Cowboys still have decisions to make with Dez Bryant
(UPDATE: The Cowboys officially franchised Bryant on Monday.)
Dez Bryant appears to be the more irreplaceable playmaker for these Tony Romo-driven Dallas Cowboys with management's decision to place the franchise tag on Bryant by Monday's 4 p.m. ET deadline, barring an unexpected 11th-hour breakthrough.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones informed Bryant's agent Tom Condon the team will secure Bryant with the $12.8 million franchise tag, buying itself until July 15 to strike a long-term deal with the dynamic All-Pro receiver.
"Right now, that's the plan," Jones told USA TODAY Sports Sunday. "I told Tom Friday I didn't think it was realistic to think we could get something done.
"With Dez, we'll continue to work diligently on a long-term deal and see if we can make progress. Our goal would be to try and get something done."
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Will Bryant be OK with the franchise tag?
"I'm sure he will," Jones said. "We certainly hope so."
Because the Cowboys can't afford to let their elite 26-year-old receiver hit the free-agent market, 27-year-old running back DeMarco Murray will get to test his value when free agency opens at 4 p.m. ET March 10.
"DeMarco knows he's probably going to get to free agency and I'm sure he'll see what's out there and we're still in the hunt with him as far as we're concerned," Jones said.
Are the Cowboys hopeful Murray will give them a chance to match should he receive another offer?
"There's no agreement that he'll do that," Jones said. "He knows we want him here. We'll talk throughout this process, especially during that three-day window next weekend. So we'll see."
That three-day March 7-9 shopping window allows teams to extend but not sign offers to players until free agency kicks off.
The hard salary-cap era reality is that there are two factors conspiring against the league's 2014 rushing leader:
In a passing league, Bryant with a league-best 16 touchdowns last season is more vital to Romo realizing his potential as a Super Bowl-winning quarterback with the clock ticking on the quarterback who turns 35 in April. Murray is coming off a career-high 449 touches, including 392 rushes. The Cowboys could have the chance to draft a replacement with the 27th pick in a deep tailback draft.
During the NFL scouting combine, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett called Bryant and Murray "cornerstone players" the team wants back.
The risk, of course, is that the Cowboys, who are $18.57 million under the projected $143 million 2015 salary-cap, could lose out to a higher bidder for Murray to a team such as the Oakland Raiders with $55.4 million of salary-cap room to spend on a three-down back to help reduce pressure on second-year quarterback Derek Carr.
Teams such as the Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals and Buffalo Bills could also be in the market for Murray, who led the league with 1,845 rushing yards, 484 yards more than the Pittsburgh Steelers' Le'Veon Bell's 1,361 yards.
Asked if the hope is still to find a way to retain Bryant and Murray, Jones said, "No question. At the same time, we have to make our business work. That's the tough part of this."
Since the Cowboys selected him in the first round of the 2010 draft, the explosive 6-2, 220 pound Bryant has caught 381 passes for 5,424 yards and 56 touchdowns.
If the Cowboys fail to strike a long-term deal with arguably the game's most dynamic receiver by July 15, Bryant will be guaranteed that $12.8 million franchise tag tender for the 2015 season.
The Cowboys will decide Monday whether to use the exclusive or non-exclusive tag on Bryant, the two-time Pro Bowler who caught 88 receptions for 1,320 yards last season.
The Cowboys would retain exclusive negotiating rights to Bryant with the exclusive tag, a one-year tender offer to a player at an amount no less than the average of the top five salaries at his position or 120 percent of the player's previous salary.
With the non-exclusive tag, the Cowboys retain the right to match any offer, or else receive two first-round picks as compensation.
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