The Cowboys want linebacker Luke Gifford back in Dallas.
Whether they achieve that is still to be resolved.
The team recently notified his agent, Brett Tessler, that it won’t exercise the restricted free agent tender on Gifford, Tessler said Wednesday. The lowest tender amount is $2.433 million, all of which would count against the 2022 salary cap if applied.
Gifford led the Cowboys with 368 special-teams snaps last season, including a blocked punt in a Week 6 win over the New England Patriots, and is highly regarded within the organization. He has spent three seasons in Dallas as a former undrafted free agent from Nebraska.
Still, cap space is tight. The club must be measured.
“They’ve reached out about getting him back at a lower cap number,” Tessler said. “So we’ll see what happens.”
After franchise tagging tight end Dalton Schultz on Tuesday and re-signing wide receiver Noah Brown, the Cowboys are down to 22 players who are scheduled to become free agents next Wednesday. Nineteen are unrestricted.
Gifford, having accrued exactly three seasons of NFL experience, is their only restricted free agent. Last year, the team opted not to tender wide receiver Malik Turner as a restricted free agent but later re-signed him at a lower amount.
Such is the hope with Gifford.
Of the linebackers who appeared in a game last season, Micah Parsons and Jabril Cox are the only ones currently under contract for the Cowboys in 2022. Leighton Vander Esch and Keanu Neal are among the 19 unrestricted free agents. Gifford is restricted. Francis Bernard is an exclusive-rights free agent.
“I love Luke,” coach Mike McCarthy said in January. “You talk about availability and accountability and taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. ...It kind of reminds me of growing up in my home, back in the ‘70s. If my dad didn’t say anything to me, I knew I was doing a hell of a job. That’s how I look at Luke.
“Luke is the same guy every day. He works extremely hard. He’s a really good football player. He’s just playing with a dynamic group of players. He shows up every week on special teams. When he does get his opportunities, he delivers on defense. You can’t have enough guys like Luke. So I love the way he approaches it. I love the way he prepares. He’s an old-school pro. He does a hell of a job.”
