NFL.com lists Tyrone Crawford as strong cut candidate for Dallas Cowboys

When Tyrone Crawford went on injured reserve last season, talk about his future felt inevitable. Crawford has been around the Cowboys for a long time, he was drafted in 2012 after all, and has developed into one of the stronger leaders on the team. In fact, when things were at their lowest last season, reports were that the Cowboys missed his impact, but times change and people ultimately are forced to move on.

The thing that sticks out financially about Crawford is that the Cowboys can save $8M in salary cap space (with him counting $1.1M in dead money) if they move on from the defensive lineman. That’s a lot, and given that Crawford only played four games last season and a lot has changed with the coaching staff, it feels like a parting of ways could be inevitable.

NFL.com listed Crawford as a strong Cowboys cut candidate

It’s the time of year where national media is looking at all 32 teams and as a result the folks over at NFL.com listed cut candidates from each squad. You won’t be too surprised to learn that Crawford was their Cowboys selection.

Tyrone Crawford, DL, Dallas Cowboys: Crawford is one of those lifetime Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will hate to say goodbye to, so it’s possible Dallas could bring him back at a lower price.

Perhaps the Cowboys will be able to bring Crawford back, but both sides need to be in agreement. Does the new staff value Crawford like the Jason Garrett regime did, or do they want a significantly lower cap number if they want him back at all? And will Crawford be willing to take a large pay cut or would he rather move on and take his chances on the open market?

Crawford and DeMarcus Lawrence are close and Crawford is regarded highly by other players throughout the locker room. Perhaps McCarthy will indeed find merit in keeping somebody like that around, but doing so at a $9.1M cap number is a luxury that this team can’t afford.