With free agency not yet begun and the draft over a month away this is a relatively quiet time in the NFL. The period of peace before a severe weather disturbance, if you will. Still, the Cowboys have managed to generate some news, so on to the links!
Source: Dallas Re-Signs Free Agent Wide Receiver Cole Beasley To 4-Year, $13.6 Million Deal - Blogging The Boys
Our own Dave Halprin has the story. The key takeaway:
Beasley will receive $13.6 million over the lifetime of the deal with a $4 million signing bonus and $7 million guaranteed.
Beasley deal in different neighborhood than Dez Bryant, DeMarco Murray - ESPN Dallas
Todd Archer explains why Cole Beasley's contract is finished, and Dez and DeMarco are still negotiating. Here's a pretty big hint:
The $7 million guaranteed for Beasley in the deal will be less than what Bryant and Murray will get in total compensation in the first year of their deals.
10 things you might not know about Cowboys slot receiver Cole Beasley | Dallas Morning News
A fun little slideshow with some interesting facts about "The Hobbit", including the factoid that Jason Garrett has nicknamed Beasley The Paperboy - because he always delivers.
DeMarco Murray would return to Dallas Cowboys if offers similar - ESPN Dallas
NFL rushing champion DeMarco Murray would likely return to the Dallas Cowboys if the team's offer is equal or financially similar to those he receives from other teams as an unrestricted free agent, according to Ed Werder, quoting the always reliable "league sources".
Murray, 27, made $1.4 million last season, which ranked 23rd among running backs. Adrian Peterson is the highest-paid running back at $12.75 million.
Tracking NFL veteran cuts - NFL.com
Wide receiver Lance Moore is one of many players who signed a multi-year deal last March only to be cut this offseason. Check out which other veterans have been released in the lead up to free agency.
Philadelphia Eagles cut ties with Cary Williams - NFL.com
Thanks for the memories 2014 Eagles Secondary. Brought to you by Chip Kelly, Super Genius.
The Philadelphia Eagles decided to release cornerback Cary Williams on Tuesday, saving roughly $6.5 million. The move leaves the team with only one starting member from the 2014 defensive secondary.
Cowboys 2015 Draft: Scouting The Scouts - Blogging The Boys
For the fourth time in five years, BTB offers up an evaluation of the draft season's leading draftniks, pundits and prognosticators. Who is this year's blue chipper?
Futures: Kentucky Edge Rushers Bud Dupree and Za'Darius Smith - Football Outsiders
An interesting look at a player many Cowboys fans really want, and another we should get to know.
I originally researched this article to write about Bud Dupree's massive potential as a destructive force on the edge. What I found is that I couldn't take my eyes off Za'Darius Smith.
The NFL will want Dupree for what he could do. It will want Smith for what he can do.
Bob Sturm’s 2015 NFL Draft profile: What I see in Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State | Dallas Morning News
The Sturminator takes a look at a player who might just be the draft's best corner.
If, instead, you play like Waynes who appears to be cut from the perfect cloth for this particular job of being on an island with someone who shares his elite athleticism, then you might have a guy who must be grabbed in the first dozen or so picks.
How Madden Ratings Are Made | FiveThirtyEight
Not really news or Cowboys specific...but an interesting article. With Madden becoming more and more popular, many younger NFL fans perceptions are largely shaped by how a player is rated in the video game series. Even the actual players care how Madden portrays them.
Eventually, Newton was pleading with Moore to not make him slower.
Such is the power afforded Moore, a hyperactive Floridian who works as the official Ratings Czar for EA Sports’ Madden NFL video-game franchise.
"@NFLDraftBites: Rumored Offers on Table for Jerry Hughes 5 Yrs 40+M w/ close to 20 M Guaranteed. Feel like it's propaganda by his agent."
— Joey Ickes (@JoeyIckes) March 3, 2015
Titans awarded DE/OLB Jonathan Massaquoi on waivers from Atlanta http://t.co/eLXzDiNdA2
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 3, 2015
If you're willing to assume that no one wants to pay the price for Dez, then the Beasley deal means Romo gets his top 4 targets back in '15.
— David Helman (@HelmanDC) March 3, 2015
Brutal RT @GeoffMosherCSN: Told by two sources that Trent Cole's days with the #Eagles are going to end. Team will eventually release him.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 3, 2015
Filed to ESPN: Bills have notified LB Kiko Alonso he is going to be traded to Philadelphia for RB LeSean McCoy. Trade official next week.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 3, 2015