The Cowboys may take a step back this season. The song is called "1:24."
According to a source, the Dallas Cowboys will place the franchise tag on tight end Dalton Shultz.
The tender for tight ends is more than $10 million, according to a memo. The Cowboys are projected to be over the salary cap. They would have to clear more space once the tag is in place.
The Cowboys didn't want to lose Schultz, who had career highs in catches and yards last season.
With the franchise tag, a team could still sign Schultz as a free agent but would have to give up two first-round picks or come up with another package to entice the Cowboys to agree to a trade. The Cowboys have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal or he will have to play the season on the franchise tag.
Coach Mike McCarthy said last week at the NFL combine that Dalton Shultz has played a tremendous amount of football for the Packers the last two years and has been extremely productive.
In his first two seasons, he had 13 catches, but in 2020 and 21 he had 141 catches for 1,423 yards and 12 touchdown. He became one of the trusted targets of the quarterback as he became the second tight end in team history to have at least 70 catches and 800 yards in a season.
The Cowboys have used the franchise tag on seven different players. The Cowboys signed him to a four-year, $160 million deal last March after he was tagged again in 2021. The Cowboys reached a long-term deal with defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, even though they used the tag on him.
The other players tagged by the Cowboys are Anthony Spencer, Ken Hamlin, and Flozell Adams. The players who have played under the tag have been Prescott, Lawrence, Spencer and Adams.
The Cowboys have not begun their process of getting under the cap just yet, although they will restructure the contract of their quarterback, which could open up as much as 15 million in space. A source told Adam Schefter that the Raiders are likely to release Cooper, which would open up another $16 million with his $20 million base salary becoming fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the league year.
Other players who could be restructured, asked to take a pay cut or be released include La'el Collins, DeMarcus Lawrence, Tyron Smith, and Zack Martin.
The Cowboys have 20 players set to hit the open market, including wide receiver Michael Gallup and defensive end Randy Gregory, as well as safeties Jayron Kearse and Malik Hooker.
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