Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Cowboys are between a rock and a hard place when it comes to the salary cap.
The team did manage to get under the league mandated salary cap by re-signing quarterback Tony Romo, they still need to make room for upcoming re-signings, which include Sean Lee, Bruce Carter, Dez Bryant and Tyron Smith.
So, the team has asked that starting right tackle Doug Free help the team out by taking a pay cut. Currently, Free is scheduled to make $7 million.
The Cowboys; however, are in a tough spot because cutting Free will cost the team $10.02 million no matter how they slice it. The team could designate him a June 1 cut, which would split cap hit over two years, but releasing him doesn’t help the Cowboys financially.
So, what should the Cowboys do?
Personally, I think they should learn from this mistake and move on. That means cut him on June 1, take the dead money and exercise caution before handing out another massive contract. The latter, however, is something that Jerry Jones just can’t seem to do.
It has been rumored that the Cowboys have an interest in free agents Tyson Clabo and Eric Winston, but I don’t think that the Cowboys are interested enough that they will actually sign either player.
If Free takes a pay cut and stays a member of the Cowboys, he should benefit from a second season of playing right tackle. I honestly believe that if the Cowboys want Free to play better they’re going to have to upgrade the right guard position also.
I know Free isn’t the best tackle, but his play sure wasn’t as big a problem when he had a good guard playing next to him.
Jesus Flores is a Dallas Cowboys writer for www.RantSports.com Follow him on Twitter @SSgtFlo1
