Phillips - Checkdowns: Cowboys Shopping Smarter? Not Exactly

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Checkdowns: Cowboys Shopping Smarter? Not Exactly

By Rob Phillips on March 22, 2014


*Jerry Jones finally showing fiscal responsibility? Say it ain’t so! That’s the general narrative, anyway.

Actually, Jerry’s often a thriftier shopper than you might think. Last year the Cowboys tip-toed through free agency, signing role players Justin Durant and Will Allen with similarly tight cap space. Splashes like 2012 (Brandon Carr, Kyle Orton, Mackenzy Bernadeau, Nate Livings) aren’t as common.Jerry_Jason

The best comparison to this year’s haul (Henry Melton, Jeremy Mincey, Terrell McClain) might be 2009 when the club signed three new starters (Keith Brooking, Gerald Sensabaugh and Igor Olshansky) for a combined $26 million and made the playoffs that year. Best-case scenario for 2014.

Where the Cowboys find trouble is rewarding players too quickly with rich extensions. Ken Hamlin and Marion Barber come to mind. WR Roy Williams got $45 million the moment he was traded to Dallas. Hindsight is now 20-20 on Miles Austin’s $54 million deal following his Cinderella Pro Bowl season five years ago.

It’s smart business to have a “walk-away” dollar figure on thirtysomething players like Jason Hatcher, but I’m not sure we’re seeing a seismic shift in philosophy at Valley Ranch. The Cowboys don’t have much money to spend, so they’re simply not spending it. Most of it goes in the piggy bank for twentysomething cornerstones Dez Bryant and Tyron Smith.

*Speaking of those two young stars, DallasCowboys.com raised a stimulating hypothetical: if you could only re-sign Dez or Tyron, who gets the big contract? Left tackle is one of the game’s “marquee positions” along with quarterback, cornerback and pass rusher (DE or OLB, depending on the scheme). But I’ve gotta side with David Helman and take Bryant. He is the Dallas Cowboys brand for the next five years. Marketing dollars aside, he’s also the heart of the team, the guy that brings the edge to a team many say lacks personality.

*Thumbs-up on the Melton deal with one disclaimer. As a friend pointed out to me, the Cowboys’ defensive line carries some injury risk: Melton coming off the ACL surgery, Tyrone Crawford coming off the Achilles injury, possible returnee Anthony Spencer coming off the microfracture surgery. Even George Selvie has had a couple of concussions since 2012. Something to consider.

*Brandon Weeden?!?!? I reacted the same way. But the Cowboys are in a weird spot here: they don’t want to invest too much in a veteran backup in case Kyle Orton does play this year; a $75,000 cap hit means nada if they cut Weeden this summer; and the quarterback market is remarkably weak. Michael Vick wants to start somewhere and Ryan Fitzpatrick wanted too much money (2 years, $7.5 million from Houston). Could argue fellow former first-rounder Josh Freeman is a better talent than Weeden, but he carries his own share of baggage.

The only thing that slightly concerns me is this nugget from Todd Archer: “…perhaps there is a trade scenario that could develop in training camp for Orton or even Weeden if a team loses a starting or backup quarterback.” Archer is extremely plugged in, which means this idea has at least crossed the minds of Cowboys brass. One, a team only trades a decent draft pick for Weeden if their quarterback choices come down to Rex Grossman or … me. Two, if Orton does play this year, you’re telling me the Cowboys are comfortable trading him and making Weeden the primary backup to their 34-year-old franchise player who’s recovering from a second back surgery in a seven-month span? Let’s sincerely hope not.
 
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