May, 6, 2013
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas – Here are a couple of Cowboys quick hits to tide you over for a little bit:
• Unless he completely flames out in the offseason and early in camp the way Brodney Pool did last summer, safety Will Allen will be on the Cowboys’ roster this year. In addition to the $65,000 signing bonus he received on the one-year minimum salary-benefit deal worth the $840,000, he was guaranteed $555,000 of the base salary. His cap number this year is $620,000. Linebacker Ernie Sims signed the same deal but minus the signing bonus and guarantee, which would seem to keep him on a roster bubble through camp.
• For those wanting the Cowboys to cut Nate Livings, remember that his $1.7 million base salary this year is guaranteed. If they cut him and he signed with another team, the Cowboys would only owe him the difference between a potential new salary (likely the minimum) and the $1.7 million.
• Some of you have asked why Matt Johnson is ineligible to take part in this week’s rookie minicamp after not playing a snap as a rookie last year. Here’s why: he earned a pension credit. Ronald Leary didn’t earn that credit after spending most of the year on the practice squad before a late call-up to the active roster and therefore can practice this week.
• When I listed the Cowboys’ defensive line in a post last week, I forgot to mention Brian Price. He was a “futures” signing after the season and could be a beneficiary of the team’s move to the 4-3 scheme. He did not play last year after he was cut by Chicago following a trade from Tampa Bay, but he was a second-round pick in 2010 by the Buccaneers. The Cowboys signed him to a two-year deal but there is an injury waiver in the contract because of a pelvic condition that required surgeries in 2010. The Cowboys took a similar chance on Marc Colombo in 2005. His career nearly ended because of a serious knee injury suffered in Chicago, but he was able to win the right tackle job in 2006 and hold on to it through 2010.
• For those scoring at home: Tony Romo has passed on playing the Azalea Invitational in Charleston, S.C., one of the better amateur tournaments anywhere, the local Adams Golf Pro/Scratch, which he has won in the past, and will not attempt to qualify for the HP Byron Nelson Championship or the U.S. Open.
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas – Here are a couple of Cowboys quick hits to tide you over for a little bit:
• Unless he completely flames out in the offseason and early in camp the way Brodney Pool did last summer, safety Will Allen will be on the Cowboys’ roster this year. In addition to the $65,000 signing bonus he received on the one-year minimum salary-benefit deal worth the $840,000, he was guaranteed $555,000 of the base salary. His cap number this year is $620,000. Linebacker Ernie Sims signed the same deal but minus the signing bonus and guarantee, which would seem to keep him on a roster bubble through camp.
• For those wanting the Cowboys to cut Nate Livings, remember that his $1.7 million base salary this year is guaranteed. If they cut him and he signed with another team, the Cowboys would only owe him the difference between a potential new salary (likely the minimum) and the $1.7 million.
• Some of you have asked why Matt Johnson is ineligible to take part in this week’s rookie minicamp after not playing a snap as a rookie last year. Here’s why: he earned a pension credit. Ronald Leary didn’t earn that credit after spending most of the year on the practice squad before a late call-up to the active roster and therefore can practice this week.
• When I listed the Cowboys’ defensive line in a post last week, I forgot to mention Brian Price. He was a “futures” signing after the season and could be a beneficiary of the team’s move to the 4-3 scheme. He did not play last year after he was cut by Chicago following a trade from Tampa Bay, but he was a second-round pick in 2010 by the Buccaneers. The Cowboys signed him to a two-year deal but there is an injury waiver in the contract because of a pelvic condition that required surgeries in 2010. The Cowboys took a similar chance on Marc Colombo in 2005. His career nearly ended because of a serious knee injury suffered in Chicago, but he was able to win the right tackle job in 2006 and hold on to it through 2010.
• For those scoring at home: Tony Romo has passed on playing the Azalea Invitational in Charleston, S.C., one of the better amateur tournaments anywhere, the local Adams Golf Pro/Scratch, which he has won in the past, and will not attempt to qualify for the HP Byron Nelson Championship or the U.S. Open.
Now that I think about it, I remember once upon a time justifying our lack of first round picks after the Galloway trade because we signed Gibson and Underwood, who were first round pick washouts with other teams.