Bengals' Jessie Bates vs. Jayron Kearse: Dallas Cowboys Stephen Jones 'Too Cheap' to 'Go Big' at Safety?
FRISCO - Jessie Bates is about to take the big stage. How does that add up to the Dallas Cowboys writing a big check? It doesn't.
So does that mean Dallas COO Stephen Jones is a "cheapskate''?
The one thing we will say in support of an article from Clutchpoints that attempts to connect Cincinnati Bengals safety Bates to the Cowboys is that we believe Stephen Jones is making an error to all-but officially announce that the Cowboys won't be big-fish shoppers in free agency in March.
Some have mistakenly labeled Jones as "cheap,'' a silly notion because the salary cap will be $208 million and Cowboys ownership will spent about exactly that much in 2022. But it'll be spent on Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott and Randy Gregory and Zack Martin and ...
It's not "cheap.'' It's "close-minded.''
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4CWCCF4_yxNFcnO5rvUbjQ
The Cowboys are locking themselves into a narrow philosophy of "We Only Pay Our Own.'' That's fine as part of the plan. The avenues explored should always include ...
Re-sign your own stars.
Draft well high.
Find affordable UDFAs.
Sign veteran reclamation projects who are also - you guessed it - affordable.
Win trades.
And yes, be on the lookout for a big-money star ... just in case.
But ...
Rooney wrote on January 26. “(Dallas) should look to the free safety market and add Jessie Bates. The soon-to-be-former Cincinnati Bengal had two interceptions and eight passes defensed this season, but he had three picks and 15 passes defensed last year. If the Bengals choose not to retain Bates, particularly coming off a somewhat-down year, it could benefit Dallas to swoop in and sign him away.
“They could probably get him on the cheap as well.”
This is where we have our divide. Or, to put it more harshly, Clutchpoints is simply wrong. Indeed, word out of Cincy now is that Bates will be franchise-tagged by the March 8 deadline - the same sort of high-priced strategy Dallas is prepared to use to retain the rights to defensive end Randy Gregory.
A former second-round draft choice, Bates, 25, earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2020. Some think he had a "down year'' in 2021. But he's a full-time starter on a Super Bowl team who had an interception to help beat the Titans in the playoffs and then was a key to beating the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes in the AFC title game.
So he can play.
But ... According to Spotrac, there is nothing "cheap'' about Bates' likely price tag, as they peg his value at $14 million APY, which will make him one of the NFL’s highest-paid safeties. He's also a candidate to be franchise-tagged, and that would be the end of that. Oh, and one more thing: Unlike Dallas, which is about $20 million over the cap, the Bengals are about $50 million under the cap.
One of these two teams is infinitely more likely to get Bates than the other.
A much likelier scenario for Dallas at safety is another year of reliance on Donovan Wilson (it's the final year of his deal and costs just $1 million) and a recruiting effort to bring back a couple of its three unsigned safeties — Damontae Kazee, Jayron Kearse, or Malik Hooker — for something not too far in excess of what they were paid last year, which was close to vet's minimum. (And yes, defensive coordinator Dan Quinn can be the Head of Recruiting here.)
The Jessie Bates idea, in fact, does not fit Dallas at all. But the exercise is important, as it reminds us of a few years ago, when we accused the Cowboys of being "asleep at the wheel'' when there was an out-of-nowhere chance to sign Tyrann Mathieu and the team didn't act.
The Cowboys will not be "asleep'' on the likes of Kearse. He is high on Dallas' wish list, and the idea is that he might be able to keep contributing here in a Mathieu- or Bates-level way.
The exercise is important. And so is Dallas' willingness for a just-in-case signee who doesn't come cheap.
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