Source: Cowboys negotiating to keep Brandon Carr
IRVING - The Cowboys are negotiating a way to retain cornerback Brandon Carr, hoping to avoid making him a post-June 1 cut, team sources tell FOX Sports Southwest.
Carr was given a five-year, $50-million deal in 2012 and has underperformed in Dallas. But the Cowboys are thin at cornerback (with Mo Claiborne still recovering from knee surgery) and suddenly Carr - at the right price - is appealing enough.
"This takes two here," owner Jerry Jones recently said. "It will ultimately fit one way or the other for us. ... But to have him playing for us, if we have dollar considerations, then that takes two of us."
Carr is presently schedule to make $8 million in 2015. But his contract has finally reached a point where walking away from the player will not add additional charges to the current season's cap. Carr's 2015 cap hit currently sits at $12.7 million, while the unamortized signing bonus remaining on his deal totals $12.15 million.
The idea of eating that much dead money rather than just keep the player doesn't hold much weight until one considers that doing so would free the Cowboys of all future cap hits for Carr. If Dallas chose to walk away from Carr and eat the proration, the Cowboys would be freeing up almost $14 million of space off of the 2016 cap, and another $13 million off the 2017 cap.
But Dallas, needing help at the position, has another idea: Tear up that deal and start anew, maybe getting down to a range nearer half Carr's present salary.
What would Carr command as a free agent should he decline a deal being discussed with his agent Ben Dogra? That answer, or at least each side betting on a potential answer, would likely be the agreed-upon salary.
Carr may want to test the market. The Cowboys might say "only" $4 or $5 million of savings in exchange for guaranteeing multiple years of salary might not be in their best interest. These are the machinations that will play out over the coming hours as Dallas works to be cap-compliant -- and have an open wallet -- by the March 10 deadline.
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