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At first glance, the Seahawks and Cowboys seem to be at similar times in their franchise timelines. The two teams met in the playoff round without a card from last season (24-22 in Dallas). Next spring, both players should have more than 40 players at large and about $ 80 million in equity to reorganize their lineup. But take a closer look and there are several major differences in their approaches to team building. In particular, the fact that the Seahawks have already signed their quarter for a transaction of more than $ 30 million per season, which is not the case of the Cowboys.
Before Russell Wilson signed his extension last month, there was a lot of debate around the league on the issue of whether it was prudent to devote that percentage of the salary cap – about 17% by 2020 – to a only player, even one of the best five QB. This concern (rightly) did not stop the Seahawks – who locked up one of the league's most valuable players in the long run – and that will not likely stop the Cowboys from giving a similar contract to Dak Prescott . The Cowboys leadership has not hesitated to give the ambition to reward Prescott with a substantial salary this summer, before becoming a free agent in 2020, and this desire to keep him, even with an expensive contract, is revealing of the direction taken by the league moved in recent years.
The trapped types of transactions with modest guarantees that provided the teams with early departures (such as those given to Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick in 2014) have given way to two basic types of QB contracts: the monstrous contracts awarded to veterans and rookie offers. There are currently 10 QBs with an average annual value of at least $ 24.6 million in the NFL, and this number is expected to reach 12 before next season when Prescott and Philip Rivers will have extra time. (At the other end of the spectrum, 14 teams will have well-defined entries for rookies this season.) With so many teams choosing the expensive QB route, the central question regarding job contracts has shifted from knowing if teams are to deliver massive bids to all, the way teams should build around them. And that's where the paths of the Seahawks and Cowboys diverge.
Even after the inclusion of Prescott's proposed new salary in the lineup, the Cowboys would likely have a cap of $ 50-60 million next season (not counting other extensions). The problem for Dallas is that Prescott's is far from the only prestigious contractual decision on the horizon. Cornerback Byron Jones, wide receiver Amari Cooper, linebacker Jaylon Smith and offensive lineman La'el Collins are all entering the final year of their contract, and the Cowboys would like to keep the kernel as much as possible. And although Ezekiel Elliott does not come into free competition until 2021, an extension is inevitable, and the team could choose to do it before next season to reduce its number of capes by 2020. Take all these contracts into account, and this space disappears quickly. If the Cowboys retain Cooper, Jones, Elliott and Smith or Collins, they will probably already be under the cap in the first or second year of the Prescott contract, with about eight players counting for at least $ 10 million in 2020 (including Prescott and DeMarcus Lawrence recently expanded, which will record more than twice as much).
Some teams have followed similar trajectories over the last two years and have had to deal with difficult decisions and risky strategies to build team spirit. The Vikings – who signed an $ 84 million deal with Kirk Cousins for a fully guaranteed three-year contract last spring – had to break ties with veterans like guard Mike Remmers and security Andrew Sendejo during off season to get a reprieve. Minnesota would also have bought starting cornerback Trae Waynes (which is expected to be $ 9.1 million against the ceiling this year), and could soon turn to a contract for long-time halfback Kyle Rudolph ( $ 7.6 million). Defensive back Everson Griffen also lost $ 3 million. The team had to restructure linebacker Eric Kendricks' contract to create enough space for the first Garrett Bradbury round under the salary cap. These are the types of belt tightening movements that a busy team with an expensive quarterback is forced to make – even a team like the Vikings, who have been spending money at QB for years and have some superstars like Danielle Hunter and Adam Thielen radically less than they should.
Minnesota also had to complete the Cousins contract by having recruits in the rookie field immediately operational. Bradbury, for example, will intervene immediately as a starting point for the team simply because the Vikings have no other choice. And Rudolph was considered more and more usable after Minnesota grabbed Alabama striker Irv Smith Jr. in the second round. The Falcons, sailing around Matt Ryan's $ 150-million extension last spring, are in a similar cash-strapped situation and can also rely heavily on novice beginners. After catching goalkeeper Chris Lindstrom with no. 14 choices, Atlanta traded no. 45 and 79 selections at Rams to qualify and face Washington Kaleb McGary with the 31st pick. McGary – who started 47 games with the Huskies – claims to be the right starting point for the Falcons, a vacancy that was only left open after Atlanta had to fire Ryan Schraeder to cut costs.
Throughout his tenure as head coach, the Falcons were able to count on a number of young, productive, low-cost players to compensate for the cost of Matt Ryan and other expensive stars (like Julio Jones and Alex Mack). But these days will soon end. Former fifth-round pick, Grady Jarrett, is expected to earn $ 15.2 million on the franchise label in 2019. Novice linebackers Deion Jones and De'Vondre Campbell will be independent agents after this season. Jones, in particular, is in the crosshairs for the Falcons' huge salaries, who felt his absence last week, while he had missed 10 games due to a foot injury. Atlanta would surely want to keep both Jones and Jarrett in the long run, but two big deal deals will be even more complicated next year when Ryan's cap will increase to $ 33.5 million (he will count for only 15 , $ 8 million this season, after restructuring $ 8.8 million). millions to create maximum space).
The situation of the Cowboys should follow a trajectory similar to that of Atlanta. Dallas was the youngest NFL team last season by its age, and the franchise did a great job in finding quality young players who outperformed their rookie contracts. But eventually, the bills expire and next season, Dallas will pay a quarter of $ 30 million north per season. This is a similar hurdle that the Eagles and Rams will probably have to overcome a little further if and when Carson Wentz and Jared Goff get their second contract. These teams have three of the most stacked lineups in all football, and maintaining that depth while siphoning off much of the cap is never easy.
That's what makes the Seahawks approach Wilson so fascinating. Seattle has served almost all of its expensive veterans in favor of cheap contracts and negotiated contracts with novice players. At the moment, Pete Carroll's team will have 44 free agents in 2020, including linebacker Bobby Wagner. Only Panthers (52) and Raiders (49) are in the process of getting more. Only five players currently on the list are expected to win more than $ 5.4 million next season. Only nine will earn more than $ 3 million (and one of them is a kicker). Part of this turnover occurred without too much influence from the team: Kam Chancellor and Doug Baldwin both retired this season due to medical problems. the pair had to earn more than $ 25 million combined on their current transactions. But the Seahawks did a lot of things that showed they had a clear plan in place.
Rather than trying to retain players like Earl Thomas, the security player, and cornerback Justin Coleman, Seattle continued on his way. A month after allowing the two defensive backs to march, General Manager John Schneider traded his defensive end with a franchise tag Frank Clark to the Chiefs against a first-round pick in 2019, a second round in 2020 and a third round in 2019. In addition to getting additional picks in Kansas City, the Seahawks have traded so many times in this year's draft that they have gone from four picks to the lowest in the league to 11 selections at the end of the project. according to Seth Walder of ESPN, all the efforts made by Schneider have given Seattle the capital equivalent of a first choice among the top 10. In addition, the team chose to keep their wallet relatively closed. the Seahawks are expected to get compensating third and fourth rounds for 2020 because of this.
While Wilson is expected to have $ 26.3 million against the cap in 2019, the Seahawks have consistently become as young and as cheap as possible. According to Over the Cap, of the 40 players that Seattle currently has under contract for 2020, 15 of them are rookies. Rather than trying to keep their bases together after spending a quarter, the Seahawks are rethinking their table with flexibility.
The key to an approach like Seattle, of course, is that these preliminary selections turn into a championship-style formation around Wilson. Applying this talent is a prerequisite for the proper functioning of this plan. Just ask the colts. Like Seattle, Indianapolis has also decided to wipe out its list of candidates around Andrew Luck. Colts have two – counting – em, two– the veterans who concluded important deals (wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo, and their two contracts were signed prior to the inauguration of Director General Chris Ballard in 2017). Regardless of these contracts, Indianapolis has a list filled with young players, many of whom have been home runs. Quenton Nelson, Darius Leonard and Braden Smith all started on Day 1 and were excellent. Ballard's editorial prowess allowed the Colts to play in last season's playoffs. and enter free agency in 2019 with more than 100 million dollars in cap cap. This is the advantage of being around an expensive quarterback, like the Seahawks and Colts: front offices always have the ability to shape – and reshape – their list as they see fit.
The argument of the Cowboys is surely that Seattle and Indianapolis are trying to create the type of alignment that Dallas already has. The goal of the project is to find players who produce to the point of deserving second (and third) contracts, and the Cowboys obviously think that Smith, Jones, Collins and Cooper have done it. But by signing these agreements – as well as the huge expansion of Prescott – the Cowboys will be locked in the same scenario in which the Vikings and Falcons are currently found: duty.
Until the time of the QB mega-region, there is little evidence that one type of approach is more effective than the other. But the results of teams like the Seahawks and Cowboys – who could not be on more disparate circuits – should provide much evidence in the years to come.
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