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The Dallas Cowboys linebacker corps is led on the field by Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch, but that won’t keep Sean Lee from hanging around. On Saturday, the veteran linebacker agree to play the 2019 season on a reduced salary.
Source: #Cowboys LB Sean Lee has agreed to terms on a restructured contract that keeps him in a Dallas uniform for 2019. One of their leaders is back for another year. He’ll earn $3.5M but has a chance to earn his way back to his original $7M salary with incentives.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2019
Initially, Lee’s base salary was $7 million making him an expensive option at linebacker, especially for a backup. Now, that cost has dropped in half, however he will still have a chance to earn more if he reaches his incentives.
The 32-year-old has played eight seasons in the NFL, but has been injury plagued through most of it. He missed the entire 2014 season with a knee injury and has missed 14 games over the last two years with nagging hamstring issues. After being such a valuable piece on the defense, he will now take a back seat to the younger star players. It’s nice to have Lee in the mix though as his leadership and mentoring is a valued commodity for this team.
The new linebacker group now looks like this...
Dallas' current LB Depth:
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) March 9, 2019
1. Jaylon Smith
2. Leighton Vander Esch
3. Sean Lee
4. Joe Thomas
5. Justin March-Lillard
6. Chris Covington
Not too shabby.