Dallas Cowboys Doug Free ain’t free, but at least he’s cheap

Free is the new cheap

The speculation on Doug Free staying or leaving the Dallas Cowboys has ended, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer:

IRVING, Texas – Doug Free has accepted a pay cut and will remain with the Dallas Cowboys, according to a source.
Free was scheduled to make $7 million this season and count $10.02 million against the salary cap, but the new two-year deal opens up salary-cap room for the Cowboys and allows Free to remain with the team that drafted him in 2007.
He will make $3.5 million in each of the next two seasons. His salary in 2013 is guaranteed, a source told ESPN NFL Insider Ed Werder.
Free’s new contract clears roughly $3.5 million in salary-cap space, which the Cowboys could use in extension talks for linebacker Sean Lee, who is an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Free has started 48 consecutive games since 2010 but struggled in his return to right tackle in 2012, which led to the salary reduction. In 2011, Free signed a four-year, $32 million deal, including $17 million guaranteed.

Apparently, the Cowboys’ flirtations with free agent right tackle Eric Winston are done with, though I am not sure they should be. With the new-found money, it might make sense to pursue Winston for the tackle position and move Free inside, to guard. Free gets beat in space. He is a little tall for the guard spot, but experts believe he can play there and enjoy more success than on the edge.

Are the Dallas Cowboys ready to set Doug Free?

Will the Cowboys release Doug Free after signing him to a big contract a couple of years ago? The answer is not as simple as it sounds.

Your Dallas Cowboys have some big fish to fry before the season begins:

1. They have changed from the 3-4 to the 4-3 on defense. With Anthony Spencer, the team’s leading tackler from 2012, a free agent, the Cowboys need to either franchise him (which will cost roughly $10 million), sign him to a long-term contract or move on. Before they decide what to do with Spencer, they have to decide whether he will be effective as a defensive end in a 4-3 versus his natural position as a 3-4 outsider linebacker.
2. They have to address a porous offensive line that gave up 36 sacks (how did Romo survive?) and produced a paltry average of 3.6 yards per carry on the ground.
3. They are currently $30 million over the cap.

One place the Cowboys may look for cap relief is at right tackle. Two years ago, after Doug Free had a breakout year at left tackle, the Cowboys signed him to a big contract. Then They drafted Tyron Smith and moved Free to right tackle, where he struggled mightily. Free had eight fals starts and seven holding penalties in 2012, giving him the lead in penalties accrued among NFL tackles. The reason you jump the snap and hold defenders is simple: You are getting beat. By season’s end, Free found himself in a rotation at RT with Jeremy Parnell. That is how far his once-shining star had fallen.