Getty The Dallas Cowboys continue to be mentioned in wild quarterback rumors.
Where there’s smoke, there’s Jerry Jones.
It was reported last month the Cowboys‘ mercurial owner would be “aggressive” in attempting to re-sign free-agent defensive end Robert Quinn, who purportedly shares a mutual desire with Dallas.
“Robert Quinn is a free agent come March, but if the Dallas Cowboys have their way, he may not hit the market,” Pro Football Network insider Tony Pauline wrote on Jan. 22. “I’m told Jerry Jones has been aggressive in letting Quinn know that he wants the pass rusher to be playing in a Cowboys uniform next year. I’m also told Quinn’s preference is to remain in Dallas. If Dallas makes Quinn a competitive offer, don’t expect him to leave town next season.”
On Thursday, holding court from his private bus at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Jones confirmed his intent to retain the “real deal” pass-rusher.
“One of the top people — people, players and people — that I’ve ever been associated with,” he said of Quinn, via the Dallas Morning News. “He’s the real deal. … He really helped us last year. So I’m hopeful that we can do something to keep him.”
Quinn was a revelation in his first season with the Cowboys, arriving via an offseason trade with the Miami Dolphins. Despite serving a two-game suspension to kick off the 2019 campaign, he delivered a team-high 11.5 sacks, second-most of his nine-year career, dwarfing the production of $105 million defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (five sacks).
He chipped in 34 tackles and two forced fumbles for good measure, across 647 defensive snaps.
It’s imperative that Jones comes through considering the Cowboys are hurting for depth. Quinn and Michael Bennett, a 2019 midseason addition, are heading to unrestricted free agency, which begins March 18, joining backup DE Kerry Hyder, and defensive tackles Maliek Collins, Antwaun Woods and Christian Covington.
But if Jones wants Quinn back, he’ll have to dust off his pocketbook. The 29-year-old won’t struggle for suitors on the open market, where he could net more than $11 million annually, according to projections.
Spotrac.com estimates a three-year, $35.54 million deal for Quinn, making him the 17th-highest-paid DE in the NFL. And Bleacher Report predicts the Las Vegas Raiders ponying up for his services.
The Cowboys will take $73.983 million of salary-cap space into the league’s signing period, fifth-most among all teams. But with quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver Amari Cooper, and cornerback Byron Jones all needing new deals, and only so much capital to allocate among the defensive front-seven, Quinn may be the odd man out.
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Cowboys Likely to Keep Crawford
Despite the lack of insurance behind Lawrence, veteran starting DE Tyrone Crawford was viewed as a consensus cut candidate due to his bloated $8 million base salary and $9.1 million cap number for 2020.
Not so fast, my friends. Jones intimated that Crawford will be on the roster, albeit possibly at a reduced cost. And what’s more: the Cowboys’ czar expects the veteran defender to bounce back from dual hip surgery, which torpedoed his 2019 season (three tackles, four games).
“We have every reason to believe he’s going to be productive,” Jones said, per the Dallas Morning News.
A 2012 third-round draft pick, Crawford has totaled 113 tackles, 23 sacks and six pass deflections across 96 games (76 starts) with Dallas. He’s lasted an entire regular season just three times across eight years.
If they were to go the release route, by designating Crawford a pre-June 1 cut, the Cowboys would clear $8 million in cap space and absorb only $1.1 million in dead money — chunks of change that can go toward paying Prescott and/or Cooper.
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL