Cowboys Get a Free Pass on Free Agency, 'Skins Don't

[sportscurmudgeon]

Ramseyfan:

This is probably amatter of semantics. I don't think they overpaid for Bledsoe because I don't think he will ever see the big money years in that deal and it will not be "painful" for them to ditch him. The difference between the Bledsoe deal and the Brunell deal is that Brunell hauled down a MUCH larger signing bonus and so it will hurt the Redskins to jettison him for several years because of the "dead money hit".

We differ in our assessment of Ferguson. I figure he has three or four good and productive years left in him - absent a serious injury of course.If he plays 3 years and then they have to cut him, the dead money hit will be about $3.5M - assuming no restructurings along the way. If he plays 4 years and is a cap cut because the deal is so heavily backloaded, the dead money hit would only be $1.8M. So, if I'm right in my assumption that he can play 3 or 4 years in a competent manner, that's not such an awful deal.

I completely agree with you on the risks in the other two contracts. I trhink both of them are a "stretch".

[That Guy]

i dont see why you'd load up in a seller's market with a bunch of oldies when the sum total of this team's talent doesn't even look good enough to get 2nd place in their division... maybe they figure for a killer draft... its possible.

[monk81]

Originally Posted by Ramseyfan

Prior to the start of free agency, Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones said the Cowboys would aggressivley pursue free agents this offseason. And sure enough, they have. The Cowboys signed Drew Bledsoe, age 33, to a four year $14 million deal with a $2 million signing bonus. The team also added Jason Ferguson, who will be 31 in November, to a 5 year, $22 million deal with a $9 million signing bonus. Their third big free agent acquisition is Anthony Henry, who will be 29 in November, to a 5 year, $25 million deal with a $10 million signing bonus. Finally, the Cowboys have reportedly inked former Packer guard Marco Rivera, who is 33, to a long-term deal.

Does it strike anyone else as odd that the Cowboys have invested over $20 million in signing bonuses and about $70 million in salary payments to four guys who are past their primes and average 31.5 years of age?

Apparently, the Redskins get nailed when we sign anyone to any sort of deal, but the Cowboys get a free pass for free agent spending sprees on aging players.

I'm glad Snyder, Gibbs & Company decided not to overspend on free agents whose prices are inflated because the free agent market is so piss poor. I'm also glad that the Cowboys have done a "mini-2000 Redskins'" spending binge on AARP members.

I think this stems from the fact that Parcell doesn't plan to hang around very long at all. Since I live in Texas and get all the Cryboy news on tv, radio, and the paper.....I would not be surprised if next year was Parcell's last year......They are definitely going with the George Allen philosophy "THE FUTURE IS NOW" Not all the Cowboy pick ups have worked, Wiley was a bust, so was Galloway who they got rid of, and I hope some of these "oldsters" are too........However, from what I read about Rivera, he was a solid OL and did a good job protecting Favre .......

[sportscurmudgeon]

monk81:

Rivera is fine as a guard; there's no reason to think he's a stiff. But he is long in the tooth and signing somebody of that age to a long term deal is dicey because when an offensive lineman starts to "lose it", they tend to drop in effectiveness pretty quickly.

I figure Parcells is in Dallas for one more year - or two at the very most. I presume that the locals there have come to grips with that scenario...



ThatGuy:

If you look at that NFC East from the Cowboys' perspective, this is a division ripe for the taking. Granted the Eagles look to continue to be the class of the division for the next year or two but looking at the Redskins and the Giants is hardly fearsome. The Cowboys probably think that they won 10 games in 2003 and if they get back to 10 wins next year that's all they will need to be a comfortable 2nd in the NFC East and a wild card team in the playoffs.

BTW, that should be exactly the way that the Skins and Giants are looking at the NFC East for the next year - - except that neither the Skins nor the Giants have won 10 games in a single year for a while.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

SC,

I actually think we agree as to Bledsoe, Henry, and Rivera.

I do also believe that Ferguson is a good player with a few years left in the tank. But a $9 million signing bonus? We gave Griffin a signing bonus of 8.3 million and Griffin is on the upside of his career, not the downside. At 31, Ferguson's pretty damn old.

[MTK]

The Cowboys will feel some heat for these moves if they don't pan out as expected.

[monk81]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

The Cowboys will feel some heat for these moves if they don't pan out as expected.

After the season at one press conference Parcells became so irritated and agitated by the media's questions.....I thought he was going to say SCREW IT and QUIT as Cowboys coach......pretty funny stuff....he was real mad!

Parcells is already feeling heat for the Bledsoe move.......now he's getting all the "he's not in step with today's NFL, "he's living in the past, should be looking at the future, sign younger players".....
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