Dallas Cowboys: Why the cost of the DeMarcus Lawrence contract is not as high as that of the Cowboys who did not sign it

Now that DeMarcus Lawrence has his contract, now that we are coming out of stalemate, the concern to create a break and a stance that takes place during the negotiations at this level, can we recognize the obvious?

It was always going to be the result.

The reason: Cowboys could not afford the alternative.

An agreement of $ 105 million over five years, with a guarantee of $ 65 million over the first three years, is a significant investment. But the cost of the Cowboys' credibility is not so high if it was not the result.

Not signing the Pro Bowl defensive plan would have contradicted what the Cowboys have said and done since the end of the season in Los Angeles. This would undermine the claims that another divisional turn out is no longer sufficient, that franchise must proceed to the next step.

Lawrence put the team ahead of him playing badly. The ripped left labrum that he will have repaired later this week has impacted during part of the 2017 season and last season.

He plays with aggression and is as proud of his ability to defend the race as he is to roll the quarterback. He is a leader in the locker room. He is the cornerstone of one of the best young defenses in the league, a unit of players and the organization thinks it can become even more dominant.

Did anyone believe that the Cowboys would risk all this by adopting an irrationally hard line in the negotiations? Someone thought that the mistake the club made four years ago with Dez Bryant, prolonging his negotiations until the day before the training camp, would be repeated with Lawrence?

The importance of this off season can not be underestimated. Ask head coach Jason Garrett, who enters the final year of his contract.

The franchise wants players to know that everything is happening for the coming season. It strives to build confidence and expectations, not to create doubts about the seriousness of their intentions or to send conflicting signals.

The Cowboys want their main players to know that if they do their job the right way they will be rewarded and not discarded.

Skeptics lost sight of this when Lawrence was not signed until the start of the free agency. The spirits ran in the worst case.

But a delay in negotiations should not always be perceived as a slight or an insult. Sometimes it's cautious for both sides.

Once the defense was scrapped, Trey Flowers signed a five-year, $ 90 million contract – with a $ 56 million guarantee – with Detroit as a free agency, setting a floor for Lawrence. This made the negotiations less complicated since all the directors agree that the defensive end of the Cowboys is better than that of Flowers.

This helped Lawrence.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, knew the uncertain status of Randy Gregory. It was imperative that the club acquire Robert Quinn before continuing with Lawrence.

The risks: if Flowers's contract was inferior, Lawrence would have lost his influence. If the Cowboys could not get off Quinn, Lawrence's stock would have gone up.

The surgery comes next. Look for Lawrence to open the training camp from the list of PUPs (physically unable to perform). He will be brought to the camp with hope and belief that he will be ready for the opening of the season, sources said.

But it is on the road. What is important at this point is that both parties have taken a rational approach to these negotiations.

The result was right for Lawrence and the Cowboys.