6 Cowboys in danger of release due to Covid-19 impact on NFL

First we dive into how the pandemic is likely going to impact the fortunes of the NFL. Then we dive into what that could look like for several Cowboys. How the coronavirus and lost revenue will trickle down to how rosters are formed in 2020, 2021.

Tyrone Crawford

(Photo by Max Faulkner/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS/Sipa USA)

The Cowboys’ front office loves Crawford. He’s been a team leader for years on years and as witnessed by his co-hosting the team’s schedule announce party, is held in high regard. However facts are facts. The team is paying him a lot of money in the final year of his contract and they have a plethora of players who conceivably can replace him in his dual roles of defensive tackle and defensive end.

Crawford has the team’s seventh-highest cap hit in 2020, $9.1 million, but he’s hardly one of the team’s 10-best players. If the team is looking to trim 2020 payroll in order to roll as much money onto 2021’s cap, then saving $8 million in Crawford’s base salary is a wise move.

With Gerald McCoy, Neville Gallimore and Trysten Hill at three-tech, the team could be well covered. Between a reinstated Randy Gregory, reinstated Aldon Smith, and youngsters Joe Jackson, Jalen Jelks, Dorance Armstrong and Bradlee Anae, the team is hardly stacked opposite DeMarcus Lawrence, but they have bodies to throw at the problem without Crawford.