Cowboys Gain $10 Million Cap Space; Sign LB Anthony Barr?
FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys' tolerance for La’el Collins following a suspension last season dipped all the way to the point to where his His cap figure of $14.93 million was deemed unmanageable.
So they sent him packing as a post-June 1 cut.
Collins is now in Cincinnati, having signed a three-year contract with the Bengals worth $7 million a year. He will still count for $4.93 million on the 2022 cap for Dallas and around $8.4 million next season.
But it is post-June 1. And the reward has been delivered in the form of $10 million in cap room, boosting Dallas' space up to about $22 million.
What to do with it?
Anthony Barr, that's what to do with it.
Given the fact that the Cowboys recently flirted with the idea of signing multiple-time Pro Bowl linebacker Bobby Wagner before he landed with the Rams, there is an acknowledgement of a need. Barr has been a star-caliber player for the Minnesota Vikings defense, and he's now 30 ... with a connection to the Dallas coaching staff ... and still unsigned.
Can there be a fit?
First off, of course - as always - is the money. Barr played at $10 million last year. Is that too much? Or, if you are a Super Bowl hopeful with a need and $22 million of cap room - and an owner in Jerry Jones who recently told CowboysSI.com that he's still willing to be a "reckless'' spender - is it just right.
There is the question of where he plays. The Cowboys linebacker room is led by Micah Parsons, and Dallas re-signed Leighton Vander Esch, with Jabril Cox coming back from injury. As the Cowboys move into another round of OTAs this week, Parsons is best-used as a chess piece; if there was another linebacker available, it would free him to be more of a pass-rusher.
Except ... that's actually what Barr, the former UCLA star who was taken as the ninth overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, is. In fact, as we recall, the Cowboys - who liked Barr in that draft - sort of thought of him as a pass rusher.
That's not a bad thing; in Barr's rookie season, he had 70 total tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles and a touchdown. And then in four consecutive seasons from 2015 through 2018, Barr made the Pro Bowl. (He did so, by the way, under the supervision of Minnesota defensive coordinator George Edwards, now a Dallas assistant.)
Here inside The Star, sources acknowledge to us that Barr qualifies as a Micah helper, or even as "Micah Lite.'' Weak-side linebacker. Rush the passer. Drop into coverage. Veteran presence. So yes, the Cowboys are aware.
He has been plagued by injuries as of late; that's why Barr got only a one-year deal last spring. It's likely why he's still on the shelf now. Still, the longer he stays on that shelf, the more viable an idea this becomes.
Dallas, for all the cap-related criticism it gets, is actually quite successful when it comes to cheap, short-term signings of vets trying to rehab their career. The Cowboys defense today features a host of those guys: Jayron Kearse, Malik Hooker, Vander Esch, Carlos Watkins, Dante Fowler ...
And you know what? The purpose of saving money on those guys - and on La'el Collins - should be to sign guys like Anthony Barr.
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