The Dallas Cowboys plan to keep Demarcus Lawrence
By Jon Dove
It shouldn’t come as much of a shock but the Dallas Cowboys plan on keeping Demarcus Lawrence no matter what.
ESPN’s Todd Archer has reported that the Dallas Cowboys will be keeping Demarcus Lawrence in the mix even if that means utilizing the franchise tag. If the Cowboys are forced to use the franchise tag it will cost them around $17.5 million.
That number would be a major issue for the Cowboys who are projected to have around $20 million in cap space.
They are stuck in a tough situation because they can’t afford to let Lawrence hit the open market. He finished tied for 2nd in the NFL for sacks last season with 14.5. The next closest Cowboy in the sack department was David Irving at 7.
Dallas would be better off trying to strike a long-term deal with Lawrence that comes with a lower cap number in the 1st year of the contract.
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The problem with a long-term deal is that Lawrence comes with availability issues. He has missed some time in the past playing only 7 games as a rookie and 9 games in 2016. Basically, this is going to be a tough and interesting contract negotiation.
Dallas could look to restructure some contracts to help their salary cap situation. Dez Bryant seems like the most likely candidate thanks to his decline in play and huge cap hit. However, it won’t be easy to convince him to alter his contract.
The Cowboys feel they are still among the top teams in the league. They have plenty of talent, but also have some holes to fill. The lack of cap space means that they will be limited in the additions they can make.
However, their defense will take a major step back if they lose the pressure created by Lawrence.