Dallas Cowboys had to decline Henry Melton option

The Dallas Cowboys made two significant additions to their defensive line in last year’s free agency that both paid off, as they picked up veteran defensive tackle Henry Melton and the consistent and underrated Jeremy Mincey. Both played big roles for the Cowboys improved defense last season, and Melton was a particularly important addition to the team’s pass rusher, as he formed a stellar interior duo with unsurprising breakout DT Tyrone Crawford.

Both Crawford and Melton teamed up to harass quarterbacks up the middle, and interior pressure definitely makes quarterbacks more uncomfortable than exterior pressure due to the speed at which an interior pass rusher can disrupt a passer. While Melton’s run defense was deplorable, he was an excellent pass rusher and played just as well as he did during his time with the Chicago Bears when he was regarded as arguably the best pass rushing 4-3 DT.

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Despite Melton’s success last season, the Cowboys were never expected to keep him around by picking up his three-year, $24 million option. Melton is a good player who played a key role for the Cowboys defense last season, but he clearly isn’t worth that kind of money, especially since he would have been owed $9 million in guaranteed money.

Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News reported that the Cowboys have come to the wise- if not obvious- decision that Melton isn’t worth that kind of money, so they have declined his three-year option, which was likely given to him in free agency last year as sweetener for him to sign with the Cowboys. Melton into free agency after suffering an ACL tear early in the 2013 season, so the three-year option was an incentive for him to go off in 2014 in order to potentially receive a ridiculously lucrative deal.

Although Melton is heading on the free agent market with an injury, it’s not a severe one, and he would be a nice upgrade for a team in need of an interior pass rush. At 28, Melton is clearly in the prime of his career, and while he offers nothing against the run, his interior pass rushing is incredibly valuable in a league that emphasizes players who can be difference-makers in the passing game.

While the Cowboys could have used Melton in 2015, the fact of the matter is that he doesn’t have as much value to this organization as he would for someone else. First of all, the Cowboys have bigger needs on the roster than defensive line. Secondly, Crawford is an even better player than Melton, as he is actually good against the run and is almost as proficient as Melton in the pass rushing department.

Henry Melton will hit the free agent market when the new league year begins, and he knows nobody will give him anything near the amount of money the Cowboys declined to give him. No player with his injury history and run defense is worth that kind of money, and there’s also the fact that he caused the coaching staff some headaches during the regular season to the point where he was almost a healthy scratch on two occasions.

For the Dallas Cowboys, declining Melton’s option ahead of tomorrow’s deadline on the decision was an easy decision, as the $8-8.5 million in cap space they’ve saved will allow them to drive hard to re-sign three more important players in Dez Bryant, DeMarco Murray, and Rolando McClain.

Neither Bryant nor Murray will come cheap, and while Bryant is a clear priority who will almost certainly stay, the cap-conscious (out of necessity, of course) Cowboys need to keep every penny possible in order to try and iron out a deal with Murray. They overworked Murray to the point where they probably won’t keep him, since he’ll most likely go for the highest bidder, and the Cowboys might not be that team.

In every case, keeping the huge amount of money and cap space over Melton would be the easy decision, but it’s an even easier one for the Cowboys considering how important it is for them to save money in order to keep those three critical free agents. I can’t see either Bryant or McClain leaving, and the increased cap flexibility will greatly help the Cowboys in their goal to keep that trio in Dallas.

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