The Dallas Cowboys have locked up pass-rusher DeMarcus Lawrence to a long-term deal, but is this the right move for the money? Grading the signing.
Because the Dallas Cowboys were unable to get a deal done prior to the deadline, they placed the franchise tag on star pass-rusher DeMarcus Lawrence. The intent was to continue working on a long-term deal, but talks were at a stand-still as the calendar turned to April — or so it seemed. In the NFL, though, the tides of this type of deal can turn quickly.
On Friday night, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported that the Cowboys and Lawrence had resumed talks and had the parameters of a deal in place. Things then moved rapidly after that with the team and defensive end settling on a five-year, $105 million deal with $65 million guaranteed. On top of that, Lawrence will get more money in Year 1 than any non-quarterback in the NFL.
This is a deal that Dallas clearly wanted to get done, and they finally worked on a way to make it happen. Now that it’s ready to roll and Lawrence will be with the Cowboys for the long term, though, it’s time to evaluate the signing by giving it a grade.
Are the Dallas Cowboys about to tie up a ton of cap space in DeMarcus Lawrence, with a lot of that money guaranteed? Absolutely. Is that going to be something to watch as guys like Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper and Byron Jones need new deals in the near future? Without question.
However, just because the answer to those questions is yes doesn’t mean that this isn’t a necessary move. After an up and down first three years in the league, Lawrence has developed and established himself as an elite pass rusher, one of the best in the league. When it comes to premier pass-rushers, you have to pay them handsomely, which is what led to this situation.
Plain and simple, teams can’t let the best pass-rushers in the league simply walk in free agency. With the way the modern NFL has progressed, this is one of the most important positions on the field. If a team has a player who is one of the best at this position, they have to do everything within reason to make that happen.
That’s what the Cowboys have done with Lawrence. Yes, he’s now the highest-paid 4-3 defensive end in the NFL, but he’s still making a couple million less than Khalil Mack on his extension signed last year. They aren’t resetting the entire pass-rush market re-signing Lawrence, but they are solidifying a massively important spot on their defense — which emerged as their strength last season — for the long term.