IRVING, Texas — Anything is possible and in play for the Dallas Cowboys on draft day and that includes taking a needed defensive lineman, picking quarterback Johnny Manziel if he falls to them at 16 or trading down for added value.
The first part of the offseason for the Cowboys was about getting their house in order financially with moves to clear cap space and remake the franchise.
The Cowboys’ decision to let defensive end DeMarcus Ware and defensive tackle Jason Hatcher go this offseason fits into the team’s new overall philosophical change borne out of their financial mistakes of the past, vice president Stephen Jones said.
One of those changes is to no longer invest in players over the age of 30, save for a few exceptions.
Ware was released because the Cowboys didn’t want to pay him $12.5 million in 2014. He will be 32 next year and because of injuries is coming off a career-low six sacks.
Ware signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Denver Broncos. Hatcher got a four-year, $27.5 million deal from the Washington Redskins. He will be 32 next year as well.
“If we don’t learn from what has bitten us then shame on us,” Jones said at the NFL meetings in Orlando. “Unfortunately we have been paying guys who are over 30 years old a lot of money up front and it hasn’t worked for us. I’m not saying that Hatcher won’t work out. I’m not saying that Ware won’t work out. It hasn’t worked out for us. So we have to do something different. I hope it all works out for them. But if you look around and look at the numbers … unfortunately it’s a young man’s game and there is a lot more risk when you’re signing guys past the 30 mark.”
Jones is pleased with the moves the Cowboys have made during the offseason, particularly the signings of defensive tackles Henry Melton and Terrell McClain and defensive end Jerome Mincey.
Jones understands the Cowboys are not better right now on paper.
He believes the Cowboys have a chance to be better on defense because of the additions and what the team plans to add in the draft partly because he believes they will be healthier.
“If we play better on defense, then we should be a better team,” Jones said. “Maybe Mincey and Melton and McClain and whoever we draft end up being healthier than those guys, so we end up being better.”
The Cowboys made no secret of their intention to target a defensive line that lost the likes of Hatcher, Ware and Jay Ratliff over the last year. The recent re-signing of former Pro Bowler Anthony Spencer will have no bearing on their draft-day plays. Spencer is coming off microfracture surgery and may not be ready for training camp.
The same goes for the signing of Melton. He is coming off a knee injury and was signed to a prove-it contract.
The Cowboys’ focus on the defensive line was reflected in their list of pre-draft visits. It was heavily targeted toward the defensive line: Scott Crichton, DE, Oregon State; Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh; Dominique Easley, DT, Florida; Timmy Jernigan, DT, Florida State; Howard Jones, DE, Shepherd; Demarcus Lawrence, DE, Boise State; Kareem Martin, DE, North Carolina; Larry Webster, DE, Bloomsburg and Chris Whaley, DT, Texas.
The wild card for the Cowboys on draft day will be Manziel, who could go in the top eight or possibly fall to the Cowboys at 16. If he is there, the Cowboys will strongly consider taking him even though Tony Romo is entering just the second year of a $108 million contract extension.
Manziel was not among the Cowboys’ pre-draft visits. But he already has a relationship with Jones and the Cowboys that include his much-publicized visit to the owner’s suite during the NCAA Final Four.
What’s also true is the Cowboys have quietly gone about their business of doing their homework on Manziel. They have talked to his people. They have talked to people close to him. There is no question that he is on their radar.
And this is not even considering any concern about Romo, who is coming off back surgeries the past two offseasons.
Cowboys legendary quarterback Troy Aikman — whose own Hall of Fame career was cut short by back issues at 34, the same age Romo will be next season — expressed concerns of his own in a recent interview on the team’s website.
“Two back surgeries in less than a year at his age, I would be a bit concerned,” Aikman said. “I’m hopeful that he’s able to come back — everybody is. This team won’t be the same if he’s not able to. I anticipate that he will come back. But to say that, ‘Hey, he’s ahead of schedule and everything’s going fine,’ I’m not sure how you can really measure that here in April.”