Trey Lance isn’t going anywhere ahead of the 2024 NFL season as the Dallas Cowboys will keep him around and will pay him a $4.25 million roster bonus due this summer, per Dallas Morning News‘ Calvin Watkins.
While the news is unsurprising given the Cowboys gave up a fourth round draft pick last year, it does go to show how silly the team’s approach to the Tyron Smith situation really is.
After all, the Cowboys aren’t keeping Smith because they don’t want to pay up to retain a tackle who just played 13 games in 2023 and earned second-team All-Pro honors. I beg you not to misinterpret what I’m saying here. I’m not talking about the front office not being able to keep Smith because of salary cap-related reasons.
The Cowboys letting him go will not be because of cap constraints. It’s because they don’t want to pay him. They don’t want the cash to actually leave their pockets. Because really, the cap “problems” would easily be fixed. Let me elaborate.
Lance is set to take up $5.3 million in cap hit next season after the roster bonus news, and he’ll only see the football field if Dak Prescott goes down injured. In other words, even though he’s not expected to play, he’ll take up a chunk of cap space. And there’s nothing wrong with that, considering having a developmental quarterback on your depth chart is rarely a bad thing.
But it proves how silly the idea to not pay Smith really is.
You see, the Cowboys could’ve gotten a deal done where the left tackle’s cap hit for 2024 was lower than Lance’s. Again, Lance isn’t supposed to play at all next year and Smith could be cheaper in the cap!
Consider A to Z Sports’ contract projection for Tyron Smith:
Unless Smith decides to retire, it would make sense to see him go to a contender that will keep his Year One cap hit as low as possible, spread out the signing bonus across five years, but bank an “option” year in 2025 that would be a reasonable cap hit if he manages to stay healthy in 2024 but still entices him to play another season.
Projected deal: 2 Year, $25 million, $12.5 million APY, $15M GTD
Year One Cap Hit: $4.5M (!!!)
All it would take is some willingness to carry a little amount of dead money for a handful of years but nothing cap-breaking. It’s a simple workaround that who ever lands his services in free agency is likely to implement.
This matters because many people, fans and media included, claim the Cowboys are right to move on from Smith because of an extensive injury past and corresponding risk to stick with him. But if the cap isn’t an obstacle, is it not worth spending money on a future Hall of Famer still playing at an All-Pro level even if you can only get a partial season out of him?
It absolutely is. Smith finished the year graded as the best pass protecting tackle in the NFL. He was left on an island continuedly. He showed up versus the best competition, too. And he played 13 games!
But the Cowboys’ promises of going all-in are so empty of meaning that they’ll let him go instead. Days away from the start of free agency, who knows who will play left tackle for Dak Prescott’s offense.
