The Cowboys front office entered this offseason needing to do a very delicate dance as far as the salary cap is concerned. One certain high-priced veteran is already rumored to be on the chopping block as a cost-cutting measure. There’s talk of a possible franchise tag and contract restucturing in the coming days for others to help keep the team’s most important playmakers in the building.
Now it appears another fan favorite may be ready to play hardball with the Joneses.
Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence has reportedly turned down a pay cut proposed by Cowboys management, according to Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News.
Lawrence, with a scheduled 2022 base salary of $19 million, is currently the team’s third-highest-paid player, behind quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver Amari Cooper, both of whom are listed at $20 million for the upcoming season.
Cooper is thought to be headed for release by the Cowboys within the next two weeks if a trade partner cannot be found. Now Lawrence, the 2014 second-round draft pick out of Boise State, may also be on his way out of Dallas. (Cowboys Wire explored this very possibility recently.)
As Watkins somberly notes regarding the Lawrence development: “Normally when a player rejects a pay cut he’s soon to be released.”
The two-time Pro Bowler has 48.5 sacks in his eight seasons with the Cowboys. He missed significant time in 2021 due to a foot fracture but was a difference-maker when he was on the field; he recorded 21 tackles, five tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits, and five passes defensed. He also forced two fumbles and logged an interception that he returned for a touchdown, the first of his career.
Fellow edge rushers Randy Gregory and Dorance Armstrong are both set to enter free agency, meaning the Cowboys brass has multiple serious decisions to make- and quickly- regarding the key position. While Armstrong was more of a rotation man last year and Tarell Basham, Carlos Watkins, and rookie Chauncey Golston all contributed as well, Lawrence and Gregory made for a rather formidable set of starting bookends on the defensive line.
Now all of a sudden, there’s a very real chance that both could be wearing a different uniform in 2022.
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