The Dallas Cowboys have made big strides into freeing up some much needed cap room by restructuring star offensive lineman Tyron Smith's contract. Smith will see his $10 million base salary turn to $1 million, and the Cowboys will move that remaining $7.2 million into a signing bonus.
This will add $1.8 million to Smith's cap hit over the next several years. Dallas likely did this to help it sign some of the bargain free agents who are left. The Cowboys will now have $14 million in cap space after they already spent $13 million on seven players they have already added or resigned.
The Cowboys have a meeting with veteran defensive end Chris Long this week, and the movement of cap space could be for his visit. If Long impresses at his workout in Valley Ranch he could be signed on the spot as the Cowboys are desperate for an edge rusher. The money could also be used to re-sign Greg Hardy to another 1-year deal, but that is doubtful after the way Hardy behaved while with the Cowboys.
The Cowboys have some in-house free agents they would like to re-sign as well, and taking care of the players on their roster has been a high priority this offseason. The Cowboys could be looking at other bargain-priced free agents like they have for a couple of seasons as the 2016 NFL Draft approaches.
The Cowboys would like to have enough of their needs filled through free agency so they could draft the best player available on their draft boards when it is their turn to pick. This means the Cowboys could go after a backup quarterback such as Robert Griffin III or Ryan Fitzpatrick.
They also have needs at running back, and with Arian Foster and Alfred Morris still available it they could look into signing one of them as they both have been extremely productive before. The Cowboys could also use the money to focus on the defensive side of the ball. Players such as linebacker Zach brown, cornerback Brandon Boykin and Nolan Carroll who already visited with the Cowboys and Long could all be potential options in the upcoming days.
