As a long time Cowboys fan, I've had it up to here with Jerry Jones antics, but I can't find much to argue about this decision. As great a player Ware was and possibly still is, he has has been injury prone and at thirty-two has probably lost a step, or two.
This was a great move. Ware didn't want the disrespect of taking a pay cut. Cowboys didn't want to pay him $16 mil in 2014 and $17.5 mil in 2015. Ware will get the best offer he can in free agency and then give JJ a chance to top it. There is no bad blood between these two. Nobody will give Ware anywhere near $23.5 mil over next 2 seasons. At most he'll be offered $8-12 mil per year by somebody. JJ could top it and still save millions from what Cowboys already had on the books. Even re-signing Ware and saving $3-$4 mil to spend on free agency is huge for them, Great move for both parties involved. Ware gets to learn his market value and get the best contract possible for his real worth, and Cowboys would get to save like they wanted if re-signing him, Solid move.
The injury prone comment was pertaining to last season. He did play with injuries and that says a lot about him, but his effectiveness in games suffered greatly, as evidenced by a career low six sacks. Nagging back, elbow, quad injurues rendered him pretty ineffective for most of last season.
D-Ware just hit the double jackpot. Signed with AFC SB favorite, and landed 3 years for $30 mil ($20 guaranteed). He has to be elated to get the hell out of Dallas and to a real contender. I'm a Cowboy but JJ is killing me. Already almost spent all the $7.5 mil we saved on Ware on career back-ups. Word is they are now in talks with Denver's back-up DE. WTF? Ware went to start in Denver, and then Dallas added back-up Denver DT and are negotiating with their back-up DE? The other DE they already got was a JAX back-up. Ware's cash savings will be spent on 3 back-up DL...WOW! Can we just forfeit the season already, fire Garrett, and have the #1 pick in 2015? We now have lost all 4 DL starters that were expected to line up in 2013. We still have only one starter caliber DL (Crawford) even with these additions. Meaning they must replace 3 starting DL spots still, and have almost emptied newly created bank already. Being a Cowboy has been misery, moreso the last 2 years. But this is becoming unbearable. I can only pray Marinelli somehow convinces JJ to at least sign Melton. Least them we'd only be short 2 starting DE's.
Jerrah has shown for too long that he's not qualified to run an NFL team. He needs to go back to the Ozarks and do what other Arkansawyers are good at: selling jams and jelly on the side of the road.
He might have shown that he's a ****** talent evaluator or GM, but as far as owners go, very few have gotten more out of an organization than the Jones family. Especially in the dollars and cents. The Cowboys literally had no choice but to part ways with the contracts because of the agreements put in to place by the league two years ago. Anyone who wanted to keep Ware doesn't understand how dramatically he was hurting the luxury tax level. And he wasn't even a glimpse of his Pro Bowl self last season, yet you'd be giving him a raise? That's not how life works. I hope he goes on and gets business done in Denver, because he's earned the right to be on a winner. As for the recent signings, I think that points towards potential draft boards and free agency markets. You need to create a core of expendables so that you have financial flexibility once your back's against the wall to sign someone you can't live without.
Man...the Broncos are going for broke with the Ware/Talib/Ward contracts. Elway is sacrificing years 3-7 for the next 2 years.
Maybe Elway knows it's all "what have you done for me lately" and not "we're young and we'll be good in a couple of years".
I'll tell you like I tell all my fellow Cowboy fans, stop spending money on that dump or an organization and Jerry might start listening. Otherwise you are yelling at the sun for being too bright.
