Can Cowboys Sign 4 Stars to New Contracts? 'Doable, Not Daunting!'
FRISCO - It almost shouldn't even need to be said. The Dallas Cowboys have assembled top-level players like Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs and Micah Parsons, and eventually, part of the equation in "draft and develop'' - a common catchphrase now here at The Star - is "dollars.''
Draft 'em. Develop 'em. Pay 'em dollars.
And so yes, moving around money in an effort to keep Pro Bowlers on the roster is absolutely part of the master plan, which frees Dallas COO Stephen Jones to say, as he did to reporters recently, that the task is "doable'' rather than "daunting.''
"That group, we feel really good about," Jones said of that foursome. "I feel like as we move forward, it'll all be about timing, but we feel good that we can work within the parameters of the cap and make those types of things happen."
"The parameters of the cap'' create challenges. But in a very literal sense, the day Diggs was drafted as a second-round cornerback on a four-year contract, the team began to calculate how it would eventually pay him a second deal (assuming he achieved stardom).
Diggs who is the only one of the foursome entering the final year of a deal; part of the calculation can be to franchise tag him in 2024. But that will be a $20 million (for one year) decision. ... just as his eventual contract will likely pay him $20 million APY. And Diggs wants to be here.
As will Lamb's; he has two years left on his contract (with the fifth-year option utilized for 2024), so his turn can wait a bit before he gets his $20 million APY. And Lamb wants to be here.
As will Parsons'; he has three years left on his contract (counting his fifth-year option for 2025), so his turn can wait a bit more before he gets his $20 million APY. And we promise you, Dallas' opinion of Micah makes him the ultimate "Cowboy for Life'' candidate. He's going nowhere.
And in the case of Prescott, who is already at $40 million APY? The Cowboys see the double-benefit of extending him to a longer-term deal (he's under contract through 2024) while also spreading out his massive money over long-term years.
So there is time. There is "trust.'' (As Dak Prescott.) There is no panic. How about urgency, given that the cost of doing such deals only rises?
"I don't know that we'll do all of them (before the season)," Jones said. "We'll work on all of the above, but we'll see how this thing plays out. ... With timing, it takes two sides and for them to want to sign up, they have to be happy with where it is and vice-versa.''
For all the abuse the Cowboys front office takes when it comes to cap management (social media has crowned Stephen as "Cap Boy,'' which is more juvenile than it is clever), the only real thing they've done wrong here is to not turn all of this talent into a Super Bowl team. But the actual building of the roster? That's gone well. The slicing up of what the Joneses call "the pie''? Stephen predicts that will continue to work, too.
A huge part of that pie is acquiring young and inexpensive talent, which leaves room to pay the older and more expensive stars. As Stephen said, "We have to continue to do well in the draft to make things like that happen. Along the way, if we want to (re-sign) those (stars), then we'll have to make tough decisions in other spots. Hopefully you've got good young talent to facilitate that."
In a sense, outside of how not being proactive can mean rising costs for players like Prescott, Lamb, Diggs and Parsons, the lack of front-office panic here could serve as a gigantic pacifier for a worried Cowboys Nation.
"It's not daunting," Jones said of retaining this foursome. "I think it's doable, it's just part of managing the football team and part of managing the salary cap. I think it's helpful to know what the situation is gonna look like. ... Things are on a pattern to where you can get a good feel, in general, for what things should look like."
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