The Dallas Cowboys now have less than 24 hours to place either the franchise tag or the transition tag on one of their 21 free agents. In actuality, the price point where the majority are expected to land with their next deal – whether in Dallas or elsewhere – eliminates the chance they would receive a tag. Even with how integral they appear to be to the 2022 plans, neither Michael Gallup nor Jayron Kearse figure to be tagged. It is not very likely that defensive end Randy Gregory would receive the tag either.
There is one name however the Cowboys are strongly considering tagging, and that’s tight end Dalton Schultz. On Monday, the NFL announced the official salary cap limit for all 32 teams for 2022, $208.2 million. That number, which has been floated for a while, becoming official means the Cowboys are $12.1 million over the cap. It also means the tag amounts are finalized for each position as well.
The NFL’s announcement included their official accounting numbers for each team as they rolled over cap space from 2021, and recalculated all of the likely-to-be-earned incentives which weren’t achieved (cap savings) and not-likely-to-be-earned bonuses which were (added to total). The league has Dallas at $220.3 million in expenses, meaning they have work to do to get under the cap.
The urgency to do so before the league year is there, as it appears the Cowboys want to use the franchise tag on Schultz. TEs will cost teams $10.93 million in a one-year offer sheet and that’s how much space the Cowboys need to create in order to lock in Schultz for 2022.
This need became more dire after backup Blake Jarwin, signed through 2023 and the former No. 1 TE before injury, was hurt again. His hip injury seems very serious and potentially career threatening, leaving Dallas without a viable option should they let Schultz walk. Cleveland tagging David Njoku, who has produced at a far lower clip than Schultz provides an outline as to what the free agent market could look like and it appears the Cowboys are heavily considering bringing back Schultz who had career highs in catches (78) receiving yards (808) and receiving TDs (8) in 2021.
There are options in free agency, including Mike Gesicki and OJ Howard, among others at the position, should Dallas change their mind. However the team is always keen on signing their own guys over risking a bad fit from free agency.
If the Cowboys are going to tag Schultz, they’ll need to create $23 million worth of space before the league year starts on March 16 to do so. The tag deadline is 3:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday.
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