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So why haven't the Cowboys cut Brandon Carr?
1:12 PM ET
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas -- The question gets asked almost every day: when will the Dallas Cowboys cut Brandon Carr?
Carr is set to make $9 million this year and count $13.8 million against the cap in the final year of a five-year, $50 million deal he signed in 2012. He hasn’t had an interception since Thanksgiving 2013.
But don’t be so sure the Cowboys are just going to get rid of Carr.
To let him go, they need to find a replacement -- and that replacement has to come at the right price.
Have you seen the cornerback market?
The New York Giants set the market by giving Janoris Jenkins $12.5 million per year, the way the Cowboys helped set the market in 2012 on Carr at $10 million per year. Sean Smith was given $10 million a year from the Oakland Raiders. Adam Jones, who turns 33 in September, received $8 million a year from the Cincinnati Bengals. Brent Grimes will make $8.25 million over the next two years from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has 13 interceptions and three straight Pro Bowl appearances over the last three seasons.
The Baltimore Ravens will pay Shareece Wright more than $5 million a year and he has one interception in 55 games. The San Diego Chargers signed Casey Hayward to a three-year deal worth $15.3 million and he is mostly a slot corner.
So what do the Cowboys do with Carr?
Cutting him isn’t the only answer. Coming up with a re-worked deal is another answer, perhaps adding a year or two. Take out the top end of the market so far, and the price for a starting corner looks to be in the $5-6 million-a-year range.
Carr may not an interception since 2013, but he hasn’t missed a game either. There is value in that, and availability is a big reason why Morris Claiborne, who has missed 24 games in his first four years, had to settle for a one-year deal worth up to $3.75 million.
Everyone from Jerry Jones to Stephen Jones to Jason Garrett to Rod Marinelli has praised Carr publicly. He is the right kind of guy that Garrett talks about. Fans don’t want to hear this. They want interceptions and big plays.
The Cowboys don’t doubt they overpaid for Carr in 2012 but that’s what happens in free agency. Is Jenkins worth $12.5 million a year? To the Giants he was because of their need. Will he produce like he’s Darrelle Revis? The odds are against that, just like they were against Carr.
The easy thing to do is cut a player. The harder thing to do is find the right replacement.
1:12 PM ET
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas -- The question gets asked almost every day: when will the Dallas Cowboys cut Brandon Carr?
Carr is set to make $9 million this year and count $13.8 million against the cap in the final year of a five-year, $50 million deal he signed in 2012. He hasn’t had an interception since Thanksgiving 2013.
But don’t be so sure the Cowboys are just going to get rid of Carr.
To let him go, they need to find a replacement -- and that replacement has to come at the right price.
Have you seen the cornerback market?
The New York Giants set the market by giving Janoris Jenkins $12.5 million per year, the way the Cowboys helped set the market in 2012 on Carr at $10 million per year. Sean Smith was given $10 million a year from the Oakland Raiders. Adam Jones, who turns 33 in September, received $8 million a year from the Cincinnati Bengals. Brent Grimes will make $8.25 million over the next two years from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has 13 interceptions and three straight Pro Bowl appearances over the last three seasons.
The Baltimore Ravens will pay Shareece Wright more than $5 million a year and he has one interception in 55 games. The San Diego Chargers signed Casey Hayward to a three-year deal worth $15.3 million and he is mostly a slot corner.
So what do the Cowboys do with Carr?
Cutting him isn’t the only answer. Coming up with a re-worked deal is another answer, perhaps adding a year or two. Take out the top end of the market so far, and the price for a starting corner looks to be in the $5-6 million-a-year range.
Carr may not an interception since 2013, but he hasn’t missed a game either. There is value in that, and availability is a big reason why Morris Claiborne, who has missed 24 games in his first four years, had to settle for a one-year deal worth up to $3.75 million.
Everyone from Jerry Jones to Stephen Jones to Jason Garrett to Rod Marinelli has praised Carr publicly. He is the right kind of guy that Garrett talks about. Fans don’t want to hear this. They want interceptions and big plays.
The Cowboys don’t doubt they overpaid for Carr in 2012 but that’s what happens in free agency. Is Jenkins worth $12.5 million a year? To the Giants he was because of their need. Will he produce like he’s Darrelle Revis? The odds are against that, just like they were against Carr.
The easy thing to do is cut a player. The harder thing to do is find the right replacement.