Why are the Cowboys being so conservative with the Cap?

[waving monkey]

dead money

 

[cowboyvic]

The Cowboys also see deals for Fredricks and Martin down the line and want to get out of Romo's deal by the time it happens.

That's what we heard the last few years when they did nothing. that Jerry was saving the money to lock up Dez and Murray. how did that work out. right nowwe have no long term deal with Dez. and Murray may be leaving because they won't pay him.

 

[speedkilz88]

The Cowboys also see deals for Fredricks and Martin down the line and want to get out of Romo's deal by the time it happens.

Fred's current contract runs through 2016 and then they would have the option year for 2017. Martin would be a year behind on each. The Cowboys appear to have plenty of cap room.

 

[Direwolf63]

That's what we heard the last few years when they did nothing. that Jerry was saving the money to lock up Dez and Murray. how did that work out. right nowwe have no long term deal with Dez. and Murray may be leaving because they won't pay him.

Let us all be thankful you are not the Cowboys GM and cap guru.

 

[waving monkey]

There is plenty of money. and Jerry is more than happy not to spend it to help make the team better. and he and his son get nothing but praise from the local media, and from some fans, who thinks it's just great.yet the franchise has won nothing in going on 20 years. and there is no pressure to go out and get top free-agents anymore. Jerry must one happy man. he can put that extra money in his pocket.

here is a lack of understanding of the man Jerry Jones

 

[Idgit]

I will never understand this board's restructure fetish.

When the team writes contracts with the intention of retaining the flexibility to restructure them, you have to expect people to want to take advantage of that when it makes sense to do so.

What doesn't make sense, though, is buying high in a hyper-inflated market when you live in a zero-sum cap space environment like the league is right now. But we go through this *every* offseason in the first week of free agency.

Ultimately, we must think the players we will lose are on par with the players we can replace them with next week or the week after when prices come back down. Otherwise, we lock them up like we did with Beasley. We're not going to lose players we really want when we have the room to replace them.

This team was built through the draft, and that's not going to change.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

It could be they won't create additional cap space unless the need becomes apparent.

 

[xwalker]

That sure doesn't look like cap hell does it?

It seems that they are not focused strictly on their specific cap situation, but on a general blueprint to doing business.
Don't over pay for RBs.
Don't do stupid contracts.
Use the tag when needed.
Don't chase the market in free agency.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

The Cowboys don't seem to be as excited or willing to restructure deals as fans are or thought they would be. Or maybe they realize that the only true way to get where they need to go is to keep drafting well.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

This is only the second day of free agency. Be patient

Well the thing about free agency is that things usually get started days before the official date. The best players are essentially already gone or committed.

 

[Direwolf63]

It could be they won't create additional cap space unless the need becomes apparent.

Hey, that's what I said! I just rambled on more.

 

[Future]

Just because they have money to spend, doesn't mean they need to spend it. There isn't really that much talent out there as FAs.

You know who else isn't really doing anything? The Patriots.

 

[Chuck 54]

Jerry is not cheap, and he has made the gross error in the past of overspending and over-extending and over-guaranteeing salaries to our own players and free agents; that comes back to bite you in the rear when suddenly you're paying out huge chunks of your salary structure on players who are no longer on the team. This is why they don't want to keep restructuring Romo....at any moment when his play falls off or he is injured and retires, suddenly we're going to be strapped with parts of his guaranteed money for how ever many years it takes to work our way clear.

There are also too many unanswered questions right now to just go spending money in a wild fashion on players who are tops in free agency, but not deserving of that type of payday for what they will bring to the team.

• Will we be paying Carr's salary, or will we be paying it to someone else because we cut him and have only 1 starting caliber CB?
• How much money do we keep in reserve to resign Murray when we know where we stand on that issue, or how much will we need to spend on someone else? There's no guarantee that any RB we target will necessarily be there for us in any particular round of the draft.
• We are still working with Dez....do we want to spend so much that we can't finalize a deal with him?
• What's it going to cost to resign Rolando McClain? And even if he is resigned, we are 2 key LBs short of last year's squad...how do we replace what Carter/Durant brought?

Most importantly, what does overpaying for a player in free agency do to your team? How does it affect team chemistry, the locker room, future negotiations for players whose contracts will be coming up next year or the year after?

This is not just a one year thing.....Hey, Suh or Hardy would help our DL! Duh, of course they would, but at what cost. We have a salary structure; every team does. That structure ensures that you can pay guys like Romo, Witten, Frederick and Martin and HIdgins when it's time to keep them. We want everything, but no team can have everything. Why in the world did Detroit let Suh go? Why did Carolina let Hardy go? Why did Tennesee let Haynesworth go, and why did Washington think he was worth a 100 million dollar contract? Guys have to fit into your team and salary structure without destroying either for the next 4-6 years.

I still believe that unless the Jags offer Murray 9 million/season, he's probably going to be back with Dallas. I still believe Dallas is looking to improve the defense, looking at DL and CB. We are probably hoping to do something with Hardy, by all reports, but we're looking for deals that fit our team and protect our team at the same time. The ultimate goal still remains to build through the draft. With the salary cap and all its intricacies, building through the draft is the one sure way to have a very strong team that can stay together for a few years while paying very good players on rookie contracts.

If we come out of this whole thing with Dez, Murray, McClain, Free, Beasley, and Leary, losing only Durant, Carter, and Harris, that's pretty damn good. And if we add anyone to help at DL or CB, like we did Rivers at LB, that's gravy. If it's someone like Hardy, wonderful!

The team that came close last year would be back together with stronger chemistry than all these teams trying to remake themselves in free agency.

On to the draft!

 

[skinsscalper]

It could be they won't create additional cap space unless the need becomes apparent.

Been saying this for weeks.

 

[Doomsday101]

People complain when the Cowboys spend too much money and they complain when the Cowboys don't spend enough money. They just can't win with some folks.

I agree, my how the tide has turned. Not long ago people would come here talking about Jerry and his shinny toys always looking to make the headlines with big name player for big money and he was ripped for it. Now it is some fans wanting the shinny toy and do not care what Jerry spends as long as it is their shinny toy. lol

 

[skinsscalper]

The best teams in the league are focused on retaining their own players. The desperate and cellar dwellers are blowing their wad on day one. I remember the days when Jerry was really active at the onset of FA. Ah 8-8. Good times.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

I just think they hate America.

But that is just a theory I am working on.

 

[LittleD]

It seems that they are not focused strictly on their specific cap situation, but on a general blueprint to doing business.
Don't over pay for RBs.
Don't do stupid contracts.
Use the tag when needed.
Don't chase the market in free agency.

Ding...Ding...Ding... We've got a Winner!!!

 

[Chuck 54]

The biggest buyers in free agency so far who got the two biggest prizes in Suh and Revis are the Dolphins and Jets.
Did they get great players? Yes. Is either player worth the salary they are now guaranteed? I say no, but that's up for debate.

Does anyone here actually think either team will even make the playoffs this coming year? Long shots at best.

The reason those team can afford it is because they aren't paying enough good players already...they stink.

Teams like us can't afford those prices that would destroy our structure because we already have very good players to whom we are paying big money and very good players for whom we'll be paying dearly in the near future.

Shop wisely and somewhat frugally in FA + Draft wisely = How good teams stay on top. Then if you ever feel you are one player away from a championship, maybe decide to take a bite of the poison apple.

 

[guag]

It could be they won't create additional cap space unless the need becomes apparent.

Exactly, the moment we get an announcement of a restructured contract, you can bet that a signing/resigning is very imminent.