JOEY ARNEL SAYSON
SANTA MONICA, CA
What does Jason Peters' new contract mean for Tyron Smith? Is this the fair market value for an elite left tackle? What are other teams paying elite left tackles? Can we afford to keep him?
David: Peters' contract is set to pay him roughly $41 million over the next four years, which is about a $10 million per year salary. It's a hefty deal, but it won't make him the highest-paid tackle in the league – most likely because of Peters' age (he's 32) and his injury history. Smith is younger and is about to enter the prime of his career. I imagine he'll probably want a bigger deal than that, as there are nine other tackles currently playing out larger contracts than Peters. It'll be interesting to see how the negotiations play out.
Nick: I could see Smith getting something in that range. In the negotiations, Smith's camp would argue that he's better and younger than Peters and should warrant more down the line. The Cowboys will come back and mention Peters' Pro Bowls as a more established player. In the end I could see Smith getting something fairly similar to Peters, with a little more guaranteed money,
JAMIE LEHMANN
DEVILS LAKE, ND
We have been hearing a lot of speculation about DeMarcus Ware but what about Anthony Spencer?
David:Spencer's situation is a lot more comparable to Jason Hatcher's than Ware's. He is set to be a free agent on March 11, as he was placed on a one-year contract last [embedded_ad] year. It remains to be seen how well he has rehabbed from his surgery last fall. It also remains to be seen if the Cowboys want to take a chance on another injured veteran after the fiasco with Jay Ratliff last year. One positive is that Spencer would certainly be affordable to sign, assuming he's healthy.
Nick: I don't think Spencer's situation is affected by anything other than his own knee injury. If he's able to come back this year, the Cowboys will probably be the team that pays him the most. Jerry Jones truly loves this guy and thinks the world of him. He's rehabbing the knee here in Dallas now with the team trainers and I would imagine they will work out a deal assuming he is ready to go by training camp or soon afterwards.
