INDIANAPOLIS — Receiver Amari Cooper is not the only veteran player whose contract is being targeted by the Dallas Cowboys for a pay reduction or release due to salary cap or performance concerns.
Per sources, the Cowboys have also broached a pay cut with defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence and his representatives.
Vice president Stephen Jones was non-committal when asked about Lawrence’s future at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis but acknowledged that the guys with the biggest salaries get the most scrutiny when it comes to the cap.
Lawrence has a $19 million base salary and a $27 million cap hit in 2022 one year after playing in just seven games and notching just only sacks in 2021.
It was the third straight season that Lawrence failed to record double digit sacks since signing a five-year, $105 million contract extension before the 2019 season.
Lawrence registered 6.5 sacks in 2020 and 5 in 2019 after recording 25 sacks in 2017 and 2018 combined, prompting the Cowboys to reward him then with the richest contract in Cowboys history at the time.
He has since been surpassed by quarterback Dak Prescott’s four-year, $160 million deal.
Unlike Cooper, whose release is seemingly imminent because his $20 million salary is not a good investment on a team that doesn’t prioritize him as a No. 1 receiver, Lawrence’s value to the Cowboys defense remains high.
Even though his sack numbers are down, he remains a strong run defender. No one else in the defensive line also plays with his attitude and ferocity.
The Cowboys want him back and are hoping to get him to agree to a reduced salary. But the sides are at a stalemate that has no immediate timetable.
Lawrence underwent the third back surgery of his career last spring and then suffered a fractured foot in the season opener, causing him to miss 10 games in 2021.
But he is entering the offseason healthy and believes he will return to his dominant form. He wants to stay with the Cowboys.
He also knows he would have a robust market in free agency if the Cowboys decide to move on from him, which is why any reduction will have to come with some incentives and guarantees to give him a chance to make his money back.
Per a source, the Cowboys might wait until the summer before making a final decision on Lawrence.
Making the situation with Lawrence even more dicey is that the Cowboys are facing decisions on defensive ends Randy Gregory and Dorance Armstrong, who are both unrestricted free agents.
The team needs two of three to return in 2022 and signing Gregory is a priority in free agency.
Lawrence is the only one with two Pro Bowls on his resume and who is equally capable of playing the run and rushing the passer.
