The Dallas Cowboys are near acquiring defensive end Robert Quinn from the Miami Dolphins, giving them another weapon in the trenches.
After reaching the Divisional round in January, the Dallas Cowboys are hoping to make a few improvements this offseason. After being quiet throughout much of free agency, Dallas has indeed made a splash.
On Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that the Cowboys are close to acquiring Robert Quinn from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for undisclosed compensation. The belief is that Dallas likely sent back a late-round pick.
Quinn, 28, has 69.5 career sacks throughout his time with the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams and Dolphins. Last year, the veteran notched 6.5 sacks along with 38 tackles, helping Miami win seven games. However, with the Dolphins in complete rebuild mode, it made sense for General Manager Chris Grier to send Quinn packing for additional draft capital.
This is a solid move for Dallas, although it raises an interesting question. Quinn is going to cost the Cowboys $12.9 million this year, which can either be played out or restructured for a long-term deal that incurs lower cap hits. If he’s restructured, the Cowboys don’t lose financial flexibility. If not, Dallas only retains $4.5 million in cap space. Typically, teams prefer to go into the summer with $5-10 million in space, and the Cowboys must pay their draft class.
All this leads into DeMarcus Lawrence, who is currently on the franchise tag. Lawrence hasn’t signed the tender yet, but counts against the cap regardless for $20.571 million. Should he sign. long-term deal before the July 15 deadline, his number will undoubtedly shrink by more than half in 2019. If no deal is reached, Dallas would be up against the threshold. Will Dallas be more aggressive on Lawrence now, or do Jerry and Stephen Jones hold firm? Time will tell.