Leave it to the Dallas Cowboys to dominate the NFL combine despite not having a draft pick until late in the second round. Jerry Jones roared into Indianapolis aboard his luxury bus and promptly announced he was rescuing 36-year-old Jason Witten from the Twitter trolls that had crushed his fledgling broadcasting career on Monday Night Football.
Only Jerry could help save a beloved TV brand and one of his all-time favorite players in one fell swoop. But as the dust settled and we returned to obsessing about Kyler Murray’s stature, or lack thereof, the Cowboys made news for something they weren’t able to accomplish. For the second consecutive offseason, the club has placed the franchise tag on defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, with the hope they can finalize an extension by July 15.
Tank, as he’s affectionately known, played it cool last offseason and embraced his $17.1 million salary, as many of us would. But there are only a handful of men in the world who are capable of sacking NFL quarterbacks 14 1/2 times in a season, as Lawrence did in 2017. He is the most dynamic player on a highly-ranked defense that will likely be without oft-suspended pass-rusher Randy Gregory for part of next season. This man has something I’ve always lacked: some serious leverage.
Knowing this, Jerry Jones and son Stephen broached the subject of a contract extension with Lawrence’s agent during the combine. The two sides are reportedly pretty far apart, which is odd since this should be a straight-forward negotiation. Bears outside linebacker Khalil Mack, considered the top pass-rusher in the game, averages roughly $23.5 million per season. It doesn’t sound like Lawrence is dead-set on surpassing that number, so it’s likely somewhere in the $20 million per season range would get it done. The Cowboys know that Lawrence has had two back surgeries and is waiting to have a torn labrum surgically repaired. In fact, Lawrence reportedly won’t undergo surgery until an extension is in place.
I’d heard rumblings of a potential holdout, but I thought that was simply our old pal Clarence E. Hill trying to drum up some clicks. Now, it looks like this thing could get a bit ugly. A team source told me Monday that it would take 3-4 months for Lawrence to return to the field following surgery. That means he’d need to have the surgery soon in order to be ready for training camp at the end of July.
I know the Cowboys have a lot on their plate with negotiations looming with Dak Prescott, Zeke Elliott and Amari Cooper. Even Cole Beasley’s been making some demands lately. None of that should stand in the way of getting this Lawrence contract finalized. He’s the top performer on the side of the ball the Cowboys leaned on heavily last season. It doesn’t seem that complicated. I don’t think Lawrence is wired to go as far as Le’Veon Bell did with the Steelers but he’s not pleased that this negotiation will last into the summer.
Lawrence will play it cooler than Dez Bryant did when he was seeking a contract extension. Tank tends to have a lighter touch than Dez on social media. But you don’t want your most important player on defense putting a surgery on hold and possibly missing the first part of the season. This is when Jerry is supposed to settle things down and strike a deal. Unfortunately, he’s missed one deadline.
And if he waits until the next one, the season could be in jeopardy.
