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Dez Bryant deal opens up Cowboys' cap options
9h
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas -- Now that Dez Bryant's contract is finalized, what's next for the Dallas Cowboys?
By signing Bryant to a five-year, $70 million deal that included a $20 million signing bonus, the Cowboys actually gained salary-cap space. Bryant had been counting $12.823 million, the cost of the franchise tag, against the Cowboys’ cap. Now with his $3 million base salary in 2015, Bryant will count $7 million against the cap in 2015.
Before Bryant's deal, ESPN Stats & Information had the Cowboys with $11.665 million in cap space. Add in the $5.823 million gained by Bryant’s deal and the Cowboys are in excellent shape.
Until Greg Hardy's suspension is finalized, the Cowboys can't know for sure how much space they will need for his per-game roster bonuses. He had his suspension reduced from 10 games to four last week but is considering legal action against the NFL to potentially reduce the suspension more. If he is successful with a potential lawsuit and has the suspension reduced to two games the Cowboys would need roughly $1.2 million more in cap space for those roster bonuses.
Whether the suspension is four or two games, the Cowboys would be in position to do whatever they want in either adding a free agent, picking up a player via trade or signing one of their own players to an extension.
Historically, the Cowboys have locked up their core players to long-term deals before their contract expires. Bryant was the exception with the franchise tag.
The most logical target for a possible extension is defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford. He is set to make $675,000 on the final year of his rookie contract. He has just three sacks in his career but the Cowboys view him as a cornerstone piece to their defense. After missing the 2013 season with a torn Achilles, Crawford transitioned quickly to the tackle spot, blending power and athleticism on the interior of the line.
But finding the map to a deal for Crawford could be difficult. The Cowboys would like to buy low now to avoid having to spend high later if he has the type of season they expect. But Crawford could look to choose to cash in now after making relatively little money in his first three seasons.
Of course, the Cowboys don't have to spend the space they gained from the Bryant contract at all.
They can simply choose to carry over their unused space in 2015 to 2016. Why might that be the smarter play? Perhaps the Cowboys would want to look at extending the deal of center Travis Frederick.
Rules prevent the Cowboys from extending Frederick's deal until after he completes his third season. He is signed through 2016, and the Cowboys hold a fifth-year option on his deal that must be exercised next spring. If they give Frederick an extension sooner rather than later, they can space out the effects of the contracts to Tyron Smith, Frederick and Zack Martin and perhaps better manage their salary cap.
Frederick has started every game he has played since the Cowboys took him in the first round and made his first Pro Bowl last season. Like Smith, who signed a 10-year deal last year, Frederick is a cornerstone piece of the offense.
With Bryant's deal, the Cowboys have avoided a potential headache had the star receiver chose to skip training camp and possibly regular season games, but they have also been able to put themselves in better control of their salary cap in the future.
9h
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas -- Now that Dez Bryant's contract is finalized, what's next for the Dallas Cowboys?
By signing Bryant to a five-year, $70 million deal that included a $20 million signing bonus, the Cowboys actually gained salary-cap space. Bryant had been counting $12.823 million, the cost of the franchise tag, against the Cowboys’ cap. Now with his $3 million base salary in 2015, Bryant will count $7 million against the cap in 2015.
Before Bryant's deal, ESPN Stats & Information had the Cowboys with $11.665 million in cap space. Add in the $5.823 million gained by Bryant’s deal and the Cowboys are in excellent shape.
Until Greg Hardy's suspension is finalized, the Cowboys can't know for sure how much space they will need for his per-game roster bonuses. He had his suspension reduced from 10 games to four last week but is considering legal action against the NFL to potentially reduce the suspension more. If he is successful with a potential lawsuit and has the suspension reduced to two games the Cowboys would need roughly $1.2 million more in cap space for those roster bonuses.
Whether the suspension is four or two games, the Cowboys would be in position to do whatever they want in either adding a free agent, picking up a player via trade or signing one of their own players to an extension.
Historically, the Cowboys have locked up their core players to long-term deals before their contract expires. Bryant was the exception with the franchise tag.
The most logical target for a possible extension is defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford. He is set to make $675,000 on the final year of his rookie contract. He has just three sacks in his career but the Cowboys view him as a cornerstone piece to their defense. After missing the 2013 season with a torn Achilles, Crawford transitioned quickly to the tackle spot, blending power and athleticism on the interior of the line.
But finding the map to a deal for Crawford could be difficult. The Cowboys would like to buy low now to avoid having to spend high later if he has the type of season they expect. But Crawford could look to choose to cash in now after making relatively little money in his first three seasons.
Of course, the Cowboys don't have to spend the space they gained from the Bryant contract at all.
They can simply choose to carry over their unused space in 2015 to 2016. Why might that be the smarter play? Perhaps the Cowboys would want to look at extending the deal of center Travis Frederick.
Rules prevent the Cowboys from extending Frederick's deal until after he completes his third season. He is signed through 2016, and the Cowboys hold a fifth-year option on his deal that must be exercised next spring. If they give Frederick an extension sooner rather than later, they can space out the effects of the contracts to Tyron Smith, Frederick and Zack Martin and perhaps better manage their salary cap.
Frederick has started every game he has played since the Cowboys took him in the first round and made his first Pro Bowl last season. Like Smith, who signed a 10-year deal last year, Frederick is a cornerstone piece of the offense.
With Bryant's deal, the Cowboys have avoided a potential headache had the star receiver chose to skip training camp and possibly regular season games, but they have also been able to put themselves in better control of their salary cap in the future.