IRVING, Texas – With Dez Bryant secured to a long-term contract, there's not much left in the way of offseason business for the Cowboys to tend to.
Not much, but perhaps some.
One of the oldest storylines of the past eight months is the contract situation with Brandon Carr, and whether the Cowboys might seek to reduce his $8 million salary and his $12.7 million cap hit this year. Speculation began as far back as January that the team might attempt to renegotiate those gaudy numbers, but it hasn't happened as of now, with players preparing to report to training camp.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones spoke to reporters Saturday, as the organization celebrated reaching the midway point of construction on its new facility in Frisco, Texas. Asked about Carr's contract, he said that conversation may still take place.
"We're always visiting there," Jones said. "Ben Dogra represents him and I have a good relationship with Ben, so we'll continue to see if there's something that might work so that Brandon can be here for the next two, three, four years – get something that's good for both sides."
Carr has three years remaining on the $50 million contract he signed in 2012, but the last season of that deal is voidable by the team. The Cowboys could reduce his cap number by extending him into the future, lowering his cap hit in the process.
It obviously isn't a necessity, though, since the team is preparing to report to training camp with Carr on his current number. It undoubtedly helps that the Cowboys secured Bryant to a multi-year deal, taking the $12.8 million franchise tag number off the books.
As it stands right now, the Cowboys should have about $17 million in cap space – and that's with Carr counting for the full amount. According to Jones, they'll be fine even if those contract talks never materialize.
"If it doesn't, we're all ready to go. We can carry that number, yes," he said.[embeddedad0]
Even with the season approaching, the Cowboys have shown plenty of willingness to talk business during the depths of training camp. It was just last summer that they announced a massive extension for left tackle Tyron Smith during the middle of camp.
It's entirely possible the same could be said for Carr – or any number of other Cowboys. With Bryant locked up, attention has turned to players like Tyrone Crawford, who are facing free agency when 2016 rolls around.
"We'll certainly have enough projects during training camp to keep us busy," Jones said.
