All Not So Quiet on the Howard Front

by Rafael Vela on Mar 13, 2005 11:59 PM CST in Dallas Cowboys News

No news was no news today on the possible Darren Howard-to-Dallas trade. What little emerges from New Orleans adds to the confusion about compensation; the New Orleans Times-Picayune now claims the Saints want either MLB Dat Nguyen or a "high draft pick" for Howard. With Dallas putting Nguyen off limits, a pick will be needed to make the deal happen.

But what is a high pick? One of the Cowboys two number ones? The high second round pick? With the deadline fast approaching for New Orleans to deal Howard and gain cap space, the question will probably be resolved soon.

So here' s the question to ponder: if you're Jerry Jones how much, if anything, would you give up to get Darren Howard?

Update: Monday afternoon, Clarence Hill of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram told 103.3 FM, the ESPN Radio affiliate in Dallas that talks between the Saints and Cowboys continue. He confirmed speculation on this comment thread that Dallas is the only team still showing serious interest in Howard. For this reason, Dallas is holding out for lower compensation. It was Hill's opinion that New Orleans would have to settle for a second round pick, despite earlier efforts to coax Dat Nguyen and/or a first round pick from Dallas. He put the odds of a deal occuring at better than 50%.

-- Paul Shepard

Tuesday Update: Darren Howard signed his tender offer from the Saints, guaranteeing him a 2005 salary of $7.8 million if he is not traded. According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Cowboys continue to work with Howard's agent on a contract extension and with the Saints on a deal.

Correction: The deadline for New Orleans to reach agreement with Howard on an extension or a trade was not in fact Monday, as was claimed on this blog and here. That deadline is in fact Wednesday at 3 pm, the two week point of the new NFL year. Thanks to Paul Shepard for noting the correct deadline.

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I originally thought this was a 2nd round pick for Howard. If that’s the case I pull the trigger today (assuming Howard’s numbers work against Dallas cap). That leaves Dallas with two number 1 picks. One they can use on whomever they want, the other can be used to acquire more picks by trading down.

With Dallas keeping Nguyen, a receiver and LB seem to be the most needed positions and they could even stand pat with their picks and take one.

by Don S. on Mar 14, 2005 6:50 AM CST reply actions

I THINK DARREN HOWARD COULD BE A GREAT PLAYER FOR THE DALLAS COWBOYS.BUT I DONT SEE US GIVING UP NO MORE THAN A 2ND ROUND PICK ,DALLAS HAS PUT THERE SELF IN A WIN ,WIN SITUATION IF WE DONT GET HOWARD WE DRAFT MERRIMAN OR DJ WHICHEVER ONE IS LEFT ON THE BOARD AND PICK UP A SAFETY AT 20 IN THE DRAFT SUCH AS DAVIS FROM UGA ,ALTHOUGH NYUGEN HAS DONE GOOD FOR DALLAS DURING THE SEASON ESPECIALLY AGAINST THE SEAHAWKS I SAW NYUGEN GET TOTALLY PUSHED OUT OF THE HOLE ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS HE TRIES TO RUN AROUND BLOCKS NOT WHAT I EXPECT FROM A MLB I THINK WE SHOULD DEAL HIM AWAY THE SAME WAY WE PICKED HIM UP IN A LATE ROUND OF DRAFT WE CAN DO IT AGAIN ,DARREN IS WORTH IT WITH HIM DALLAS WILL HAVE ONE OF THE BEST LINES IN THE LEAGUE AND THE PASS RUSHED THAT WE SO NEED ,WITH HIM WILL BE ABLE TO PUT A ROOKIE AT FS AND LET HIM PLAY CAUSE NUMBER ONE ALOT MORE PRESSURE WILL BE PUT ON THE QB OR WE SHOULD JUST TAKE PETE HUNTER AND PUT HIM AT FS AND DRAFT MERRIMAN AND A DE AT 20,HE HAS GREAT SIZE AND SPPED 6-2 208 WHY NOT

by DONTE S. on Mar 14, 2005 7:20 AM CST reply actions

A 2nd round pick is an incredible bargain for someone who got 11 sacks last year. There isn’t anyone in the first round that we could get that would put up those numbers at DE.

by robby on Mar 14, 2005 9:18 AM CST reply actions

No way you give up more than a second round pick for Howard. The Saints are in a bind too and if they want Nguyen, take him. He’s only got 2 or 3 years left anyway of solid performance. We can draft a replacement in the second round for Nguyen. Take Merriman with the 11th pick, Troy Williamson with your 20th. If they want a good young MLB then take Odell Thurman from Georgia with the second round pick. He’s slightly bigger than Nguyen and he is a playmaker, something Nguyen has failed to consistently be.

by Brandon on Mar 14, 2005 12:04 PM CST reply actions

The process of elimination tells me Howard will go to Dallas today or nowhere at all. Consider:

The Seattle papers have nothing new to report, as the Seaharks are adamant about not “overpaying.” They’re the one’s who gave Grant Wistrom a huge deal. Howard wants a contract that approximates Wistrom’s. Think Seattle will write that deal twice?

Miami is about to work out a deal for Tebucky Jones. Washington, another of the rumored suitors, is now turning its attention to Courtney Brown.

In this environment, why bid against yourself? I say, with Howard suffering a bulging disc last year, that Dallas offer N.O. a conditional pick, of a lower round that could go as high as a #2 if Howard meets certain performance bonuses, i.e. a percentage of defensive snaps. That way, you’re not on the hook if he gets injured, a la Rivera. At least not for the draft pick part of the contract. If the Saints balk, what have you lost?

by Rafael Vela on Mar 14, 2005 1:06 PM CST reply actions

if i were jerry jones i would not get howard. Dont forget if you go to 3-4 defense glover could be the answer at the defensive end question. So you try glover out and keep Dat Ngyun and on top of that keep your high draft picks

by Taylor on Mar 14, 2005 2:31 PM CST reply actions

Agree with your reasoning above, Rafael. The question is, how little will the Saints take for Howard?

3:00 CST is coming up pretty fast.. we should know pretty soon what’s up. I’m refreshing Cowbousplus.com every 10 minutes ;)

by David on Mar 14, 2005 3:02 PM CST reply actions

Two points:

Regarding the 3-4; no one’s gonna pay a $17 mil signing bonus to a 3-4 end. If the ‘Boys sign Howard, it means they’re sticking with the 4-3 base.

About the deadline; I could be mistaken, but I believe the ’Boys have ’til Wednesday to get a deal done.

by Paul on Mar 14, 2005 3:50 PM CST reply actions

We should jump on Howard right quick, if we get him the Cowboys should stick with a 4-3. Can you imagine that defensive line. I could play linebacker and make a ton of plays.

by Logan on Mar 14, 2005 5:00 PM CST reply actions

Well, 3pm has come and gone, so maybe Paul is right about the deadline.

by GG on Mar 14, 2005 6:21 PM CST reply actions

I wouldn’t give more than our 2nd round pick. Saints are in a no-win situation. The Cowboys then stick to the 4-3, but dable with the 3-4 a little more often than last year. Draft day we take Merriman (unless DJ,Braylon Edwards, or Mike Williams are on the board) at 11 and either Williamson or Clayton at 20. There is no way the Cowboys draft a safety in the first 2 rounds this year. They WILL pick up a veteran in free agency eventually. We now have enough talent in our starting secondary.

by KMAC on Mar 14, 2005 7:02 PM CST reply actions

Looks like Paul was right. The Dallas Cowboys website is reporting Wednesday at 3:00 is the dead line for getting a deal done.

Sounded like Dallas was still heavy in the hunt. They mention in the article a pick this year and maybe a pick next year.

by Don S. on Mar 14, 2005 7:10 PM CST reply actions

Yeah I’ll bet Jones and co. are trying to lowball the Saints, and maybe for even less than the high 2. I’d like to see the Boys take a good pressure player like Merriman with 1 (11), and assuming Howard is on board with the resulting increased committment to the 4-3 it would not be necessary to take someone like D Cody with the 1 (20) pick. I’d expect a trade down (unless Williamson is still around,, which I doubt) whether we end up with 1 or 2 2nd round picks, could target a sliding talented player like A. Hawthorne as another NT (Ferguson is the only other true 2-gap tackle we have ) or Pollack if he falls due to his measureables (Howard is borderline injury prone, and does anyone want to see Kenyon Coleman starting?). I also would not be shocked to see someone like Brodney Poole, since any vet FS we bring in at this point is really a stopgap.

by David on Mar 15, 2005 10:24 AM CST reply actions

I hate to say it but letting Coakley and Nyguen go in the same Season would be STUPID. That means Roy Williams will be our leading Tackler, and I would hope that role would fall to a LB, not a Safety even one that is as good as Williams.
Howard would be great, however Thornton, Singleton, James and the rest of our current LBs have not shown me as much hard or tackles as Coakley and Nyguen. Parcells said if he could only keep two players he would keep Nyguen and Witten. That was two years ago when Jason was a rookie. I doubt he changed his mind on that. It will be difficult enough losing Coakley, Woodson is gone………lets not risk another vocal leader on our D that lead the league only two seasons ago.

Ferguson and Henry should help two gaping holes. I like Parcells prospects of drafting with the 11, 20 and then again at 42. He managed to find the likes of Willie McGinnest, Ty Law, Curtis Martin, Troy Brown, Jason Ferguson, and Lawrence Taylor. Let’s let him pick a few more in the draft. I like our chances with Bill picks. Julius Jones sure looks like a winner. Seems like Bill gets better and better in the later rounds. Plus Pasquerelli ought to know some of the hype around these college players. Maybe he can shed some insight on some diamonds in the rough.

The draft produces so many bust because our media, led by agents, and College Coaches trying to hype their prospects and programs feeds overated players to the NFL. There are great players on every major college team that do not get a second look due to the politics of college football. A shame. If you do your homework you can find a lot of value. Personally I like Lang Campbell out of William and Mary. A Payton award winnner. Almost beat NC State and threw all over a well coached talented Div I ACC School. We could probably get him as a walk on free agent. Hey, at least he has played football for the last four years. Set all kinds of records. Hey bill you listening………Call Campbell and give him a shot. Eventually we need a young QB.

by Jon on Mar 15, 2005 7:04 PM CST reply actions

I’m like most of you guys in that Howard would be a good addition at the right price but not a necessity to improve our “D”. I would throw out for consideration would it sweeten teh pot enough if we gave our #42 pick and swapped with New Orleans our 1st pick for their 1st pick at 16(I think). We still have lots of power in the draft and they get to save a little face as well as a bunch of cap room.

by Sean on Mar 16, 2005 8:27 AM CST reply actions

Sean,

There’s no way I’d make that swap. Ever seen an NFL draft value chart? The one’s that assign points to every pick and which every GM now uses in figuring what to get in draft-pick-for-draft-pick swaps? The 11th pick is worth 1250 points. The 16th is worth 1000. That’s 250 points, which is the value of a top five third round pick.

In other words, you’re willing to swap a 2nd AND a 3rd round pick for Howard. You might as well give up the 21st, which nobody here would do. But the 42nd pick is worth 480 points. Add 250 and you’ve got 730 points, or the equivalent of the 24th pick in the first round. Again, no way. That price is too high.

by Rafael Vela on Mar 16, 2005 8:57 AM CST reply actions

Remember more cuts likely in June. We will have other shots at possibly filling the DE. Did anybody notice the season Ekuban had, we let him go and replaced him with Wiley. We should have paid him to stay.

by Jon on Mar 16, 2005 10:40 AM CST reply actions