7 years agoDallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said that the team does not want to have to use the franchise tag on impending free-agent defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence. "Our first goal is to sign him to a long-term deal, obviously," Jones said. "To me, the only reason you use a franchise tag is to hopefully protect yourself if you can’t get a long-term deal signed that you like." If they end up needing to franchise tag Lawrence, it will cost the team $17 million, and they'll only keep him around for the next season. A long-term deal could be tricky to negotiate, however. While Lawrence was excellent in 2017, recording 14.5 sacks, his career got off to a slow start and he's already gone under the knife twice for back surgeries. It'll be an interesting story to follow before the franchise-tag deadline in early March.--David A Marcillo - RotoBaller
Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram