Could the Colts/Jets trade mean Indy will pursue David Irving?

Could the Colts/Jets trade mean Indy will pursue David Irving?

The future is hazy for the Cowboys young pass rusher.
By DannyPhantom@DannyPhantom24 Mar 17, 2018, 8:00pm CDT
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Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
It’s been widely debated about whether the Dallas Cowboys should have placed a first- or second-round tender on David Irving, but that mystery was removed on Wednesday when the team opted for the second-rounder. With the Cowboys unable to commit long-term to Irving, they have now dangled the carrot in front of potential suitors who could be interested in his services. Now, the wait begins.

For a team to successfully land Irving, three things would have to happen:

They’d need to make a sizable offer that Irving would be willing to accept.
They’d have to hope it’s high enough that the Cowboys would refuse to match it.
They’d have to surrender their second-round pick.
That’s a lot of things that have to happen for Irving to change teams in 2018.

Well, something interesting happened over the weekend that could shake things up a bit as it pertains to Irving. The New York Jets, in an attempt to move up in the draft to get a quarterback, traded away two second-round picks this year (37 and 49) and their second-rounder in 2019 to the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts now have a lot of chips to play with in April.

Indianapolis now has picks 36, 37, and 49 in the second-round of the draft. They certainly have plenty of draft capital and can afford surrendering a second-round pick to Dallas should they be able to sign Irving.

You know what else they have? Cap space.



If there is a team that is in the position to offer a lucrative deal to Irving, the Colts would be at the top of the list.

But wait, there’s more. The Colts now have former Cowboys linebacker coach Matt Eberflus coaching as their new defensive coordinator. Many thought he would be responsible for luring Anthony Hitchens to Indianapolis, but it was the Kansas City Chiefs who ultimately threw a bunch of money his way. Hitchens may not be a player that was worth that kind of cash, but Irving could be a different story. Eberflus is going to know all about the warts that Irving has just like the Cowboys coaching staff does, but he’s also had a front row seat to his awesome displays of disruption on the field. If Eberflus sees what a lot of us fans see, he could make a big sell to the Colts organization to make a real push for his services.



When the Colts were sitting with the third overall pick in the draft, many people were projecting they would take the draft’s best pass rushing prospect, Bradley Chubb from N.C. State. It might have been a slight reach at that spot, but the Colts desperately need pass rush help. Now picking at six, it’s possible they lose out on Chubb if he doesn’t last that long. But even if they get him, they could take another huge step in rebuilding their defensive line by acquiring Irving as well.

For the Cowboys, should they not match Irving’s offer sheet - they would receive compensation in the form of the Colts pick at 36. What could the Cowboys do with that pick? That’s some huge draft capital and it would allow them to do an assortment of things. They could move into the top 10 and get Derwin James. Or maybe they can package it with one of their fourth-round picks and move back into the first round to get a player that is falling on Day 1. Players like Will Hernandez, Isaiah Wynn, or maybe even D.J. Moore could be great targets for the Cowboys late in the first round. We’ve been debating over several players we’d love to see Dallas get at pick 19. What if the team was able to get a couple of those targets?

Calvin Ridley and Will Hernandez - how does that sound?

Vita Vea and D.J. Moore - how do you like those apples?

Getting a couple of the best prospects in college on a cheap contract for four years (or five) has to lessen the pain of losing a player like David Irving. Who is to say that the Cowboys would be able to afford Irving anyway when he would become a free agent next season? Who is to say that Irving can put things together and play more consistently? There are still a lot of questions unanswered with Irving and the Cowboys may prefer to put their eggs in a different basket.

Would you be willing to give up Irving for the 36th overall pick in the draft?

Yeah, let’s think about letting go of a legit pass rusher. That makes sense.

Dallas can't compete with teams that have cap room to burn. I would like to see him hang around and see if he can continue or build off of last year's production but he's a young guy that has a chance to get himself set for life and I would go where the money was if I were him.

Irving’s been mostly potential, but you get the feeling he’s going to have a really good year. Then the heavy contract.

A 2nd round pick is no joke, but it’s also just potential, especially the way we blow through 2nd rounders.

In the end it comes down to why in the world this kid hasn’t been fricking dominant already.

He basically missed eight games last year. If he plays and remains healthy and drug free, the cost to keep him will become huge. Then you have to ask if he’s worth a cornerstone type contract.

If not (or if he has a shitty year) wouldn’t the 2nd round pick have been worth the one final year we got from him?

ravidubey said:

Irving’s been mostly potential, but you get the feeling he’s going to have a really good year. Then the heavy contract.

A 2nd round pick is no joke, but it’s also just potential, especially the way we blow through 2nd rounders.

In the end it comes down to why in the world this kid hasn’t been fricking dominant already.

He basically missed eight games last year. If he plays and remains healthy and drug free, the cost to keep him will become huge. Then you have to ask if he’s worth a cornerstone type contract.

If not (or if he has a shitty year) wouldn’t the 2nd round pick have been worth the one final year we got from him?

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He has been about as close to dominant as he can, when he has played.

I'll take the 3rd pick in the 2nd round for Irving. I like him a lot but he'll be gone after this year most likely anyway. We could get a really nice lineman right there.

boozeman said:

He has been about as close to dominant as he can, when he has played.

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Yeah, he was a shoe in probowler last year when on the field. Unfortunately he only played like 8 games.

lostxn said:

I'll take the 3rd pick in the 2nd round for Irving. I like him a lot but he'll be gone after this year most likely anyway. We could get a really nice lineman right there.

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The unfortunate part is that we still won't be able to replace Irving with that pick. There isn't one in this draft.

Cowboysrock55 said:

The unfortunate part is that we still won't be able to replace Irving with that pick. There isn't one in this draft.

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That is why the "excitement" of getting a 2nd round pick for him is just dumb. It is recycling, only this time, they have to depend on getting the replacement draft pick right.

Given our history at evaluating defensive linemen in the draft, I wouldn't say we are very good at it, despite it being Marinelli's assumed area of expertise.

One pickup off a practice squad surpassed all of our supposedly vetted DL draft picks save Lawrence.

boozeman said:

That is why the "excitement" of getting a 2nd round pick for him is just dumb. It is recycling, only this time, they have to depend on getting the replacement draft pick right.

Given our history at evaluating defensive linemen in the draft, I wouldn't say we are very good at it, despite it being Marinelli's assumed area of expertise.

One pickup off a practice squad surpassed all of our supposedly vetted DL draft picks save Lawrence.

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I don’t necessarily agree. An expensive Irving is a highly risky Irving. I’d hate to lose him but we’re also not in a position to necessarily be able to sign him LT given where we currently are with Lawrence, Martin, et al. Apples to apples you shouldn’t be content losing Irving for a 2nd, but given our constraints it might be the better move long term. This team has enough “talented” guys who don’t play full seasons and in Irving’s case you have to worry about the physical and mental issues that have kept him out over the years

As a pass rushing DT, it's hard to imagine finding anything better. He makes the entire defensive line better. He has a lot of incentive to be on his best behavior this year. If we can hang on to him, it could be quite the show.

You let the Hitchens of the world go. You figure out a way to keep freaks like Irving.

Donpingon said:

I don’t necessarily agree. An expensive Irving is a highly risky Irving. I’d hate to lose him but we’re also not in a position to necessarily be able to sign him LT given where we currently are with Lawrence, Martin, et al. Apples to apples you shouldn’t be content losing Irving for a 2nd, but given our constraints it might be the better move long term. This team has enough “talented” guys who don’t play full seasons and in Irving’s case you have to worry about the physical and mental issues that have kept him out over the years

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We have 60 mil in cap space next year. We can absolutelky sign him, Martin and Lawrence.

GShock said:

As a pass rushing DT, it's hard to imagine finding anything better. He makes the entire defensive line better. He has a lot of incentive to be on his best behavior this year. If we can hang on to him, it could be quite the show.

You let the Hitchens of the world go. You figure out a way to keep freaks like Irving.

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EXACTLY.

Donpingon said:

I don’t necessarily agree. An expensive Irving is a highly risky Irving. I’d hate to lose him but we’re also not in a position to necessarily be able to sign him LT given where we currently are with Lawrence, Martin, et al. Apples to apples you shouldn’t be content losing Irving for a 2nd, but given our constraints it might be the better move long term. This team has enough “talented” guys who don’t play full seasons and in Irving’s case you have to worry about the physical and mental issues that have kept him out over the years

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Dallas' view with him was that they were not ready to commit to a long term contract. And yes, we have bigger fish to fry.

But tagging him with the 2nd round tender is aimed that hopefully someone bites. The fact that he is a risky player is the main reason why they are chumming the waters with him.

If they were even thinking about him long term at the moment, they would have tagged him with the 1st round tender. The difference between the first round and second round tender amount is not even $2M.

I don't think anyone will tender for him, mega talent, but his availability is always in question, be it mental or physicall.

boozeman said:

Dallas' view with him was that they were not ready to commit to a long term contract. And yes, we have bigger fish to fry.

But tagging him with the 2nd round tender is aimed that hopefully someone bites. The fact that he is a risky player is the main reason why they are chumming the waters with him.

If they were even thinking about him long term at the moment, they would have tagged him with the 1st round tender. The difference between the first round and second round tender amount is not even $2M.

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Yep. They would be ok with that 2nd rounder.

boozeman said:

He has been about as close to dominant as he can, when he has played.

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So is he worth a cornerstone contract?

Genghis Khan said:

EXACTLY.

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I agree with your exactly.

Angrymesscan said:

I don't think anyone will tender for him, mega talent, but his availability is always in question, be it mental or physicall.

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That's where I am with Irving. His talent is incredible, but I don't trust his attitude. Maybe I'm wrong, but it just seems like he's a suspension (or other problem) waiting to happen.