Chris Canty signs one-year tender offer from Dallas Cowboys

Chris Canty signed a one-year tender offer today. It’s a one-year deal worth about $2 million according to the DMN Blog.

Good stuff.

The Cowboys would have received a first-round pick as compensation had they not chosen to match an offer made to Canty by another team during the signing period. Despite not having signed the tender, Canty has worked out with the Cowboys the entire off-season. (UPDATE: Fixed to say Canty was given a first-round tender)

Canty had a career-high 3.5 sacks last year and 46 tackles, which were the most by a defensive linemen on the team, to go with five quarterback pressures and a pass deflection. He was fourth on the team with four tackles for loss.

In other news Will Smith lived up his namesake and got paid. The Saints defensive end got a contract extension that could reach $70 million. This could impact Canty and Ware’s inevitable long-term deals significantly.

Chris Canty is a versatile defensive lineman with the ability to play inside and out, lining up as a 3-technique and a 5-technique in the Cowboys defense with the versatility to go further outside. DeMarcus Ware is one of the game's best all-around players and a nightmare to deal with in pass protection.

While Ware would get a considerable amount more on the open market than Canty would, both players have to be salivating at the salaries that defensive linemen have been getting this offseason. And another of these dominoes fell today, with the Saints re-upping Will Smith for a reported $70 million -- $26 million of it guaranteed -- over six years.

So to summarize ... Canty just got more expensive ... And Ware's now may be within his rights to ask for Caribbean islands as part of a new deal.

Danny Villanueva was a trailblazer for the Cowboys. He was one of the first Mexican kickers to enter the league (but he’d be far from the last). Plus, now he’s been highlighted in Ray Buck’s Old Boys Club, which to my knowledge is the first time he’s focused on a kicker.

One kick stands out in Danny Villanueva's memory.

Game-winning field goal.

Nov. 13, 1966, at DC Stadium.

Cowboys 31, Redskins 30.

He has total recall of that game, right down to the fan who walked into the visitors’ locker room and handed him the ball.

"I think his name was Pete Richert," Villanueva said. "He pitched for the Washington Senators." Huh?

Richert — a left-hander who spent 13 seasons in the major leagues (1962-74), most notably with the Dodgers, Senators and Orioles — suddenly appeared at Villanueva’s locker after the game.

He was joined by a young boy carrying a football.

(Note: In 1966, the NFL didn’t employ gigantic nets to gobble up FGs and PATs.)

"I caught the ball you kicked," Richert told Villanueva. "Here ... just give my son any ball, and you can have this one. I’m an athlete. I know what these things mean."