You can't pay everyone

[Galian Beast]

This is really starting to get to me, the same people who complain about us not having Ware, Hatcher, and Ratliff are the same people who think we don't need to ask players to take pay cuts, or cut expensive players who aren't performing to their compensation.

Reality is there is a salary cap, and we can't pay everyone.

On offense

We're slated to have the 4th most expensive offense in the league next year, and we haven't resigned Bryant or Murray.

Having both Murray and Bryant free agents in the same year really makes things difficult. I think Bryant has to be the priority though. I still just don't want to pay Bryant anything close to what Calvin Johnson is making. I also don't want to pay Murray anything close to what AP is making. I think we need to sign Dez Bryant long term, and backload a lot of the money towards a time I will categorize as post Romo/Witten. Murray on the other hand, if he can't be signed for a reasonable amount, I would then after signing Murray long term, franchise him. I would then either trade him, or franchise him again for a second year (and then maybe trade him). There is also a good chance AP will be available in free agency next year. I might even franchise Murray and sign AP with the intent of trading Murray.

Outside of these two I don't think anyone will be impossible to sign.

Free is gone, even with a pay cut, I think we have to move on to a rookie or less expensive player here. The surprise issue here might by Ronald Leary. Will they tender him or will they simply sign him long term. Given his knee, a tender might be more appropriate, but assuming he continues to develop signing him in a later year will simply be more expensive.

I think as long as we can keep the coaching staff together, we should have no problems getting McClain to resign, and despite his play, I don't think teams will knock down doors to compete in getting him. Worst case scenario though we go with Carter, Lee, Durant. I also want to re-sign Carter and Durant. Neither should break the bank.

Carr is absolutely gone. We draft a cornerback in the first or second round to replace him. And Claiborne is gone the year after that. I'm not convinced Melton gets cut at the end of the year. They may simply look to restructure his contract. We'll see what he does through the year though. I think a lot there depends on Okoye and Crawford.

I think Hayden is gone. Especially if we re-establish Brent.

I want to keep as much of this team the same as possible, but we can't pay everyone. I've finally backed off restructuring Romo, but I'd still like him and Witten to take pay cuts to help the team.

Just restructuring Romo's 17 million dollar base salary, we can open up about 12 million against the cap next year.

 

[cowboys2233]

Having both Murray and Bryant free agents in the same year really makes things difficult. I think Bryant has to be the priority though. I still just don't want to pay Bryant anything close to what Calvin Johnson is making. I also don't want to pay Murray anything close to what AP is making. I think we need to sign Dez Bryant long term, and backload a lot of the money towards a time I will categorize as post Romo/Witten. Murray on the other hand, if he can't be signed for a reasonable amount, I would then after signing Murray long term, franchise him. I would then either trade him, or franchise him again for a second year (and then maybe trade him). There is also a good chance AP will be available in free agency next year. I might even franchise Murray and sign AP with the intent of trading Murray.

You posted this under the guise of salary cap management but you then talk about trading Murray and signing AP, who would be every bit as expensive, which makes this sound suspiciously like a "Peterson is better than Murray" thread.

 

[casmith07]

Melton is a candidate for a restructure. I think Brandon Carr will be waived. Free will be waived, and I would not be surprised to see the Cowboys select a RT in the first round to replace him, or give the job to Jeremy Parnell full time.

Leary will be a long term signing. He won't command anywhere near what Tyron Smith got, or even Doug Free initially got, so he should stick long enough to where the contract number vs. knee concerns are negligible (which should be negligible in my opinion anyway, since the guy has now gone through 20+ games without a single incident).

McClain will be re-signed. He is the Mike Linebacker of the future. Sean Lee is the Will. Bruce Carter will likely return, but not at a huge cost. He's a nice player but certainly not worth top dollar, and everyone knows it. Durant should also be kept - you don't only need 3 good linebackers. You really need 4 or 5 starting quality guys.

Claiborne has seen his last significant time in a Dallas uniform. The defense is better without him.

Sterling Moore should get an extension as well. In fact, you could probably start Scandrick and Moore on this team next year and have the same success.

My thoughts.

Edit: Murray will also be kept, my guess is the tag this year to see if he produces again next year.

 

[Galian Beast]

You posted this under the guise of salary cap management but you then talk about trading Murray and signing AP, who would be every bit as expensive, which makes this sound suspiciously like a "Peterson is better than Murray" thread.

If I'm going to pay someone between AP and Murray, I'd rather pay AP. Not just because I think AP is better than Murray, but because if we could get compensation for Murray while getting AP, I see that as doubly winning.

 

[DOUBLE WING]

If I'm going to pay someone between AP and Murray, I'd rather pay AP. Not just because I think AP is better than Murray, but because if we could get compensation for Murray while getting AP, I see that as doubly winning.

Yeah, paying big money to a 30-year-old RB sounds like a swell idea.

 

[Galian Beast]

Yeah, paying big money to a 30-year-old RB sounds like a swell idea.

I wouldn't sign him long term.

 

[DOUBLE WING]

I will just say that in general, we need to be smart about who we do and don't keep. Is paying big money to Murray after we (assuming he stays healthy) give him one of the biggest single-season workloads in history a smart idea?

One of the keys to this year's team is its youth. We have a lot of young guys playing for contracts who are super-motivated. When you start actually giving all these guys long-term deals, they lose their motivation. That's why it's important to continually draft well and continue to churn the roster. Sterling Moore has been good, but can we not find another Sterling Moore? That's no knock on him, and I don't mean to single him out, but just using him as an example.

The minute we start handing out extensions to everyone, IMO, is the minute Valley Ranch goes back to being the country club atmosphere that it used to be.

 

[Derinyar]

Sterling Moore should get an extension as well. In fact, you could probably start Scandrick and Moore on this team next year and have the same success.

You realize that Sterling Moore got abused by Ruben Randall Sunday right? Moore might be a good nickle or 4th guy, but if he's one of your two best CBs you're probably in trouble.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Well, we overpaid Romo so I think that there are going to be a lot of players who feel like they deserve to be paid as well. Some guys are going to leave, it's as simple as that. However, if Murray was one of those guys and then you turned around and paid AP, you would deserve every bit of crap you got.

The players, IMO, would revolt. Media would crucify this team and we would deserve it.

 

[cowboys2233]

If I'm going to pay someone between AP and Murray, I'd rather pay AP. Not just because I think AP is better than Murray, but because if we could get compensation for Murray while getting AP, I see that as doubly winning.

Dunno, Murray and Dez seem tight, like Emmitt and Irvin tight. I'm a big believer in culture and if you mess with the player composition too much, you risk bringing the whole thing crashing down. As great as Emmitt, Irvin, Troy and the gang were as individual players, I think it's the fact that they viewed each other as family that really put them over the top. They were the most talented team, yes. They also had the closest locker room.

I'm with you in most cases. I might make an exception here.

 

[conner01]

this is going to be a very interesting off season. lots of very tough decisions to make. some guys are certainly going to be gone. guys like harris and i think carter will walk. i think ro and dez are the two most important. but cutting carr and mo leaves a big hole. you can fill that with the draft assuming the quality is there. parnell is another interesting one, if free walks we have to sign parnell and i think draft a tackle.
it's gonna be a tough off season because each move you make has a bearing on another and it's not just about fitting them under the cap next year but years down the road when you have fred and others to sign
handling this seamlessly is not going to be easy and some fans are gonna hate some of the decisions made.
i don't know about AP, he may not even be in the fl next year but he certainly is going to have a suspension at the least of some sort

 

[JoeyBoy718]

It'll be interesting. The problem with having such a good O-line is it'll be expensive to keep everyone. Smith is already one of, if not the highest, paid LT in the league. Leary will get a good contract. Fred and Martin will be top 3 highest paid at their positions when their rookie contracts expire. If we draft a top RT, like many people want us to do, he'll be highly paid in 5 years. I don't see how we could possibly keep all these guys, and pay a top WR, and a top RB, and a top QB, and still field a defense. It's all good and gravy right now because the majority of our O-line are still on rookie deals.

 

[conner01]

Dunno, Murray and Dez seem tight, like Emmitt and Irvin tight. I'm a big believer in culture and if you mess with the player composition too much, you risk bringing the whole thing crashing down. As great as Emmitt, Irvin, Troy and the gang were as individual players, I think it's the fact that they viewed each other as family that really put them over the top. They were the most talented team, yes. They also had the closest locker room.

I'm with you in most cases. I might make an exception here.

getting a few guys below market is key to keeping the majority of this team together. maybe that works with murray but these guys are no different than we are. we are looking to make as much money as we can

 

[DOUBLE WING]

It'll be interesting. The problem with having such a good O-line is it'll be expensive to keep everyone. Smith is already one of, if not the highest, paid LT in the league. Leary will get a good contract. Fred and Martin will be top 3 highest paid at their positions when their rookie contracts expire. If we draft a top RT, like many people want us to do, he'll be highly paid in 5 years. I don't see how we could possibly keep all these guys, and pay a top WR, and a top RB, and a top QB, and still field a defense. It's all good and gravy right now because the majority of our O-line are still on rookie deals.

Keeping the O-Line in tact, or at least Smith-Frederick-Martin is the absolute top priority. I'd let Murray AND Dez walk if it meant keeping those three.

 

[Stash]

Well, we overpaid Romo so I think that there are going to be a lot of players who feel like they deserve to be paid as well. Some guys are going to leave, it's as simple as that. However, if Murray was one of those guys and then you turned around and paid AP, you would deserve every bit of crap you got.

The players, IMO, would revolt. Media would crucify this team and we would deserve it.

What are your conditions? Same money? Same length of contract? Same guaranteed money?

If all things were equal? Sure, I could see the criticism.

But if Murray got $10 million and you could get Peterson for $5 million as he tries to rebuild his career?

That doesn't look like a terrible move to me.

 

[theSHOW]

If I'm going to pay someone between AP and Murray, I'd rather pay AP. Not just because I think AP is better than Murray, but because if we could get compensation for Murray while getting AP, I see that as doubly winning.

no

 

[JD_KaPow]

The only idea I can think of that's worse than signing Murray long-term is signing AP at all.

 

[TimHortons]

I will just say that in general, we need to be smart about who we do and don't keep. Is paying big money to Murray after we (assuming he stays healthy) give him one of the biggest single-season workloads in history a smart idea?

One of the keys to this year's team is its youth. We have a lot of young guys playing for contracts who are super-motivated. When you start actually giving all these guys long-term deals, they lose their motivation. That's why it's important to continually draft well and continue to churn the roster. Sterling Moore has been good, but can we not find another Sterling Moore? That's no knock on him, and I don't mean to single him out, but just using him as an example.

The minute we start handing out extensions to everyone, IMO, is the minute Valley Ranch goes back to being the country club atmosphere that it used to be.

The flip side to this is that hopefully this season will give the team a taste for winning (hopefully in the playoffs) and that will motivate them going into future seasons, even with new contracts. Hopefully we can keep ourselves out of the rut that we've been in the past few years and keep on winning now that we've had a taste of it (consistently over a season. yes I know the season isn't over yet). The Cowboys haven't put together back to back good teams in a while.

 

[Clove]

Keeping the O-Line in tact, or at least Smith-Frederick-Martin is the absolute top priority. I'd let Murray AND Dez walk if it meant keeping those three.

So you're another one that thinks we can win with no talent? 8-8 stay warm buddy, cause we'll be right back to it next year.

 

[cowboys2233]

getting a few guys below market is key to keeping the majority of this team together. maybe that works with murray but these guys are no different than we are. we are looking to make as much money as we can

No, that's not what I'm saying. Heck yeah, if another team was willing to offer Murray $2 million more per season, of course he should take it. I'm saying that Murray's individual talent should only be part of the equation -- many have mentioned that a big factor in this current team's success is their chemistry, they genuinely like playing together. That is huge. Who's to say that if you brought in an equally talented Peterson that the culture wouldn't change? You jettisoned a guy who "grew up" with the team to a certain extent for an outsider. That stuff doesn't always jive with the other players on the team.