Many of you have probably seen that Marcus Spears signed his restricted tender yesterday. Does this mean he will stick with the team another year? Or does this further solidify his trade value?
Spears is just the second RFA to sign his tender with the Cowboys. C/G Cory Procter was the first.
Miles Austin and Gerald Sensabaugh are the two biggest names that sit atop Dallas' unsigned RFA list. These players have until April 15 to sign their tenders. For Austin, the lack of a long-term contract could perhaps be what is keeping him from working out with the team at Valley Ranch.
From a business standpoint, Austin’s decision makes sense. As a restricted free agent, this is one way for him to create a little leverage. It worked a couple of springs ago for Marion Barber, who avoided Valley Ranch as a restricted free agent until he cashed in on his lone Pro Bowl campaign with a seven-year, $45 million contract.
From a football standpoint, it’s a significant concern if Austin continues to stay away, especially during organized team activities and minicamps. He’s a receiver with less than a full season of starting experience who still has plenty of potential for development. And it’d be ideal for his offseason training to be supervised by the Cowboys’ strength and conditioning staff, especially given his history of nagging injuries.
More VRR after the jump.
So where is Austin? He is in California working out with a personal trainer while the two sides are hopefully working out a long-term deal. Keeping fingers crossed.
Austin has remained in touch with his coaches, so the move isn't necessarily seen as one of defiance. It could be that he simply prefers to follow a training regimen of his own choosing this year, as some other players have done.
Running back Marion Barber, for instance, is working out at the performance center of former Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson, in nearby Plano.
Exclusive rights free agent Steve Octavien, who tied for fourth with 12 ST tackles last season, also signed his tender yesterday.
Rob Phillips lists the Cowboys' remaing RFAs here.
It has been reported that three teams have expressed interest in Flozell Adams. Evidently, the Redskins are one of those teams.
Redskins GM Bruce Allen said on Sirius Radio Tuesday that the Redskins have contacted the agent of former Dallas LT Flozell Adams. The Redskins currently have no true left tackle on the roster since the retirement of Chris Samuels. Adams was cut by the Cowboys on Friday.
Randy Galloway has some sources that rate Leonard Davis as having the worst '09 performance of the Dallas O-linemen.
For this kind of information, I turned, as usual, to The Guy Who Watches Film. But for backup help, I also went to another guy who broke down the film of the 18 meaningful games of the 2009 season.
Their combined opinions:
Poorest overall performance of '09 came at right guard, where Leonard Davis resides.
Next poorest involved center Andre Gurode.
Worst one game of the season belonged to right tackle Marc Colombo in Minnesota, but he was otherwise OK before he was injured at mid-season.
Best overall offensive lineman: Kyle Kosier at left guard.
Best pleasant surprise, of course, was Doug Free as Colombo's replacement at right tackle.
Keith Brooking expressed his thoughts on the Donovan McNabb trade.
"The way we dominated them, obviously McNabb didn’t play his best, but they were very predictable," Brooking said, per ESPN.
"We knew exactly what was coming on every play. A lot of that didn’t have to do with Donovan McNabb."
For some reason, Brooking's comments are getting a rise out of some folks in Philly. Oh well, let the trash talking begin!
"That kind of irked me a little bit," said Celek, who caught 76 passes for 971 yards and eight touchdowns last season. "I don’t think they knew exactly the plays we were running when we were running them. You know, they played better than us in those games, and I’ll give them credit. They did do a good job. But for him to say that, I totally disagree with him. "I tell you what, I can’t wait to play him next year."
Celek got a little smart-mouthed when asked what he'd say to Brooking when they first saw each other on the field next season.
"I can’t say that on radio, guys," Celek said. "Every time we went down there, you see him trying to get the crowd riled up on that big jumbotron. It gets me going. I can’t wait to play him again."
According to the National Football Post, Dallas is one team that shown interest in Louisiana-Monroe's DE/OLB Aaron Morgan.
Morgan is a sleeper who's gaining some buzz in NFL scouting circles.
MonroeHe is a 'tweener outside linebacker-defensive end who was named first-team All-Sun Belt Conference.And his impressive workout numbers stack up favorably with many of the top defensive end-linebacker draft prospects. The 6-foot-4, 242-pounder has run between 4.68 and 4.72 seconds in the past. He bench presses 375 pounds.
Two HOF Dallas QBs reflect upon Texas Stadium, which will be imploded on April 11.
Roger Staubach, Cowboys quarterback from 1969 to 1979, on the implosion "At the end of the day, the building was special because of a lot of great moments." Troy Aikman, quarterback from 1989 to 2000, on the stadium's mystique "For those of us that like the Super Bowl wins, right now the stadium is a link to them."
DC.com features Orlando Scandrick in its "Roster Rundown" series.
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