The way things traditionally work for teams around the league is that you draft well, and from each of those crops, you get a handful of players who give you four years of good labor at very low rookie contract costs. Then, you can either sign on for an extension to keep the player around at a higher price tag, or let him free onto the market to find a deal elsewhere. In the three trades the Cowboys made in the past year-plus with the Steelers, it was Pittsburgh who got the cheap labor before passing the players–George Pickens, Broderick Jones and, most recently, Joey Porter Jr.–on to the Cowboys for contract decisions.
Dallas put a franchise tag on Pickens last offseason, of course. Pickens will be back on the free agency market next March–unless Dallas re-signs him before that. Jones has not played much, and the Cowboys likely will let him go. But the strong play of Porter in the short time since his arrival at The Star makes him of most interest in terms of his next contract, which will be a lot more expensive than his current $3 million deal.
Cowboys ‘Want to Keep Good Football Players’
When the Cowboys traded for Porter, he was locked in a battle over a new deal with the Steelers, who were said to be offering a deal in the $28 million per year range, but not guaranteed from year to year. There was no agreement on the Cowboys doing a deal with Porter, which could essentially make him a short-term rental.
Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones appeared on 105.3 The Fan on Friday and addressed the question–though left himself plenty of wiggle room on signing Porter, or signing Pickens, or signing neither next year.
Said Jones, via Jon Machota of The Athletic: “We’ve got some tough decisions to make this offseason. … We obviously got some really good football players and want to keep as many as possible.”
Joey Porter Jr. ‘Very Urgent in His Preparation’
Porter has had a major impact in his short three games with the Cowboys. He has not played enough snaps yet to qualify, but Porter has a Pro Football Focus grade of 72.9, which would rate him among the 10 best corners in the NFL. He has, according to Pro Football Reference, been targets nine time in three games, allowing two completions. His passer rating allowed is 39.2.
Defensive coordinator Christian Parker was impressed: “He’s learned the playbook. He’s very urgent in his preparation and how he prepares for everything from a technique perspective to the guys he’s covering to what we do just holistically.
“He wants those tough matchups, so he’s been a great (addition) for us.”
A good addition, indeed. But for how long?
Cowboys Not Committing on Contract for New Star