FRISCO, Texas – The Cowboys freed up more space under their salary cap on Tuesday, as they restructured the contract of linebacker Sean Lee.
Lee is the third restructure the team has done in the last month, along with Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick. The move frees up roughly $5 million in cap space, and it gives the Cowboys nearly $9 million to work with heading into the free agency period this month.
The Cowboys signed Lee to a six-year extension worth $42 million back in 2013. The contract was seen as a risky move at the time, given Lee's injury history in the early going of his career. He tore his ACL in college, and a toe injury sidelined him for 10 games in 2012. He was also limited by injury in 2013, and he missed all of 2014 with another ACL tear.
In the time since, however, Lee has more than delivered on the deal. He played in 30 of 33 possible games during the 2015 and 2016 seasons, racking up a whopping 273 tackles in that span. He was named a Pro Bowler in each of those campaigns, and in 2016 he was named first-team All-Pro as the Cowboys' claimed the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
With less than $10 million in salary cap space, the Cowboys are still in the bottom tier of the league when it comes to spending money. But the additional funds should help them accomplish their goals in the coming weeks.
