 5 year deal and give him a ridiculous amount of money to do it. That would just make it harder to put together a team now and you would be tied to a 30 some year old QB in the middle of a rebuild in a few years. If you want to extend Dak in 3 years, go ahead.
I completely agree with this line of thinking on Dak.

I always wanted him back but preferred the short term deal that he does.

Let him bet on himself.

Jerry thinks he can sign him up cheap and make him play later in the deal. He would hold out anyway in that case.

Better off having less of a commitment if he fails....thats for sure.

If he succeeds...then who really cares thereafter?
 

cowboyec

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I’d rather have Stafford for the next 2 years at a much lower cap hit.
i'm not trading picks for an older QB who can't elevate his team.
we need those picks.
and the money saved ain't goin' to chase f/a's so we don't gain anything with that move.
lose picks for a lesser QB...no thanks.
keep the picks.
pay Dak.
get on to building this defense thru the draft.
 

USArmyVet

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There is a lot of discussion about what the team should do going forward, obviously. IMO a lot of it isn't based in reality. Mostly due to contracts.

Some things to consider:
- McCarthy just got a huge contract and isn't going to be fired after 1 year.
- Zeke, Jaylon and Tank have a lot of guaranteed money left and even if you cut them, it leaves a hole with no cap gained.
- Dallas' offensive line is older but isn't going to be super easy to replace. Also, they are on pretty good contracts for this day and age . . . if they could stay healthy.

Given these realities, I would give Dak exactly what he wanted. He wanted a 4 year deal ending in 2023 last year. Give him a 3 year deal ending in 2023 this year. If you have to overpay him to do it, fine. Restructure contracts to fit everyone but don't extend anyone past 2023.

Then draft defense. A lot of defense.

You basically give the current core 2 years. Hope that you can fix the defense with the draft and that you get lucky with health, particularly on the o-line.

If after 2 years, it doesn't work and Dallas is still mired in mediocrity, you fire McCarthy and start cutting all of these players who's contracts will be near expiring. Trade Dak with 1 year left on his deal to a team looking for a QB to make a run. The team could then start fresh with high draft picks, a new coach and a clean cap.

I'm not sure it works but a rebuild now or even a new QB is just messy. Dallas is somewhat tied to this group so you might as well make the most of it.

I would not try to force Dak to take a 5 year deal and give him a ridiculous amount of money to do it. That would just make it harder to put together a team now and you would be tied to a 30 some year old QB in the middle of a rebuild in a few years. If you want to extend Dak in 3 years, go ahead.


So you want to give a group of players a few more years to prove themselves when the very same players have already had the time to prove themselves while giving the QB a big money 3-4 year deal? So then what money will there be to fix the defense and start replacing the aging offensive line?

Sorry but now is the time to blow this thing up and take the cap hits necessary for some players ( dead money for 2021: DLaw -$19M, J. Smith +$400K, Zeke -$10.8M, T. Smith +$5.16M, A. Cooper -$6M...total dead money hit -$30.24M ) as they will bring much needed cap relief in 2022 (savings: DLaw +$17M, J. Smith +$9.2M, Zeke +$12.4M, T. Smith +$13.5M, A. Cooper +$20M....total savings for 2022 +$72.1M) and beyond.

If you also allow Dak to find an offer to his liking with another team by applying the non-exclusive franchise tag then that is a potential savings in 2021 of anywhere between $25-$30M.

While of course these players would need to be replaced thereby eating up cap space, by recouping whatever draft picks then can for these players and drafting good quality players then do it......as this group of players simply are not getting the job done other than robbing Jerry's vault of money they are not earning.
 

Winonesoon

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I'm with you. Give Dak a 3-4 year deal and let's move on. Take comfort in the fact that Dak is better than Goff and Wentz.

Time to win is now. Dak doesn't win you a SB in three years move on from him.

Brady got Tampa to a SB in one year.
He did but, that team only needed a QB. Wow, what luck. sheesh.
 

StarBoyz83

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Good plan imo. Think dallas can be contenders in 2-3 years if they get healthy, draft well and actually use fa to upgrade the team for once.
 

doomsday9084

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So you want to give a group of players a few more years to prove themselves when the very same players have already had the time to prove themselves while giving the QB a big money 3-4 year deal? So then what money will there be to fix the defense and start replacing the aging offensive line?

Sorry but now is the time to blow this thing up and take the cap hits necessary for some players ( dead money for 2021: DLaw -$19M, J. Smith +$400K, Zeke -$10.8M, T. Smith +$5.16M, A. Cooper -$6M...total dead money hit -$30.24M ) as they will bring much needed cap relief in 2022 (savings: DLaw +$17M, J. Smith +$9.2M, Zeke +$12.4M, T. Smith +$13.5M, A. Cooper +$20M....total savings for 2022 +$72.1M) and beyond.

If you also allow Dak to find an offer to his liking with another team by applying the non-exclusive franchise tag then that is a potential savings in 2021 of anywhere between $25-$30M.

While of course these players would need to be replaced thereby eating up cap space, by recouping whatever draft picks then can for these players and drafting good quality players then do it......as this group of players simply are not getting the job done other than robbing Jerry's vault of money they are not earning.

Personally, I don't think my plan will work for a lot of reasons you are saying.

That said, you are covering just how much dead cap the cowboys would have now. There are a lot of guaranteed roster bonuses and the like still out there. You really don't gain much by pulling the trigger on blowing this team up now versus a year or two from now. As such, IMO, the team should just give Dak a contract that lines up with that and expect a full rebuild in a few years. If they get lucky in the mean time, that's great.
 

RustyBourneHorse

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There is a lot of discussion about what the team should do going forward, obviously. IMO a lot of it isn't based in reality. Mostly due to contracts.

Some things to consider:
- McCarthy just got a huge contract and isn't going to be fired after 1 year.
- Zeke, Jaylon and Tank have a lot of guaranteed money left and even if you cut them, it leaves a hole with no cap gained.
- Dallas' offensive line is older but isn't going to be super easy to replace. Also, they are on pretty good contracts for this day and age . . . if they could stay healthy.

Given these realities, I would give Dak exactly what he wanted. He wanted a 4 year deal ending in 2023 last year. Give him a 3 year deal ending in 2023 this year. If you have to overpay him to do it, fine. Restructure contracts to fit everyone but don't extend anyone past 2023.

Then draft defense. A lot of defense.

You basically give the current core 2 years. Hope that you can fix the defense with the draft and that you get lucky with health, particularly on the o-line.

If after 2 years, it doesn't work and Dallas is still mired in mediocrity, you fire McCarthy and start cutting all of these players who's contracts will be near expiring. Trade Dak with 1 year left on his deal to a team looking for a QB to make a run. The team could then start fresh with high draft picks, a new coach and a clean cap.

I'm not sure it works but a rebuild now or even a new QB is just messy. Dallas is somewhat tied to this group so you might as well make the most of it.

I would not try to force Dak to take a 5 year deal and give him a ridiculous amount of money to do it. That would just make it harder to put together a team now and you would be tied to a 30 some year old QB in the middle of a rebuild in a few years. If you want to extend Dak in 3 years, go ahead.

I like it! Well done!
 
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