Fans have been celebrating the Cowboys finally paying attention to the safety position. But have they? Bargains are bargains and teams able to find treasure in the trash bin tend to do better in the long haul. In the same breath though, teams generally get what they pay for and even Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has admitted that anything good he’s ever paid for, he overpaid for. Dallas’ strategy in free agency has been relatively obvious. They are bargain shopping, with the majority of their signings being cheap, one-year agreements.
As discussed in a recent episode of the Catch This Fade podcast, the one-year may have as much to do with the front office’s refusal to invest long-term into players coveted by the coaching staff following a 6-10 campaign. If Jones and company choose to 86 Mike McCarthy and staff, why have a bunch of players on the roster chosen by them? That strategy is double edged, of course, because without long-term investments are they truly being given the best chance to build a team that can take the franchise back to the promise land. The financial details of the most recent free agent signing, safety Damontae Kazee, is just another piece of evidence.
Kazee, coming off a torn Achilles that ended his 2020 season, was chosen after a workout held that also saw the team look into Malik Hooker. It’s been said Kazee’s medicals came back cleaner and that plus his familiarity with new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn — who drafted Kazee in 2017 — brought the former Falcons player into the fold. But again, Dallas is hoping for injury upside here as they did with his former secondary mate Keanu Neal. Neal was signed one year after losing back-to-back seasons to ACL and Achilles tears, but playing 16 games for Atlanta in 2020.
Both came really cheap, on one-year deals. Here’s a look at the money associated with each.
Keanu Neal (Cowboys) three years, two voidable, up to $5M, base value $4M, $3M gtd, salary $1M, signing bonus $3M, $1M incentive, 2022-23 automaticaly void if on roster 23rd day before 1st day 2022 lg yr
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 22, 2021
https://twitter.com/AaronWilson_NFL/status/1376570192977870849
Neal, who wasn’t the greatest in coverage prior to the injuries, did not return to his pre-injury form in 2020. Gone were the forced fumbles and pass deflections he had over his first two seasons. After eight FF and 14 PBUs combined in 2016 and 2017, he had none and two, respectively in 15 games in 2020.
The hope is that Year 1 post injury is not the standard, but rather the recovery phase. Still, Dallas has made it clear Neal’s role will be at best, a hybrid between being a coverage linebacker and a box safety. His deal reflects some level of confidence, though it is structured in a way to fit under the tight restrictions of this year’s falling cap space that went from $198.2 million to $182.5 million. Dallas has chosen not to lop off veteran salaries as other teams have done, leading them to in part compensate by handing out lesser deals.
Neal’s structure gives him $4 million in money, with not-likely-to-be-earned incentives (read: don’t count against the cap unless met) of another $1 million. His void years spreads his $3 million signing bonus evenly across 2021 and two make-believe campaigns, so he only costs $2 million against the cap and will have $2 million against next year’s cap as dead money.
Kazee, who despite his testing is still going to be an unknown when it comes to his return, didn’t even get that. He has a base salary of just $990,000, a signing bonus of just $137,500 and if he isn’t right come training camp can be released for only $387,500 in dead money.
That’s the contract of a placeholder; a guy brought in just in case the club cannot find a solution elsewhere. Now Dallas played Donovan Wilson (finally) last season and Mike Nolan’s defense had him aligned as a free safety pre-snap, but his skill set is more of a strong safety who needs to play in the box in Quinn’s preferred single-high, Cover 3 scheme. He is capable though, in some regard, just not in the best regard, of being the free safety.
Neal could, in theory, be a strong safety if his coverage skills improve over 2020. Jayron Kearse, signed after working out the same day as Kazee and Hooker (for still undisclosed non-riches), could be in the mix as more than the special team player he’s been the majority of his career.
With the draft less than a month away, Dallas has a solution for their safety rotation, it just doesn’t have the definitive solution. They’ve chosen to bargain shop in free agency and plug holes which will allow them freedom come the draft. But if that freedom doesn’t lead them to a top-100 safety capable of starting early if not on Day 1, then they may be yet again shopping in the wrong store, in the wrong mall.