The Dallas Cowboys made a series of moves during the first day of the legal tampering window. It really is an afront to the sensibilities of the general public. Teams across the NFL have clearly been negotiating with player representatives to get the framework of the early deals worked out. The scouting combine is normally when a lot of that begins, and then continues for a couple weeks as front offices talk to agents about currently-under-contract players, and sleekly slip in talk about free agents.
So when the curtain lifted on what is really the start of the league year, deals are already in place, and the media learns of plenty of deals in the first few minutes and hours like what happened on Monday starting at noon Eastern.
The Cowboys were involved all Monday, not just through the guys they were able to keep, but a few they lost to other clubs and who they are linked to to replace them. Things started early with the franchise tag being placed on quarterback Dak Prescott, to the late-evening loss of Randall Cobb to the in-state rival Houston Texans. In between, the club restructured two offensive players for different reasons, and signed two of Prescott’s top three passing targets to long-term deals.
Here, we’ll keep track of all of the comings and goings, and the most interesting associations that may or may not ever come to fruition for the Dallas Cowboys. Later, we’ll place all of the actual moves in perspective of the 2021 compensatory picks, as Dallas stands to make their most massive haul in years based on who they have and will continue to see sign elsewhere.
Tagged
QB Dak Prescott – received franchise tag, amount TBD expected between $30 million and $33 million.
Re-signed
WR Amari Cooper – 5 years, $100 million (100% accuracy for our Offseason Manifesto prediction)
TE Blake Jarwin – 4 years total, $22 million
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Tendered & Signed
QB Cooper Rush – Original-round RFA tender for ~ $2.1 million
DT Antwaun Woods – Exclusive-Rights FA tender – $750,000
OT Adam Redmond – Exclusive-Rights FA tender – $825,000
Released
None
Restructured
RT La’el Collins – Change $5 million of base into bonus, saves $4 million of cap space in 2020
RB Ezekeil Elliott – Details unknown, not expected to add cap space
Free Agents Lost
CB Byron Jones – Signed with Dolphins, 5 years $82.5 million
WR Randall Cobb – Signed with Texans, 3 years $27 million
Salary Cap Update
Using Over the Cap salary amounts, the Cowboys have a projected $41 million of cap space remaining after the tag of Prescott, signing of Jarwin, restructure of Collins and three tenders of RFA/ERFA guys.
This does NOT include Cooper’s deal, as the specific structure has not been agreed upon, so first-year cap hit is still currently unknown.
Player Associations
LB Sean Lee – Cowboys interested in bringing back
DE Robert Quinn – Cowboys hope to get a chance to make final offer. Two 30+ pass rushers (Jason Pierre-Paul, Calais Campbell signed deals worth $13.5 million)
CB Chris Harris, Jr. – Cowboys one of four teams listed as having interest in former Broncos CB
S Anthony Harris – Not officially linked, but Vikings franchise tagged and then said they would accept mid-to-late round pick in trade
2021 Comp Pick Ledger
Cowboys Wire: 14 players most likely to qualify for picks
2021 Compensatory Pick Ledger |
||||||
| PLAYER LOST | CONTRACT | APY | ROUND | PLAYER SIGNED | CONTRACT | APY |
| CB Byron Jones | 5 yr, $82.5M | $16.5M | HIgh 3rd | |||
| WR Randall Cobb | 3 yr, $27M | $9M | Late 4th | |||
Non-Qualifying Free Agent Moves |
||||||
| PLAYER LOST | CONTRACT | APY | REASON | PLAYER SIGNED | CONTRACT | REASON |
Team’s Unsigned Free Agents
WR Tavon Austin
TE Jason Witten
OL Joe Looney
OL Xavier Su’a-Filo
DE Robert Quinn
DT Maliek Collins
DL Michael Bennett
DT Christian Covington
DL Kerry Hyder
DT Daniel Ross (RFA)
LB Sean Lee
LB Joe Thomas
LB Justin March
LB Malcolm Smith
LB Ray-Ray Armstrong
CB Anthony Brown
CB C.J. Goodwin
S Jeff Heath
S Kavon Frazier
S Darian Thompson
K Kai Forbath
LS L.P. Ladouceur
[lawrence-newsletter]