The NFL owners' meeting will begin tomorrow in Palm Beach, Florida. There are many topics on the agenda, including two topics of particular interest to the Cowboys: The NFL will announce this year's supplementary picks either during or after the meeting, and the Cowboys' recent cap penalty will have to be addressed in some form.
Jerry Jones says team plans to fight it cap penalty - Rainer Sabin, DMN
Jerry Jones is teaming up with Daniel Snyder in what he calls a case of having "strange bedfellows" as Cowboys and Redskins get ready to take on the NFL about the recent cap penalties.
"I don't want to make our case here," Jones added. "But all of our contracts were approved by the league and you can't approve a contract that is in violation of league rules. You can't even get it on the books if it isn't in sync with league rules. So you start there."
"There is no joy in Mudville, having to team up with the Redskins on a point with the league," Jones said. "They're competitors, not cohorts. It just shows you, independent of that, some of the issues we have with this cap space issue. Sometimes you can have strange bedfellows and this is one of them."
Cowboys, Redskins cap penalty should make league meetings interesting - ProFootballTalk
PFT reports that while the Redskins have been working behind closed door to find a solution before going for litigation, Jerry Jones opted to put the rest of the league on notice that "he won’t take this one lying down". PFT opine that the league needs to act before this things starts spiralling out of control, particularly given that the ship has sailed a long time ago an any attempt at denying collusion charges.
Garrett hopes free agent haul will allow team draft 'best player available' - Brandon George, DMN
Garrett yesterday described the Cowboys' free agency activities so far as an attempt to fill holes in order to gain some flexibility in the draft.
"That was one of our objectives. You want to address the needs where you can in free agency," Garrett said. "We tried to address some needs with players that we really liked in free agency and hopefully that will allow us to be a little bit less need-based in the draft and take the best players, guys who can help our football team.
Jerry Jones 'wouldn't close the door' to additional free agent signings - Rainer Sabin, DMN
Jerry Jones feels that the team 'is improved' versus where it was just a month ago, pointing to the increased depth and the enhanced competition. And while Jones is satisfied with the progress the Cowboys have made so far, he doesn't rule out further free agency moves:
"We have the room and we can," he said. "So I wouldn't close the door."
Garrett: Aikman's 'dead on' with Romo compliments - Marc Sessler, NFL.com
Troy Aikman raised some eyebrows recently when he said Tony Romo is "a better quarterback than I was." Jason Garrett concurred with Aikman's assessment yesterday.
"Troy Aikman was obviously an outstanding quarterback, first-ballot Hall of Famer, three-time Super Bowl winner, someone who was very talented, but also someone who was very modest. Troy understands the challenges of playing in the National Football League more than anybody else does, and I think his perspective on what Tony has done throughout his career is pretty dead on. He has a real appreciation for Tony as a player, as a person, as a leader in our locker room and on our football team, and I think those comments stem from that."
Marion Barber's retirement surprises Jason Garrett, who called RB 'the right kind of guy' - Carlos mendez, Star-T
Jason Garrett had nothing but nice words for Marion Barber and said Barber was a pleasure to coach.
"Talk about the right kind of guy," Garrett said. "He was physical, he was tough, he was passionate, he loved to play football, and we loved having him on our football team. Fourth-round pick. Did a lot of good things for us. He was someone I really enjoyed being around as a person and as a player."
Tashard Choice agrees to re-sign with Buffalo Bills - San Antonio Express-News
Staying on the topic of former Cowboys running backs, Tashard Choice has agreed to re-sign with the Buffalo Bills after being a late-season pickup last year. He ran for 70 yards on 23 carries for the Bills last year and is expected to compete for the number three spot in Buffalo.
LSU DT Michael Brockers to visit Cowboys, 13 other teams - aaron Wilson, scout.com
Looks like every team selecting from picks 4-16 is visiting with Brockers, with the exception of the Bills and Cardinals. Other names to add to the growing list of players the Cowboys are inviting for a visit:
- Casey Hayward, CB, Vanderbilt - via Jim Wyatt (The Tennessean)
- Case Baker, NT, Boise State - via Dave Birkett (Detroit Free Press)
Cowboys OT Tyron Smith's injured ring finger didn't require surgery, still healing - Rainer Sabin, DMN
Smith played with a dislocated right ring finger for the final six weeks last year. The injury was treated conservatively without surgery and Smith is expected to have fully recover by the time offseason workouts begin.
Cowboys Sign with Global Apptitude for iPad Playbooks - FreshNews.com
This is for the geeks among us: Global Apptitude, which offers a Playbook for iPad and is the self-proclaimed industry leader in tablet based player preparation tools, has won the Cowboys as a client. Check out their site (www.globalapptitude.com) to find out what the players will be playing around with during camp.