Upcoming cap decisions

[xwalker]

Its correct, we save 5m by cutting him. The 1.25m is dead money that will be on the cap if he's on the team or not. If you can save money on the cap, the dead money isn't a issue. Dead money is highly overrated and discussed by fans. It's not something you want to try to collect but if the cap savings are there, it out weighs the dead money.

Well done!

 

[Stash]

For the first time in a long time we're not in cap hell - I foresee them signing Earl Thomas (finally), so factor that in!!

Your Earl Thomas mention got me thinking:

I agree that I do think that the Cowboys sign him next year. A year later than if they had traded for him, but also costing nothing in draft compensation like the second rounder it would have cost this year.

So, to me, that makes things look even better on the trade front as it pertains to Amari Cooper. I think they ultimately end up with both Cooper and Thomas next year, and if so, the draft cost ends up being just that first rounder for Cooper. And I think Thomas will now cost less after his injury this year.

If I had my preference, I'd rather pay the money and give up the first rounder for both Cooper and Thomas rather than a second rounder for Thomas alone.

But maybe that's just me?

 

[exciter]

At the end of this season, hopefully after a deep playoff run, the Cowboys are going to have to make some tough decisions regarding cap management. In today’s NFL, because of the cap limits, you can’t hang on to everyone you want to.

Here is a list of players the Cowboys will have to make decisions on:

OFFENSE- 2019 Free agents
-Cole Beasley- he will be 30 next year and most receivers over 30 begin to decline. Tough decision.
-Tavon Austin- he’s helped this team but missed a ton of games to injury. I can’t see paying him.
-Geoff Swaim- he’s been pretty good, but is he worth a big pay raise? No, IMO.
-Rod Smith- not worth keeping for a pay raise IMO.
-Cameron Fleming- good to have a decent backup at LT but I’m not sure we can afford more there. If his price is right, perhaps.

DEFENSE- 2019 FA’s
-DeMarcus Lawrence- he’s deserving of a long term deal. He’s still only 26!
-David Irving- I know he’s popular with some here but not with me. Time to cut bait. Between the suspensions, injuries and girlfriend drama, we usually don’t get more than 6 games anyway. Adios.
-Dante Jones- nothing special. We could draft someone cheaper and with more upside.
-Damien Wilson- I like Wilson. He’s been a steady, dependable player, but will probably command too much in FA.

SPECIAL TEAMS FAs
-LP Ladeoceur- sign him- he’s money.

OTHERS
There are a few players that will be in the last year of their rookie deal in 2019 the team will probably review.
Here are the guys on that list:

-Byron Jones- has one more year on rookie deal. The team may want to start negotiating. This guy has become a top 3 corner in this league. Worth some big money IMO.
-Dak Prescott- big decision looming. Resign or wait. I say it’s a no brainer to keep Dak on his rookie deal one more year. If he shows big improvement they can still give a big contract after 2019.
-Brett Maher- technically he’s signed through 2019, so this isn’t a contract decision. I would definitely still bring in some serious competition.

KEEPERS (I would keep these guys for sure)
1. DeMarcus Lawrence- sign him!
2. LP Ladoceur- why not? He’s a dependable deep snapper and cheap.

MAYBE (if the price is right)
1. Cole Beasley- I lean towards letting him go. Only keep if price is right. That’s doubtful but maybe Cole gives a hometown discount. We are going to have to sign Amari Cooper after next year. Probably can’t keep both.
2. Cam Fleming- again, only if the price is right.

Everyone else, I would say goodbye. I have a lot more confidence in our draft people like Will McClay. Fans tend to want to hang on to guys like Irving too long. Irving’s not worth even the $2-3 mil he gets compared to the headaches he brings.

Your thoughts? Can’t keep everyone!

Multiple staff writers at the main site have alluded to Stephen saying Lawrence and Jones being the primary targets to resign. I'm guessing with the emergence and investment, Cooper will be in that equation. Beasley will be resigned using the money they save from releasing Hurns or Williams or a combination of the 2. Guessing Fleming resigns on a multi year deal that averages about what he got this year. Swaim and Smith will get 1 year just above minimum deals. Irving will probably get a 1 year 2m offer and a see ya if someone offers him a multi year contract. Cant see anyway they entertain bringing Austin back. Probably cut ties with Lee, cant pay him 9m and cant sit Esch at this point. Williams lb is replaceable March lilliard or draft pick. Look for a run at free agent TE along with draft. Dont know contract status of simoan guard but would like to see him back. And that's my well on the way to being drunk thoughts for the day!

 

[Verdict]

If it's me:

Big contracts:
D.Prescott - 6-year deal
A.Cooper - 5-year deal
D.Lawrence - 5-year deal
B.Jones - 5-year deal


Others:
J.Swaim - 3-year deal (Hanna type money)
R.Smith - 2-year deal (A.Morris type money)
I wouldn't pay him much and would look to upgrade.
T.Austin - 2-year deal (Low base, high bonus)
LP - 1-year deal (year to year deal)
Irving - 1 year (RoMac type deal)
Fleming - 1 yr 2.5m (Same as the last contract)

Cut:
Lee, TW, Hurns, Beasley, Olawale,
I would try to keep Olawale on a cheap deal. He has RB ability at FB.

Sign:
Earl Thomas. I would pass on Thomas. Poor risk vs. reward. We will need another safety though. Maybe we could trade Lee for a safety.

A more physical fullback

Draft:
WR, LB focus

Draft needs include TE for sure.

 

[gmoney112]

Austin and Irving probably back on cheap deals. Swaim, maybe.

Hurns gone. Not sure about Beasley, boils down to $$. I could see Beas leaving and us trying Austin out more in the slot. Noah Brown will probably take Hurns snaps.

Fleming should be retained, he won't cost much. 2-3 year deal we can get out from under is reasonable.

Rod Smith probably isnt going anywhere. He seems like a good dude that is willing to do a bit of everything. He'll be pretty cheap.

I'm keeping DLaw. Yes, I'm signing ET. I'd be working on a Jones extension.

If Landon Collins hits FA I'd be very tempted to pay him too. This defense would be elite, even against all the new offenses.

I'd definitely try and scoop Bennie Logan as an interior player, regardless. He could take this line to another level.

Crawfords contract isnt great, but I highly doubt we'll do anything about it. This year anyway.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

Cole Beasley is way too 1 catch for 5 yards for my taste, we can upgrade there.

Yep. With Cooper, Gallup, Wilson and Brown I much rather just draft a guy to add to the group.

 

[buybuydandavis]

Lawrence, Cooper, Byron Jones, Elliott, and Dak. They’re going to pay their cornerstones and replace the filler guys. Lee is the one I hope they make an accommodation for. But I don’t think they will, even there.

They could accommodate Lee by converting his current salary to game checks. Maybe he goes for it, maybe not. But I'd happily offer that.

All 3 on the field together would be great.

 

[DanA]

I would rather keep Beas and draft a DT in rounds 1-3

That is why we traded for ACooper

Beasley or TAustin will be cheap(3-5m) but I prefer Beasley

We don't have a 1st.

I think Beasley limits what we can do on our offense. He's pretty much exclusively a guy that plays within 15 yards of the LOS and while he's extremely hard to handle one on one he's easily bracketed in zone defense.

Draft needs include TE for sure.

I’ve pencilled TE in at round 2 mentally already

 

[buybuydandavis]

Austin and Irving probably back on cheap deals. Swaim, maybe.

Hurns gone. Not sure about Beasley, boils down to $$. I could see Beas leaving and us trying Austin out more in the slot. Noah Brown will probably take Hurns snaps.

Fleming should be retained, he won't cost much. 2-3 year deal we can get out from under is reasonable.

Beasley is a better fit for a pass first team with an accurate, experienced QB. Should be a 3 down player. We tried to extend him around the beginning of the season, and failed. He's gone.

Austin is a better fit for us in base. Adds a run threat and a deep threat. He just works better to complement Zeke than Beasley. But he's not signed, so you never know. Could be that we give Austin his best offer because of the fit to our run game. Not a lot of teams looking for that jet sweep.

I'm not sure about Fleming. Sua-Filo is working out. Looney too. Frederick will be back. I can see them keeping SF in place and making Williams the swing T, grooming him to replace Collins in 2020.

I'd take Fleming at the same price even if we swing T Williams. Keep 9. Tremendous depth, and for cheap. With Smith perennially iffy, extra T depth is advisable.

 

[buybuydandavis]

I think Beasley limits what we can do on our offense. He's pretty much exclusively a guy that plays within 15 yards of the LOS and while he's extremely hard to handle one on one he's easily bracketed in zone defense.

I’ve pencilled TE in at round 2 mentally already

I love Beasley when we pass, but he's just a poor fit for a run first offense. .

TE makes sense at 2. It's the low hanging fruit to improve the offense. None of our developmental guys are showing anything interesting, and Swaim plays 90%+ of the snaps when he is healthy.

We play TEs.

But that could change next year if Linehan is gone. I'd love more misdirection with run threats. Make a FB be our primary blocker instead of a TE. Keep Austin for the jet sweeps. Run Dak. 3 legitimate run threats besides Zeke. That's a run first offense.

 

[FineFan]

Everyth

At the end of this season, hopefully after a deep playoff run, the Cowboys are going to have to make some tough decisions regarding cap management. In today’s NFL, because of the cap limits, you can’t hang on to everyone you want to.

Here is a list of players the Cowboys will have to make decisions on:

OFFENSE- 2019 Free agents
-Cole Beasley- he will be 30 next year and most receivers over 30 begin to decline. Tough decision.
-Tavon Austin- he’s helped this team but missed a ton of games to injury. I can’t see paying him.
-Geoff Swaim- he’s been pretty good, but is he worth a big pay raise? No, IMO.
-Rod Smith- not worth keeping for a pay raise IMO.
-Cameron Fleming- good to have a decent backup at LT but I’m not sure we can afford more there. If his price is right, perhaps.

DEFENSE- 2019 FA’s
-DeMarcus Lawrence- he’s deserving of a long term deal. He’s still only 26!
-David Irving- I know he’s popular with some here but not with me. Time to cut bait. Between the suspensions, injuries and girlfriend drama, we usually don’t get more than 6 games anyway. Adios.
-Dante Jones- nothing special. We could draft someone cheaper and with more upside.
-Damien Wilson- I like Wilson. He’s been a steady, dependable player, but will probably command too much in FA.

SPECIAL TEAMS FAs
-LP Ladeoceur- sign him- he’s money.

OTHERS
There are a few players that will be in the last year of their rookie deal in 2019 the team will probably review.
Here are the guys on that list:

-Byron Jones- has one more year on rookie deal. The team may want to start negotiating. This guy has become a top 3 corner in this league. Worth some big money IMO.
-Dak Prescott- big decision looming. Resign or wait. I say it’s a no brainer to keep Dak on his rookie deal one more year. If he shows big improvement they can still give a big contract after 2019.
-Brett Maher- technically he’s signed through 2019, so this isn’t a contract decision. I would definitely still bring in some serious competition.

KEEPERS (I would keep these guys for sure)
1. DeMarcus Lawrence- sign him!
2. LP Ladoceur- why not? He’s a dependable deep snapper and cheap.

MAYBE (if the price is right)
1. Cole Beasley- I lean towards letting him go. Only keep if price is right. That’s doubtful but maybe Cole gives a hometown discount. We are going to have to sign Amari Cooper after next year. Probably can’t keep both.
2. Cam Fleming- again, only if the price is right.

Everyone else, I would say goodbye. I have a lot more confidence in our draft people like Will McClay. Fans tend to want to hang on to guys like Irving too long. Irving’s not worth even the $2-3 mil he gets compared to the headaches he brings.

Your thoughts? Can’t keep everyone!

Except Irving. Just think he should be given one more season. When he plays, he plays. I think he's worth the risk on the cheap.

 

[OmerV]

I think Swaim is a no brainer to bring back. He,s at least a strong #2 TE and I don’t think he would require a pay raise that would preclude signing, drafting or trading for a #1 TE.

 

[Stash]

I think Swaim is a no brainer to bring back. He,s at least a strong #2 TE and I don’t think he would require a pay raise that would preclude signing, drafting or trading for a #1 TE.

I think he's definitely the best in-house option they have, and if nothing else, would make for a fine "bridge player" for a year or two until a rookie is ready.

I don't see why he would be too costly to re-sign.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Lawrence, Cooper, Byron Jones, Elliott, and Dak. They’re going to pay their cornerstones and replace the filler guys. Lee is the one I hope they make an accommodation for. But I don’t think they will, even there.

we can wait one more year on Dak. we have to keep the other 4......