Cowboys cut Ratliff
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Jay Ratliff contract might be Jones' worst
October, 16, 2013
By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- All due disrespect to Roy Williams (both of them), but the Jay Ratliff deal might rank as the worst contractual mistake of Jerry Jones' career as a general manager.
Essentially, the Cowboys got a grand total of zero snaps from Ratliff in exchange for $18 million in guaranteed money.
There was no reason for the Cowboys to rush into giving Ratliff a rich contract extension a couple of years ago. (And that isn't hindsight.) He still had two years left on a team-friendly deal. Sure, he could have argued that he deserved a new deal after four consecutive Pro Bowl appearances, but that definitely didn't make it a smart business move for the Cowboys to heavily invest in a then-30-year-old who didn't have any leverage.
But Jones did right by Ratliff ... only to have it blow up in his face about as badly as possible.
The concern about Ratliff's body breaking down became a worst-case scenario. He had several physical ailments over the last two years, culminating with a sports hernia or groin muscle torn off the bone and torn tendons, depending on whether you believe the company line repeated dozens of times since last December or the version of the story shared by agent Mark Slough after Ratliff's release.
The signing bonus was paid in 2011, but that five-year, $40 million contract extension just kicked in this season. Ratliff will never see the majority of the money, but he basically got $18 million for nothing.
The pain the contract causes the Cowboys will be felt well after Ratliff's release Wednesday.
The Cowboys made a bad contract worse by restructuring Ratliff's deal this offseason -- after his sack totals declined for five straight seasons (bottoming out at zero), after he was limited to six games in 2012 due to injuries, after he tried to fight his boss in front of the team, and after he was arrested on a driving while intoxicated charge six weeks removed from his backup being charged for intoxication manslaughter following a drunken-driving accident that killed a teammate.
The restructured contract consisted of turning most of Ratliff's 2013 base salary into a bonus, the NFL equivalent of paying the minimum balance on a credit card. That bill is due in full next season, when Ratliff will count for $6.93 million of dead money against the Cowboys' salary cap.
Think the Cowboys could use that cash for a more worthy cause? It'd sure be handy in their search for a replacement for Ratliff or defensive end Anthony Spencer. Or in a contract that keeps defensive tackle Jason Hatcher in Dallas, although his negotiations are certainly complicated by the disastrous results of the last time the Cowboys paid an aging defensive tackle.
Unlike Ratliff in 2011, Hatcher will actually have some leverage. If the Cowboys don't sign Hatcher -- or use the franchise tag on him -- he'll play for another team next season.
Ratliff wasn't going anywhere for two years when Jones made an eight-figure deposit in his checking account. Perhaps they paid the $18 million in guaranteed money to make sure the notoriously volatile Ratliff remained happy.
In return, Ratliff sparred with the owner/general manager, warred with the team's medical staff, and left a huge cap hit and massive hole in the Dallas defense's depth chart.
October, 16, 2013
By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- All due disrespect to Roy Williams (both of them), but the Jay Ratliff deal might rank as the worst contractual mistake of Jerry Jones' career as a general manager.
Essentially, the Cowboys got a grand total of zero snaps from Ratliff in exchange for $18 million in guaranteed money.
There was no reason for the Cowboys to rush into giving Ratliff a rich contract extension a couple of years ago. (And that isn't hindsight.) He still had two years left on a team-friendly deal. Sure, he could have argued that he deserved a new deal after four consecutive Pro Bowl appearances, but that definitely didn't make it a smart business move for the Cowboys to heavily invest in a then-30-year-old who didn't have any leverage.
But Jones did right by Ratliff ... only to have it blow up in his face about as badly as possible.
The concern about Ratliff's body breaking down became a worst-case scenario. He had several physical ailments over the last two years, culminating with a sports hernia or groin muscle torn off the bone and torn tendons, depending on whether you believe the company line repeated dozens of times since last December or the version of the story shared by agent Mark Slough after Ratliff's release.
The signing bonus was paid in 2011, but that five-year, $40 million contract extension just kicked in this season. Ratliff will never see the majority of the money, but he basically got $18 million for nothing.
The pain the contract causes the Cowboys will be felt well after Ratliff's release Wednesday.
The Cowboys made a bad contract worse by restructuring Ratliff's deal this offseason -- after his sack totals declined for five straight seasons (bottoming out at zero), after he was limited to six games in 2012 due to injuries, after he tried to fight his boss in front of the team, and after he was arrested on a driving while intoxicated charge six weeks removed from his backup being charged for intoxication manslaughter following a drunken-driving accident that killed a teammate.
The restructured contract consisted of turning most of Ratliff's 2013 base salary into a bonus, the NFL equivalent of paying the minimum balance on a credit card. That bill is due in full next season, when Ratliff will count for $6.93 million of dead money against the Cowboys' salary cap.
Think the Cowboys could use that cash for a more worthy cause? It'd sure be handy in their search for a replacement for Ratliff or defensive end Anthony Spencer. Or in a contract that keeps defensive tackle Jason Hatcher in Dallas, although his negotiations are certainly complicated by the disastrous results of the last time the Cowboys paid an aging defensive tackle.
Unlike Ratliff in 2011, Hatcher will actually have some leverage. If the Cowboys don't sign Hatcher -- or use the franchise tag on him -- he'll play for another team next season.
Ratliff wasn't going anywhere for two years when Jones made an eight-figure deposit in his checking account. Perhaps they paid the $18 million in guaranteed money to make sure the notoriously volatile Ratliff remained happy.
In return, Ratliff sparred with the owner/general manager, warred with the team's medical staff, and left a huge cap hit and massive hole in the Dallas defense's depth chart.
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Agent says Ratliff wants to play again: 'He is in excellent shape, looks as good as he ever has'
Jay Ratliff was cut by the Cowboys, but it doesn’t mean his career is over. The 32-year-old defensive tackle wants to play again, his agent said.
“He absolutely, 100 percent wants to play football again,” Mark Slough said in a conference call with DFW reporters Wednesday, hours after the Cowboys announced the release. “He has a passion for the game, he has a love for the game. He has absolutely no intention of not playing again in 2014. If he could’ve played this year, he would’ve been on the field. Those people that ever questioned his loyalty, maybe questioned his desire to play, integrity, all of those things – those questions were misplaced.”
Slough said, “Jay is recovering very well. He is in excellent shape, looks as good as he ever has.”
In a statement read to reporters by Slough, Ratliff did not mention playing again. But he said it was “time to move on, turn the page and begin again.”
Slough said Ratliff’s injury was described incorrectly publicly. It was not merely a sports hernia, it was a “ripping” of muscle from the pelvis in two places, and that he and Ratliff were told it would take a year to heal.
“He knows what people have said about him in questioning why he's not there and does he want to play, does he not want to play, all of these things,” Slough said. “He's seen that. And I can tell you that he wants to play. And he will play. And I think he will play well.”
-- Carlos Mendez
Jay Ratliff was cut by the Cowboys, but it doesn’t mean his career is over. The 32-year-old defensive tackle wants to play again, his agent said.
“He absolutely, 100 percent wants to play football again,” Mark Slough said in a conference call with DFW reporters Wednesday, hours after the Cowboys announced the release. “He has a passion for the game, he has a love for the game. He has absolutely no intention of not playing again in 2014. If he could’ve played this year, he would’ve been on the field. Those people that ever questioned his loyalty, maybe questioned his desire to play, integrity, all of those things – those questions were misplaced.”
Slough said, “Jay is recovering very well. He is in excellent shape, looks as good as he ever has.”
In a statement read to reporters by Slough, Ratliff did not mention playing again. But he said it was “time to move on, turn the page and begin again.”
Slough said Ratliff’s injury was described incorrectly publicly. It was not merely a sports hernia, it was a “ripping” of muscle from the pelvis in two places, and that he and Ratliff were told it would take a year to heal.
“He knows what people have said about him in questioning why he's not there and does he want to play, does he not want to play, all of these things,” Slough said. “He's seen that. And I can tell you that he wants to play. And he will play. And I think he will play well.”
-- Carlos Mendez
BipolarFuk
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Ratliff would probably still be halfway healthy if he were ever used correctly once in his career.
Sadly, once he got into a system he would have been perfect for, he was beat down by years of being used as a NT.
I think he was the biggest reason we never had a dominant 3-4 defense. All the best ones have had a good, big run stuffer there.
Sadly, once he got into a system he would have been perfect for, he was beat down by years of being used as a NT.
I think he was the biggest reason we never had a dominant 3-4 defense. All the best ones have had a good, big run stuffer there.
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Jerry. Showing GM's how its done since 1989.
GShock
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Ugh. That's right. Hatcher will have a gun to our head this off-season.
D
Deuce
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We needed an upgrade anyhow. Witten is old and Ware is probably starting to break down. A new banner with the young talent on it may be nice.Uhhh...we better change the banner.
I suggest a new trio: left is Dez running with the ball, right with Lee in his presnap stance and the middle is Manziel with his hands up doing the money sign.
Simpleton
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Can we please just get a .gif of Manziel doing that?
D
Deuce
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As the banner? I'm down.
Smitty
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He should have been an end next to a true 3-4 NT.
Our front office was too fucking brain dead and couldn't stop masturbating to defensive backs to bother getting quality lineman in here.
Smitty
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There's so many, how do you choose just one?
townsend
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I second this. Given the content of this forum it would be the most accurate portrayal of the site.
Texas Ace
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asklesko
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Jay Ratliff story ruined at the end
October, 17, 2013
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- Jay Ratliff should have been viewed as one of the Dallas Cowboys' biggest success stories.
An unheralded seventh-round pick in 2005, Ratliff turned into a role player in his second year. He became a starter in his third season after Jason Ferguson was lost for the year because of an injury. He was a Pro Bowler in his fourth season and would make three more trips to the all-star game.
He was a dominant nose tackle despite being undersized in the 3-4 scheme, recording 21.5 sacks in his first five seasons.
But Ratliff never seemed completely happy. He was often sullen inside the locker room. He was wary of outsiders even when he was praised so often early in his career. He carried a don’t-mess-with-me attitude, which is why he was so good of a player.
He was with you on Sundays, as Bill Parcells would say, but then the production stopped. Jason Garrett always referred to Ratliff as the right kind of guy and a leader but soon he stopped making those types of comments, while also praising the player’s effort. Maybe he was too beaten up from playing against bigger players for so many years. Maybe he just lost it once he hit 30. It happens to a lot of players in the NFL.
The partnership between the Cowboys and Ratliff ended ugly and that’s what will be remembered.
“I think it’s unfortunate,” Ratliff’s agent Mark Slough said. “This is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business, and I get that. But Jay has made some great contributions to the Cowboy organization. I don’t think anyone would question that. I think when people take a breath and sort of step away and look back at what he accomplished here and some of the odds that he overcame, Jay Ratliff in a lot of ways redefined what a 3-4 nose tackle could look like. And I think that’s not to be overlooked. It’s unfortunate that he didn’t have the opportunity to play in this new defense because I think he would have done well. I know the Cowboys thought he would flourish in that defense. They felt like it would extend years on his career. But the injury got in the way, and that happens in the NFL. And that’s unfortunate.”
Somewhere in between the stories lies the truth of what happened here. The truth depends on the perspective. Slough said Wednesday Ratliff’s injury was more severe than what was revealed. The Cowboys didn’t believe it was because they held out hope he could have returned last season for a possible playoff run.
Whatever happened ruined what was a great story involving Ratliff.
Not every story has a happy ending.
October, 17, 2013
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- Jay Ratliff should have been viewed as one of the Dallas Cowboys' biggest success stories.
An unheralded seventh-round pick in 2005, Ratliff turned into a role player in his second year. He became a starter in his third season after Jason Ferguson was lost for the year because of an injury. He was a Pro Bowler in his fourth season and would make three more trips to the all-star game.
He was a dominant nose tackle despite being undersized in the 3-4 scheme, recording 21.5 sacks in his first five seasons.
But Ratliff never seemed completely happy. He was often sullen inside the locker room. He was wary of outsiders even when he was praised so often early in his career. He carried a don’t-mess-with-me attitude, which is why he was so good of a player.
He was with you on Sundays, as Bill Parcells would say, but then the production stopped. Jason Garrett always referred to Ratliff as the right kind of guy and a leader but soon he stopped making those types of comments, while also praising the player’s effort. Maybe he was too beaten up from playing against bigger players for so many years. Maybe he just lost it once he hit 30. It happens to a lot of players in the NFL.
The partnership between the Cowboys and Ratliff ended ugly and that’s what will be remembered.
“I think it’s unfortunate,” Ratliff’s agent Mark Slough said. “This is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business, and I get that. But Jay has made some great contributions to the Cowboy organization. I don’t think anyone would question that. I think when people take a breath and sort of step away and look back at what he accomplished here and some of the odds that he overcame, Jay Ratliff in a lot of ways redefined what a 3-4 nose tackle could look like. And I think that’s not to be overlooked. It’s unfortunate that he didn’t have the opportunity to play in this new defense because I think he would have done well. I know the Cowboys thought he would flourish in that defense. They felt like it would extend years on his career. But the injury got in the way, and that happens in the NFL. And that’s unfortunate.”
Somewhere in between the stories lies the truth of what happened here. The truth depends on the perspective. Slough said Wednesday Ratliff’s injury was more severe than what was revealed. The Cowboys didn’t believe it was because they held out hope he could have returned last season for a possible playoff run.
Whatever happened ruined what was a great story involving Ratliff.
Not every story has a happy ending.
BipolarFuk
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Guy should have been the RE in the 3-4 from the start. Him and Ware on the same side rushing the passer would have been frightening. It is amazing our management can't see these things.
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From September 2010 after the death of his grandparents:
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IRVING, Texas -- Starting nose tackle Jay Ratliff returned to the practice fields at Valley Ranch on Friday after missing two days to attend the funeral of his grandparents.
Ratliff spoke to a small group of reporters following Friday's practice. He was subdued, yet thankful when a few reporters offered their condolences. He even smiled when talking to tight end Martellus Bennett.
"It was real hard," Ratliff said. "I went down there hurting real bad. I came back proud and motivated."
Arletha Ratliff, 74, died while trying to save her disabled husband, Willie, 84, during an early evening house fire on Sept. 15 as firefighters tried to save the couple in their Hahira, Ga. home.
Willie Ratliff, a double amputee, was in a hospital bed and couldn't move and because of that, Arletha Ratliff got into the bed with her husband. Firefighters' efforts to get inside the house to save the couple were prevented by the intense fire, smoke and extreme temperatures.
"That's one thing about my family," Jay Ratliff said. "We love hard. We love very hard. That's what I'm trying to bring to this team. I love each and every one of these guys. I will play my heart out for them."
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones allowed the Ratliff family to use his private jet to fly to the funeral and several players reached out to Jay Ratliff offering support.
"That is why I am motivated to be back here," Ratliff said. "Guys that I don't talk to as much, even those guys stepped, called and sent text messages. It was something simple. It went a long ways."
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Looks to me like that was all lip service.
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IRVING, Texas -- Starting nose tackle Jay Ratliff returned to the practice fields at Valley Ranch on Friday after missing two days to attend the funeral of his grandparents.
Ratliff spoke to a small group of reporters following Friday's practice. He was subdued, yet thankful when a few reporters offered their condolences. He even smiled when talking to tight end Martellus Bennett.
"It was real hard," Ratliff said. "I went down there hurting real bad. I came back proud and motivated."
Arletha Ratliff, 74, died while trying to save her disabled husband, Willie, 84, during an early evening house fire on Sept. 15 as firefighters tried to save the couple in their Hahira, Ga. home.
Willie Ratliff, a double amputee, was in a hospital bed and couldn't move and because of that, Arletha Ratliff got into the bed with her husband. Firefighters' efforts to get inside the house to save the couple were prevented by the intense fire, smoke and extreme temperatures.
"That's one thing about my family," Jay Ratliff said. "We love hard. We love very hard. That's what I'm trying to bring to this team. I love each and every one of these guys. I will play my heart out for them."
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones allowed the Ratliff family to use his private jet to fly to the funeral and several players reached out to Jay Ratliff offering support.
"That is why I am motivated to be back here," Ratliff said. "Guys that I don't talk to as much, even those guys stepped, called and sent text messages. It was something simple. It went a long ways."
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Looks to me like that was all lip service.