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Get Dallas Cowboys news on your cellThe case for tagging Flo
10:58 AM Thu, Feb 07, 2008 | Permalink
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February 2008
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Movers and Shakers Pre-season Texas Stadium dallasnews.com
Sports Blogs |
The Cowboys don't exactly have a long history slapping players with the franchise tag. But the more I think about, the more I like the idea of doing it with Pro Bowl LT Flozell Adams, with today being the first day they can use tag. Teams have until Feb. 21 to designate franchise and transition players. Last year, Adams carried a cap charge of $7 million. This year's franchise number for offensive linemen is $7.455 million. So the raise he'd get is relatively minimal. And by tagging Flo, who turns 33 in May, you'd hold on to a very good left tackle for another year, while being able to get a better read on Pat McQuistan, Doug Free and James Marten and the readiness and/or ability of each to play one of the toughest positions in pro football. There are other options, of course. The Cowboys could lock Flo up, or they could let him go and draft a left tackle with one of their first-round picks, or they could sink-or-swim with the young guys they've got. But what franchising Adams would do is buy Dallas some time to evaluate the future of the position, and I think there's merit to the idea. The rub here is that feelings are often hurt when a player is tagged, and there could be fallout there. Still, usually, tagged players wind up signing the one-year tender they're presented with and play under it without incident. So in the long run, using the tag on Flo could pay dividends. |
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Comments
Posted by LL from Austin @ 11:19 AM Thu, Feb 07, 2008
Glad you like my stuff Al.
Posted by Atlanta fan @ 11:29 AM Thu, Feb 07, 2008
How much more time is needed to evaluate Marten and Free. Hudson Houck is a master of the offensive line. Give him a chance to coach one of those players up. Good riddance to FLO. Have FLO take BISCUIT with him. If Biscuit doesn't knock the tacklers off Toomer, the Cowboys win.
Posted by TG in Phila @ 11:34 AM Thu, Feb 07, 2008
I agree, tag him. As I've said before, we need to careful here - we haven't had to worry much about #9's blind side. LTs aren't easy to replace. Bigg needs to stay put at RG. Is Free, McQuistan, or Marten ready? Not sure if we know that yet..
Posted by Frank @ 11:40 AM Thu, Feb 07, 2008
I think it's a no brainer you tag Flo. I'm not much for giving Flo more than a 3 year deal (or 4 years to spread the signing bonus out). If he doesn't want to accept a 4 year deal worth $25 million including a $12 million signing bonus. Flo is a top 5 LT in this league.
If he's not willing to accept that then you tag him. Either you have him for next year under the tag, or some team (Miami) comes along and offers a draft pick for him. I doubt you would get a 1st round pick for Flo... but a 2nd or 3rd rounder?
Whatever happens, I don't think you just let the guy walk. That's crazy!
Posted by steve @ 11:48 AM Thu, Feb 07, 2008
If you tag him you basically give him all of training camp off. Do you really want your starting LT to go into the regular season with minimal practice and conditioning?
Posted by Bill in DC @ 11:54 AM Thu, Feb 07, 2008
Al,
As an FYI, Dallas doesn't have a short history of using the franchise tag, they have never done so.
I think it might be a good idea to do so with Flo and try to get that 3-4 year long term 'final' contract to spread the cap impact out.
Problem as I see it is using the tag will impact Dallas' cap number for the beginning of FA. So in that respect it would be better to not tag him and work to sign him before the 28th.
Posted by Scott @ 11:58 AM Thu, Feb 07, 2008
I say try to sign him to a deal first; hopefully they are already working on getting that done. The idea of turning over the LT position to an unproven player at this point is not reassuring.
Posted by Ryan @ 12:01 PM Thu, Feb 07, 2008
Ummm...I think the Cowboys actually have franchised Flozell before. I wanna say...2002? The Parcells came and wanted him here so he got his long term extension.
2nd try...
Posted by Frank @ 12:16 PM Thu, Feb 07, 2008
I'm not much of a franchise tag history major, but I think Ryan is correct. I thought the Cowboys tagged him earlier in his career, too.
I agree, if they tag him he will threaten to hold out and will probably miss most if not all of training camp. But this happens all the time. Players like that generally come back and play well after a couple-three weeks. No way you just let the guy walk free. By tagging him, you at least open the door for trade opportunities.
The Cowboys and Jerry are very good at getting deals done if they want the player. I wouldn't worry too much about this.
CAPTCHA Code sucks!!!
Posted by Macarthur @ 12:20 PM Thu, Feb 07, 2008
I would be okay with tagging him for this next season and giving Hudson a year to evaluate the youngsters.
I am NOT in favor of giving him a a contract of 3 years or more. While he had a very good year, he is on the backside of his career. In this day and age of FA, you have to pay for the future, not the past.
Posted by Redskins_Rule @ 3:07 PM Thu, Feb 07, 2008
I'd tag Flo in a heartbeat also...with a Taser every time he lifted out of his stance before the snap...HA HA HA...1st and 15 baby!!!...
Posted by PJ @ 4:07 PM Fri, Feb 08, 2008
FYI, a franchise player is entitled to the avg of the top five paid at his position OR a 20% raise, whichever is greater. Tagging Flo would cost $8.4 million, not $7.4.