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What should Dallas Cowboys do with Jeremy Mincey?

By Kevin Parvizi

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Dallas Cowboys veteran defensive end Jeremy Mincey has been holding out after initially skipping a flight to training camp, and he’s angling for a new contract with just $1.5 million set to come down the pipes in 2015 in the final year of his deal. Signing Mincey to a two-year contract last year has proven to be a bargain for the Cowboys, and they avoided paying him an additional $500,000 last year since he barely didn’t play 70% of the team’s total snaps on defense.

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There are signs that Mincey could end his holdout today, as ESPN Dallas’s Todd Archer reported that the defensive end is in Oxnard, CA today and will meet with Stephen Jones. That doesn’t mean his holdout will end just yet, though, because a source tells Archer that Mincey could still choose to skip practices even after this meeting.

That said, there is some optimism regarding Mincey’s chances of getting back on the field, and it all has to do with the potential for a new deal to get done. I would be surprised if the Cowboys erase Mincey’s $1.5 million in 2015, which carries just $450,000 in dead money ($250,000 signing bonus this year).

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According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill, both sides are discussing a two-year contract.

Not much is known about the discussions between both sides, so it’s unclear if this is two years after the 2014 season or if the Cowboys will erase his old deal and give him a a new two-year deal that starts in 2015.

Since Mincey is 31 and is presumably looking for more money this season after being one of the Cowboys stars on defense last season, I think it’s safe to say that the discussions of a two-year deal will be for both the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Mincey is undoubtedly looking for more total money and more guaranteed money, but it’s hard to see just how high the Cowboys are willing to go.

After recording six sacks last season and being 11th in Pro Football Focus’s Pass Rushing Productivity among 4-3 defensive ends last season, Mincey has shown that he’s clearly an asset on the Cowboys defense. Ever since he had 13 sacks in the span of two seasons for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mincey has shown that he’s one of the league’s more underrated sub-package pass rushers at the 4-3 defensive end spot, and the Cowboys would have been in trouble last season without his steady disruptiveness.

The problem for Jeremy Mincey is that he has extremely little leverage here. Not only was he the one who decided to sign that cheap deal in 2014, but he now has more players to compete with. Greg Hardy saw his suspension reduced to four games, and that significant reduction in time missed really cuts into Mincey’s value, especially since Hardy is the better player. You could argue that Randy Gregory won’t have a strong rookie season- particularly since he’s a better fit as a 3-4 outside linebacker as of right now- but the rookie with huge physical gifts is another source of competition for Mincey.

And of course, Gregory isn’t the only talented and young second-round DE on the roster, as Demarcus Lawrence showed plenty of ability at the end of the 2014 season after returning from an injury to start the year. Lawrence has the potential to be a future star, and the Dallas Cowboys didn’t trade up for him in 2014 so that he would be a bit player; they surely have high expectations for him.

See, the Cowboys are no longer thin at defensive end like they were last season, and that’s all because they added two splash players this offseason and will receive further growth from a big 2014 addition. Mincey also qualifies as “a big 2014 addition”, and even though he had the best 2014 season of the DEs currently on the Cowboys roster, his age gives him the lowest future value to the organization.

The fact that the Cowboys are willing to hash out a two-year deal with Mincey isn’t surprising, though, because while the former Florida Gator lacks substantial leverage, he is a quality player. That’s key, because even though the Cowboys are not short on talent up front, they know that they need to field the best possible pass rush.

Jun 16, 2015; Irving, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (90) in action during minicamp at Dallas Cowboys Headquarters. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Perhaps Byron Jones has a terrific rookie season and emerges as a key player along with Orlando Scandrick and the decent-enough Brandon Carr, but the Cowboys have high aspirations in 2015 and know that they need a top-notch pass rush to help them meet those expectations. They have weaknesses to overcome, so they need their strengths to be good enough to achieve that.

Mincey is old and brings nothing to the table in run defense, but the Cowboys saw first-hand that he’s a valuable sub-package pass rusher. He is the type of player who provides significant short-term value to the Cowboys, but it’s hard to see how valuable he would be in the future if Gregory and Lawrence progress as planned.

One thing that does help Mincey’s future value to the organization is the fact that Hardy was only signed to a one-year deal, so there is a desire on the Cowboys part to keep him in 2016. If he signs a two-year deal for 2015 and 2016, then I have a feeling that both years will contain guaranteed money with more total value and less guaranteed money in 2016 than in 2015. That would minimize some of the risk of the deal and possibly make him expendable if Hardy and Gregory shine, but it’s more likely that they’ll keep him for an extra year (2016) as a sub-package pass rusher.

At the end of the day, Mincey probably won’t make significantly more money than he is now if the Cowboys give into his demands, but he’ll likely get an added year of security from the Cowboys organization after playing very well in 2014.

It might make more sense for the Cowboys to play a wait-and-see game, since Mincey is stuck and will have to play in 2015 no matter what. The organization can then see how Gregory, Hardy, and Lawrence play before making a decision on Mincey, even if waiting makes it harder to keep him in 2016 if Hardy leaves. I think the Cowboys will sign him to that two-year deal if the 2015 raise isn’t steep and if Mincey is willing to make about as much money in 2016 as he is now.

I have a feeling Mincey is looking for more than that, so there’s a good chance that Dallas will force him to play out the 2015 seaosn on his old contract if his demands don’t fall in line with how much they are willing to pay. He’s a quality player, but he isn’t a star and, again, needs to remember that he was the one who signed that 2014 contract.

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