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Stephen Jones on Dallas Cowboys’ plans for free agency: ‘Hopefully we will be efficient’
By Rainer Sabin
rsabin@dallasnews.com
2:37 pm on February 20, 2014 | Permalink
INDIANAPOLIS — Even though the NFL salary cap is projected to be higher than it was last year, the Cowboys don’t figure to be aggressive in free agency because of limited space available on its payroll.
“But hopefully we will be efficient,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones. “It’s probably where I’d leave it. I wouldn’t say [we'll be] active.”
“Efficient” is the buzz word Jones is using to describe the Cowboys’ approach to pursuing veteran players on the open market. It’s a nice euphemism for being budget-conscious. He’d probably use it to characterize what Dallas did in free agency last year, when they signed only linebacker Justin Durant and safety Will Allen.
These days, the Cowboys have to trim roughly $20 million to slip below the salary ceiling by the start of the new league year March 11.
“We’ve got several paths to being under,” Jones said.
The Cowboys are expected to restructure some deals and it’s possible they’ll cut some well-known players, including Miles Austin and DeMarcus Ware.
But these moves won’t be made just with 2014 in mind. The organization has to consider how much financial flexibility they’ll have in future years. Receiver Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray will be free agents next year. Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith could be, too, if the Cowboys don’t exercise the fifth-year option in his contract this spring.
As the Cowboys work to get under the cap this year, Jones is considering the ramifications of the potential cost-cutting maneuvers they’ll execute in the coming weeks.
“I think the bigger question is what it does to your future as well, in getting there,” he said.
In the past, the Cowboys have often resorted to restructuring deals with its higher-priced veterans, which allowed them to trim payroll initially but also increased the individual player’s cap numbers down the road.
The Cowboys seem more reluctant to use that tack this year.
“Is that particular player worth putting that money out, a particular player, that you might rework and push money out to make room for the cap today?” Jones asked rhetorically.
“You have to look at it as a big picture, I guess. It’s probably the best answer. You just don’t look at one guy in a vacuum.”
And you don’t look at just one year when managing the cap.
By Rainer Sabin
rsabin@dallasnews.com
2:37 pm on February 20, 2014 | Permalink
INDIANAPOLIS — Even though the NFL salary cap is projected to be higher than it was last year, the Cowboys don’t figure to be aggressive in free agency because of limited space available on its payroll.
“But hopefully we will be efficient,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones. “It’s probably where I’d leave it. I wouldn’t say [we'll be] active.”
“Efficient” is the buzz word Jones is using to describe the Cowboys’ approach to pursuing veteran players on the open market. It’s a nice euphemism for being budget-conscious. He’d probably use it to characterize what Dallas did in free agency last year, when they signed only linebacker Justin Durant and safety Will Allen.
These days, the Cowboys have to trim roughly $20 million to slip below the salary ceiling by the start of the new league year March 11.
“We’ve got several paths to being under,” Jones said.
The Cowboys are expected to restructure some deals and it’s possible they’ll cut some well-known players, including Miles Austin and DeMarcus Ware.
But these moves won’t be made just with 2014 in mind. The organization has to consider how much financial flexibility they’ll have in future years. Receiver Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray will be free agents next year. Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith could be, too, if the Cowboys don’t exercise the fifth-year option in his contract this spring.
As the Cowboys work to get under the cap this year, Jones is considering the ramifications of the potential cost-cutting maneuvers they’ll execute in the coming weeks.
“I think the bigger question is what it does to your future as well, in getting there,” he said.
In the past, the Cowboys have often resorted to restructuring deals with its higher-priced veterans, which allowed them to trim payroll initially but also increased the individual player’s cap numbers down the road.
The Cowboys seem more reluctant to use that tack this year.
“Is that particular player worth putting that money out, a particular player, that you might rework and push money out to make room for the cap today?” Jones asked rhetorically.
“You have to look at it as a big picture, I guess. It’s probably the best answer. You just don’t look at one guy in a vacuum.”
And you don’t look at just one year when managing the cap.
