Cowboys could be a wild-card for Jared Allen...Signs With Bears

[Cotton]

Not sure this is true. Allen and Ware are in the same class at this point, and Allen lacks the injury history as has been discussed.

So, you think it would cost us 16 mill a year to get Allen?

 

[Texas Ace]

So, you think it would cost us 16 mill a year to get Allen?

I'm thinking at least 10.

 

[Cotton]

I'm thinking at least 10.

Right, which is 6 million cheaper than Ware was slated to cost. I'm not sure Ravid understood what I meant.

 

[Deuce]

Right, which is 6 million cheaper than Ware was slated to cost. I'm not sure Ravid understood what I meant.

While true, if Jerry was willing to spend $10M a year on a DE he would have retained Ware.

 

[Cotton]

Will Cowboys make a play for Jared Allen?
March, 17, 2014

By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com

IRVING, Texas -- So far in their chase for veteran pass rushers, we know what the Dallas Cowboys wouldn't do.


Allen
They were not going to re-do DeMarcus Ware’s contract to the point where he would actually make more money in 2014 than he was scheduled to, which is what the Denver Broncos did in signing the Cowboys’ all-time sack leader to a three-year, $30 million deal. Ware will make $13 million this season and is guaranteed $20 million.

They were not going to give Julius Peppers a contract worth a maximum of $30 million over three years and guaranteed him $7.5 million, which is what the Green Bay Packers have reportedly done. Peppers was looking at the Cowboys in part so he could be reunited with Rod Marinelli, but the Packers came in with a solid offer.

So now the Cowboys will look at Allen, who has 128.5 sacks in his career.

Two questions: How far will they go in trying to sign him? How far should they go in trying to sign him?

In Ware and Peppers, the Cowboys had players they knew. Ware was a Cowboy for nine years. Peppers played for Marinelli with the Chicago Bears. The Cowboys only know Allen from afar.

Desperation can do funny things to teams. Are the Cowboys desperate for a pass rusher now? Would they pay him the Peppers’ deal or something close to it?

The model I had been working off on what the Cowboys would do with a veteran pass rusher was based off what Osi Umenyiora, Dwight Freeney and John Abraham got from the Atlanta Falcons, San Diego Chargers and Arizona Cardinals.

Freeney got a two-year deal worth $8.75 million. Umenyiora got two years and $8.5 million. Abraham got two years at a max value of $6 million. Abraham had 11.5 sacks last year. Umenyiora had 7.5. Freeney had a half sack but played in only four games.

If the Cowboys can get Allen, who turns 32 in April, at their price, that would be a good move. He has had at least 11 sacks in seven straight seasons, but he was fairly pedestrian against the Cowboys last season.

If the Cowboys are forced to sign Allen at a big price, then they should have kept Ware or made a larger play for Peppers. It is always better to sign a player you know than a player you don’t.

The Cowboys did not let Ware go and not make a harder for Peppers because of a lack of cap space. They can sign anybody they want and make it work against the cap. They let Ware go and did not make a play for Peppers because they weren’t willing to exceed the price they set.

Can they maintain their discipline?

 

[Cotton]

While true, if Jerry was willing to spend $10M a year on a DE he would have retained Ware.

You're probably right, but I think Allen has more left than Ware has. So, I would pay Allen 10 mill before I would have Ware. Especially with Ware's recent injury bug.

 

[bbgun]

one-year-deal only, please.

 

[Deuce]

one-year-deal only, please.

Smart GMs can give multi year deals that can be voided at anytime. Do we have one of those?

 

[lostxn]

Smart GMs can give multi year deals that can be voided at anytime. Do we have one of those?

Very few contracts in the NFL are guaranteed. The guaranteed money you get is the signing bonus. Every contract can be voided after one year. It's just that the cap hit may make it untenable.

 

[Deuce]

Very few contracts in the NFL are guaranteed. The guaranteed money you get is the signing bonus. Every contract can be voided after one year. It's just that the cap hit may make it untenable.

That's what I'm referring to. The structure so cutting a guy after one year doesn't hurt the cap.

 

[Bluestar71]

I would rather just save the cap space at this point than spend the kind of money Allen's wanting. This team cannot do enough this offseason to become a serious competitor in the conference no matter how it spends FA money or drafts. In the big picture, being a little less bad by adding a band-aid fix like Allen really doesn't accomplish much. Like Ware, when and if this team is ever ready to challenge the NFC powers again he will likely be done. The defense would be better with him than without him without a doubt. But so what? Even with a better defense this team isn't ready to take on SEA or SF. I would rather have cap space in a year or two when maybe it is ready than now when the only result is, at best, another mediocre finish.

 

[ravidubey]

So, you think it would cost us 16 mill a year to get Allen?

I think if Allen's agent doesn't get about 20 million with 16.5 million guaranteed for his client over the next two seasons he should be fired. That's what Ware got. The way his contract is set up, it will be hard for Denver to cut him before 2016.

Also, Ware would not have cost Dallas 16 million per year as he was willing to take less money. Dallas could not afford what he was willing to take, and we may never know that exact number.

Recall we are paying 7 million in dead money for Ware, so renegotiating with Ware was preferable to almost anything they could sign Allen for. Suppose Allen signs for the numbers below (Ware's numbers-- year, salary, sb proration, roster bonus, total cap hit, dead money if cut).

2014 3,000,000 1,666,666 5,000,000 9,666,666 16,500,000
2015 7,000,000 1,666,666 3,000,000 11,666,666 6,833,334
2016 7,000,000 1,666,668 3,000,000 11,666,668 1,666,668


When you add Ware's dead money to the total cap hit column it pushes the total to about 17 million for this season. Allen would have to come in at at least a few million less per year or else they should never have cut Ware. But if Allen's agent is doing his job, he should get close to if not more than what Ware got.

 

[Cotton]

That was a lot of words, Ravid.

 

[boozeman]

Here he is today.

Good cause.

 

[dallen]

I think if Allen's agent doesn't get about 20 million with 16.5 million guaranteed for his client over the next two seasons he should be fired. That's what Ware got. The way his contract is set up, it will be hard for Denver to cut him before 2016.

Also, Ware would not have cost Dallas 16 million per year as he was willing to take less money. Dallas could not afford what he was willing to take, and we may never know that exact number.

Recall we are paying 7 million in dead money for Ware, so renegotiating with Ware was preferable to almost anything they could sign Allen for. Suppose Allen signs for the numbers below (Ware's numbers-- year, salary, sb proration, roster bonus, total cap hit, dead money if cut).

2014 3,000,000 1,666,666 5,000,000 9,666,666 16,500,000
2015 7,000,000 1,666,666 3,000,000 11,666,666 6,833,334
2016 7,000,000 1,666,668 3,000,000 11,666,668 1,666,668


When you add Ware's dead money to the total cap hit column it pushes the total to about 17 million for this season. Allen would have to come in at at least a few million less per year or else they should never have cut Ware. But if Allen's agent is doing his job, he should get close to if not more than what Ware got.

This is why signing Allen makes no sense to me - unless we knew something about Ware's health.

 

[Smitty]

Here he is today.

Good cause.

Is that Hos all the way on the right?

 

[boozeman]

Is that Hos all the way on the right?

 

[boozeman]

 

[hstour]

You're probably right, but I think Allen has more left than Ware has. So, I would pay Allen 10 mill before I would have Ware. Especially with Ware's recent injury bug.

Significantly less expensive than Ware at $10M for 2 years allows you to still help the cap situation. And gives you a couple years to find a true replacement in the draft.

And Allen is still a year younger that Ware so you are gaining there too.

It's baby steps with Jerry. You are trying to change the direction of a super tanker.

It doesn't turn on a dime.

 

[Genghis Khan]

I think if Allen's agent doesn't get about 20 million with 16.5 million guaranteed for his client over the next two seasons he should be fired. That's what Ware got. The way his contract is set up, it will be hard for Denver to cut him before 2016.

Also, Ware would not have cost Dallas 16 million per year as he was willing to take less money. Dallas could not afford what he was willing to take, and we may never know that exact number.

Recall we are paying 7 million in dead money for Ware, so renegotiating with Ware was preferable to almost anything they could sign Allen for. Suppose Allen signs for the numbers below (Ware's numbers-- year, salary, sb proration, roster bonus, total cap hit, dead money if cut).

2014 3,000,000 1,666,666 5,000,000 9,666,666 16,500,000
2015 7,000,000 1,666,666 3,000,000 11,666,666 6,833,334
2016 7,000,000 1,666,668 3,000,000 11,666,668 1,666,668


When you add Ware's dead money to the total cap hit column it pushes the total to about 17 million for this season. Allen would have to come in at at least a few million less per year or else they should never have cut Ware. But if Allen's agent is doing his job, he should get close to if not more than what Ware got.

This is correct. Well done.