Dallas Cowboys EVP and Director of Player Personnel Stephen Jones spoke with reporters in Indianapolis on Monday, the site of this week’s NFL Scouting Combine, and was hesitant to commit to WR Amari Cooper and DE DeMarcus Lawrence returning in 2022.
“It’s too early for me to address that yet,” Jones said in response to Cooper’s future specifically. “We’ve been so fortunate to have those three great receivers on our roster, and obviously that’s hard to keep doing under a salary cap.”
Jones similarly declined to go into Lawrence’s future, but added that the organization thinks highly of both players.
“Two great football players we’re talking about right there,” Jones said. “I hold them up here (gesturing) in terms of what we think about them, but we also have to put the full 53-man roster together.”
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Multiple sources have told 105.3 The Fan in recent weeks that both Cooper and Lawrence are potential salary cap casualties this offseason. The Cowboys are likely to broach the idea of a pay cut with Lawrence’s representatives this week in Indianapolis, according to sources with knowledge of the team’s plans.
The Cowboys are currently projected to be $21 million over the salary cap according to OverTheCap.com, and there is a considerable savings to be had by releasing both Cooper and Lawrence.
If the Cowboys were to release both before June 1st, the team will save $24 million off of their salary cap. They can save $39 million if they wait until after June 1st