IRVING, Texas – Players unhappy about their contract and holding out in the offseason to make their point is nothing new.
Players with contracts that are too high for their performance is also something that goes on with every NFL team every season.
But I'm not exactly sure how common it is for one team to have both of those scenarios with two players at the same starting position.
To me, that's what makes this cornerback situation a bit sticky.
Orlando Scandrick had a really good season last year, despite his two-game suspension, which eliminated him from making the Pro Bowl. The only reason we knew that fact was that Scandrick might have played himself onto the roster had it not been for the suspension. That's how good he was last year.
But his $1.5 million salary for 2015 apparently isn't sitting too well with Mr. Scandrick. And I can't really say that I blame him, especially after seeing the club give restricted tender offers to both Chris Jones and Lance Dunbar for $1.5 million (although Jones has since restructured his deal). And backup lineman Mackenzy Bernadeau also plans to make $1.5 million this year as a player the Cowboys hope never makes it to the field.
So Scandrick has some beef here, even though his contract numbers are a bit skewed because he has restructured his deal a couple of times to give him more upfront cash. Still, he deserves to be paid higher than the 47th cornerback in the league.
Jerry and Stephen Jones have pointed out that Scandrick is under contract and would like to see him at voluntary workouts, but on Wednesday they did sound open to getting something worked out following a good meeting with Scandrick a day earlier.
As we all know, the NFL is a business. And while on one side of the field, the Cowboys are telling Scandrick that he is under contract, it seems like they could be trying to rework things with yet another player under contract as well.
The whole "I'm under contract" thing probably won't help Carr in this case, as he stands to make $8 million in base salary in 2015 as the eighth-highest cornerback in the NFL.
While Jerry Jones has come out at least 10 times since last year and said he isn't as critical of Carr's play as others have been, it still doesn't seem like the Cowboys will be comfortable with that contract moving forward.
Then again, if the reason is strictly because of his performance, then that's when Scandrick and his agent will have their hands up, hoping for a new performance-based deal.
On one hand, it seems like this could be very easy. Hey, just lower Carr's contract a little and give that money to Scandrick. Everyone is happy, right?
Never that easy and while that might ultimately be how this thing is resolved, it's going to be much trickier than that.
Personally, I think Brandon Carr is a pretty good player that gets a bad rap. His $50 million contract is the only thing people see (other than him on the wrong end of Odell Beckham's catch). But I see a big, physical cornerback who not only played better down the stretch, but he was a really good player when this team had Anthony Spencer and DeMarcus Ware making the Pro Bowl and rushing the quarterback. Maybe, just maybe, if this pass rush is improved, then you'll see a much better player on the outside in Carr.
I think the Cowboys should try to work with both players to make them happy and I think there's a way to do it.
Even if they have to use different approaches for each player.
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