On Saturday, immediately following the disappointing playoff loss to the Rams, linebacker Sean Lee said he would be weighing his options regarding his future as a player. Lee said his love for the game was still strong but he simply had to "figure things out."
While nothing seems exactly figured, Lee has strengthened his stance to play, telling a local radio station this week that he is at least leaning towards playing, although there are still decisions to make.
"I want to continue to play the game, but I have to evaluate physically where I'm at. I definitely have some decisions to make," Lee said on 1310 "The Ticket" in Dallas. "I'm leaning toward playing for sure."
Injuries have obviously been a major issue for Lee, who missed 51 games over his nine-year career, including nine this past season. Eight of those games were due to injuries as he dealt with two different hamstring issues. In Week 16 against the Bucs, the Cowboys made Lee inactive although head coach Jason Garrett said he was healthy enough to play.
Lee did play in the Week 17 finale vs. New York and then both playoff games.
Lee's 37 tackles this regular season are the lowest of his career, aside from the 2014 season of course when he suffered a torn ACL injury in the offseason and missed the entire year.
Contract-wise, Lee has one year remaining on his deal and is expected to count $10.075 million on the cap, including $7 million in base salary. The Cowboys would save that $7 million off next year's cap if he is released or traded. However, don't rule out the possibility of Lee reworking his deal to help both sides if he indeed plans on playing next year and perhaps after that.
"Obviously, the health is a major issue," Lee said last week. "Trying to stay healthy is something that I need to do if I want to keep playing," he said. "But I do love the game, I love this organization. So we'll figure out the future."
