Cowboys cut Ratliff

Cotton

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Ratliff, Witten deals in 2011 offer big contrast

October, 17, 2013

By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com

IRVING, Texas -- A day apart in September 2011, the Dallas Cowboys signed Jay Ratliff andJason Witten to five-year contract extensions.

Both players had two years remaining on their deals at the time, but the Cowboys wanted to reward the Pro Bowl performers with new contracts that they hoped would mean they would retire with the club. They also received some salary-cap relief in the early parts of the contracts even if it cost them upfront cash.

Ratliff’s extension was worth $40 million and included $18 million guaranteed. Witten’s deal was worth $37 million and included $19 million guaranteed.

On Wednesday, Ratliff was cut by the Cowboys amid acrimony stemming from a groin injury suffered last season and still bothering him today. Witten, meanwhile, was on the practice field getting ready for Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The adage that has been repeated by many lately is you don’t pay age in the NFL. Well, sometimes you can and sometimes you can’t.

Ratliff had just turned 30 when he signed and entering his seventh season. Witten turned 29 a few months before signing but was entering his ninth season

The Cowboys did not get a return on Ratliff on the most recent extension. He played in only 22 games after signing on Sept. 9, 2011. He recorded only two sacks and seven tackles for loss.

And now he’s gone.

Witten, now 31, has not missed a game, playing through a lacerated spleen early last season, and has 220 catches for 2,321 yards and 11 touchdowns since the extension. Last year he set an NFL record for catches in a season by a tight end with 110 and played in his eighth Pro Bowl.

And still he plays on.
 

Smitty

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You could see Ratliff was slowing down in 2011, Witten not so much.
 

Cotton

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lol wut
 
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Angrymesscan

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lol wut


They cut him because he didn't pass a physical, because he didn't rehab within the team established parameters...
So they probably ask for some money back, he won't want to give it, and this being USA it will end up in court.
Very straight forward if you ask me.
 

Cotton

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Thanks for agreeing that none of you know either.
 

Cotton

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boozeman

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I said it a while ago....this was something legal/workman's comp type stuff.

The Patriots went through this with a DL they signed in free agency a while back...Jonathan Fanene or something.
 

Bob Roberts

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He says this like that makes it better :lol
 

Genghis Khan

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I said it a while ago....this was something legal/workman's comp type stuff.

The Patriots went through this with a DL they signed in free agency a while back...Jonathan Fanene or something.
Yep, you were right. This is probably something to the effect of the Cowboys trainers/medical staff misdiagnosing Ratliff's injury and him coming back too soon or the clearing him too soon. Which would explain why he wouldn't rehab at their facility anymore.
 

Genghis Khan

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Hate to agree with Jerry but yeah he's had worse decisions than the Ratliff extension. Driving away Jimmy, trading for Galloway, trading for Roy, hiring Campo, hiring Switzer, etc.
 

L.T. Fan

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Ratliff has some responsibility in all this. I feel that his physician revealed the extent of the problem to him sometime ago. He should have been ethical enough to be honest with his employer.
 

Cotton

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Cowboys stay out of Jay Ratliff claims

October, 17, 2013


By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com


IRVING, Texas -- Citing health privacy, Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones and coach Jason Garrett would not discuss the claims made by the agent for Jay Ratliff that the defensive tackle’s injury was more severe than a sports hernia.

On Wednesday, Mark Slough said Ratliff suffered “a vicious injury,” tearing two tendons from his pelvis and the recovery time from the surgery last December was 12 months.

“We don’t get into, especially under these circumstances, the details of opinions of injury and this has also become a legal matter,” Jones said, “and so you can understand the need to not comment on specifics at this time.”

Yet after Ratliff had the surgery last season, the Cowboys held out hope he would return for a playoff run that never came. Ratliff took part in a few organized team activities and mini-camp work in the spring, but he failed the conditioning test at the start of training camp after straining a hamstring.

Ratliff was eligible to come off the physically unable to perform list this week, but the Cowboys decided to part ways with their four-time Pro Bowler.

“We just think availability due to health has been the biggest issue with Jay over the last couple of years,” Garrett said. “He’s been a heck of a football player for this team for a long time, and Jay played the right way, he practiced the right way, football was important to him, he was a heck of a competitor -- heck of a leader on our football team because of the example that he set to everybody else about how you need to play this game. … We just felt like this is the right decision for our football team now and going forward.”

Jones and Ratliff had a confrontation in the locker room after a game last season but both expressed gratitude for their time together. Jones said he has a “long history of having an appreciation for guys who give it up and work and play through pain, and I do with Jay. So it is disappointing that that great career of his has to end.” In a statement, Ratliff said thanks.

Jones said he believed the closing of the door on Ratliff will help the team in knowing “help is not on the way,” but acknowledged the need the team has for defensive linemen.

“It’s a sad matter because we do need him and he wants to be out competing and helping his teammates and helping us win,” Jones said. “But I can’t operate in a world where I go back and take today’s information and apply it to decisions made one year ago.”
 

1bigfan13

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He says this like that makes it better :lol
:lol

That's what I'm thinking. Even if it's not the worse it's still damning to him as a GM, because that means he's pulled off transactions that were even more egregious than the Ratliff extension.
 

boozeman

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Cowboys Players, Staff React To Ratliff’s Departure

Posted 9 minutes ago

David Helman DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer








IRVING, Texas – Cowboys players and coaches had plenty of time to organize their thoughts of Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jay Ratliff in the hours between his release Wednesday and Thursday’s open locker room session.

Aside from the medical and financial implications surrounding Ratliff’s release, members throughout the Cowboys organization were quick to point out the defensive tackle’s value and impact within the playing field.
Ratliff appeared in 104 games and started 85 as a seventh round pick by the Cowboys in 2005. He notched 27 sacks and 317 total tackles in his eight seasons with the team. His efforts earned him four straight Pro Bowl trips from 2008-11 and established him as one of the league’s best 3-4 nose tackles in that time period.




“Heck of a player -- I keep going back to that, because he played the right way for the Cowboys. He was always a guy who practiced hard, he played hard, the game was important to him. Anybody that was around him knows the demeanor that he played with,” said Cowboys coach Jason Garrett. “He was an intimidating figure. He was an incredibly productive player for us, a Pro Bowl player, and a great example to his teammates about how to play the game.”

Of any teammate that saw that example, DeMarcus Ware stands out. Following Ratliff’s release, Ware is the final member of the Cowboys’ 2005 draft class on the roster – Ware was taken 11th overall, in the first round, while Ratliff’s seventh round selection came all the way at No. 224.

Ware said it’s odd looking around the locker room and seeing only long snapper L.P. Ladouceur remaining from the team’s 2005 rookie class.

“When you talk about just the business of the game, things happen for certain reasons, reasons I don’t know. You’ve just got to keep playing,” Ware said. “He came in with me. I feel like now, me and L.P., we’re the last Mohicans here. You’ve just got to look at it as a business. I know Jay, he’s going to end up going to another team because he’s a great player like that.”





Having spent nine seasons on the defensive line with him, Ware is well qualified to talk about Ratliff, but several other Cowboys veterans had thoughts to offer.

As of Thursday afternoon, Ratliff’s locker had yet to be cleaned out. Jason Witten, whose locker sits our feet away, said he’ll remember the high level of play evidenced by the Pro Bowl sticker’s adorning Ratliff’s area.



“He’s a guy I’ve known for a long time. We played together a long time – a core group of us, and he’s a guy you wanted on your side on Sundays, that’s for sure,” Witten said.

In Ratliff’s official statement, delivered by his agent Mark Slough on Wednesday, he was sure to thank Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones for taking the chance of drafting him. In addressing the decision to release him Thursday, Jones repaid those thanks to the veteran.

“You know, I have a long history of having an appreciation for guys who give it up and work and play through pain, and I do with Jay. So it is disappointing that that great career of his has to end. As it turns out, all great players have to have a time,” Jones said. “Now, his career has maybe not ended, but I know he gave us great effort. He’s a tremendous competitor. I don’t look at anything but positives, I really don’t. We needed him when we had him, and we need him now that we don’t have him. But that’s just not the way it is – that’s the reality of it. We do, as I certainly would, wish him the very best and a speedy rehab and hope for him that he has more career.”
 

Cotton

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Cotton

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Jay Ratliff medically cleared, has interest from several teams

By Ian Rapoport
NFL Media Insider
Published: Oct. 23, 2013 at 06:34 p.m.

Jay Ratliff was released by the Dallas Cowboys last week amid injury troubles. However, the free-agent defensive lineman should be ready to return to the field soon after undergoing sports hernia surgery.

Several teams are interested in Ratliff, per a source involved in the process. NFL Media obtained an email from Ratliff's agent Mark Slough, which was sent to personnel directors around the NFL:

"Jay met with Dr. Meyers in Philadelphia this morning. Dr. Meyers performed his surgery last December. Jay has been medically cleared to return to all football activities without limitation. Jay has given his OK to Dr. Meyers to speak directly with any club that has an interest in talking to him.

"Jay will now continue his individual workouts in Dallas and work hard to regain further strength and improve his conditioning. His goal is to be ready to (work out) for clubs in a couple of weeks. He currently weighs 304 (pounds) and is in very good shape ... just needs to take his workouts up a notch."

The four-time Pro Bowl selection has yet to play in 2013. He played just six games in 2012 due to injuries, but he started all 16 games for the Cowboys from 2008 to 2011.
 
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