As the Cowboys have learned, the receiver for whom they gave up a first-round pick, a third-round pick, and a fifth-round pick in 2008 and to whom they’re paying $9 million per year doesn’t quite measure up to the wideout they acquired as a street free agent in 2006.
And while owner Jerry Jones isn’t ready to admit defeat regarding Roy Williams, Jones knows that Miles Austin’s ascension represents the ultimate victory of the NFL’s cutting-room floor.
So with Austin becoming a restricted free agent for the second straight year only months after emerging as one of the best receivers in the league, Jones said Tuesday on ESPN 103.3 in Dallas that Austin won’t be leaving.
“We’re just not going to have Miles Austin any place but with the Dallas Cowboys,” Jones said, via Todd Archer of the Dallas Morning News. “We need him.”
The declaration won’t do much to get Austin’s agents to ask for a penny less than the five years, $45 million being paid to Williams, but it also means that the Cowboys will at least be applying the highest possible RFA tender to Austin.
That said, Howard Balzer recently spelled out a scenario on KFNS in St. Louis and on Sirius NFL Radio that could prompt an owner like Jones to consider taking even greater steps in an uncapped year to ensure that a player like Austin won’t be pilfered. Because the deadline for application of the franchise tag comes a week before the deadline for use of the restricted free agency tender and eight days before the launch of the new league year, there’s a chance — albeit a slim one — that a new CBA will be finalized after the deadline for applying the franchise tag has come and gone.
In theory, the new CBA could roll back the minimum years of service for unrestricted free agency to four, making guys like Austin and Jets receiver Braylon Edwards and Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman full and complete participants in the open market.
We think it’s unlikely that the Cowboys or any other team would face such a consequence. Then again, it only takes 24 teams to approve a new CBA, and if the league’s efforts (as evidenced by the content of NFLLabor.com) to nudge the four-year and five-year guys toward an uprising that forces the union to take the offer that’s on the table the day before the uncapped year begins are successful, Jones will have only himself to blame for leaving Austin exposed by not applying the franchise tag to him. (And, yes, the franchise tag can be applied to restricted free agents.)
So stay tuned on this one. If Jones is truly adamant about keeping Miles Austin, the Cowboys should use the franchise tag on him. Better yet, they should pull out Roy Williams’ contract and change the name at the top to “Miles Austin.”
See,Roy williams was a very good draft pick at #5 in the first round.
Of course Jerry’s not going to let Austin go. He can claim him as HIS find.
Jerry Jones is a fraud that fancies himself as a personnel guru. First he rides Jimmy Johnson’s eye for talent to the top – then resents him for it – and fires him. Then after a decade of botching things on his own, he hires Bill Parcells – gets his scouts and scouting staff rebuilt – and is now riding the Tuna’s eye for people who can spot talent back to the top.
The one thing Jerry can’t do, though, is stay out of the way of his own impulses. He’ll always make the dumb Roy Williams type of trade on impulse to undermine himself. Good grief, look how he’s carrying on after just one playoff victory!
Jerry is Humpty Dumpty. Always trying to piece back together what Jimmy Johnson had once built.
“only 24 teams”? ROFL, like that happens all the time.
I’d say the chances of a new CBA being worked out between now and March 5th are roughly equivalent to the chances that the Titanic will dock in New York City sometime this year.
Oh, and BTW, Dallas didn’t give up a 1st, 3rd, & 5th, they got the Lions 6th round pick in addition to Williams – the equivalent of swapping about 5 spots in the draft between Dallas’ 5th and Detroits 6th. Don’t make the trade worse than it already is. In reality they gave a 1st & 3rd for Williams.
At a guess Dallas will give Austin the 1st & 3rd round tender and take a look at how he performs next season before inking him to a big, long term money deal. It wouldn’t be very smart to give him boatloads of money based on 12 games. The guy has an injury history over the past 3 years (he missed two games in 2009 injured, was on injured reserve 1/2 of 2008 & missed 4 other games, was injured for about 1/2 the season in 2007)
“Jerry Jones isn’t ready to admit defeat regarding Roy Williams”
What would it take for this arrogant idiot to admit he made a huge mistake, and in fact was taken to the cleaners by the lowly Lions.
Austin was a stroke of luck who was brought in due to a desperate situation.
As long as Jones keeps sticking his white cane into the general manger type business the Cowboys will continue to be “all hat and no cattle.”
Of course if they did come to a CBA agreement in between the franchise deadline and the RFA deadline they new CBA could, and probably would, give teams a chance to rearrange those tags prior to start of free agency.
And if Jerruh wants to throw a ton of money at a one-year wonder, who gained over 30% of his receiving yards in two October games, let him go ahead.
the amount of grasping and reaching involved in the writing of this article made my morning. thank you, sir.
So they’ll have 2 WRs at 10+ Mil per year and neither one of them is a top 10 receiver in the league.
Good Job Jerry.
Did ya think JJ was gonna say, “Miles Austin is outta here.”?
Better yet, they should pull out Roy Williams’ contract and change the name at the top to “Miles Austin.”
Haha Nice one. I agree with that statement. I laughed my ass off when I heard of the trade for Roy Williams. I thought only Dan Snyder made stupid ass moves like that. That being said Austin has been pretty damn good as much as I hate to admit it. They should try and sign him to at least a three year deal.
“And if Jerruh wants to throw a ton of money at a one-year wonder, who gained over 30% of his receiving yards in two October games, let him go ahead. ”
You say “over 30% of his yards in two October games” like it means something. The guy only started 12 games in the first place. In the other 10 starts he still averaged 83.7 yards per game. 83.7 yards per game over a 16 game season is a 1,340 yard season. Still good enough for 3rd in the NFL and #1 in the NFC. You’re welcome.
I don’t know if I said this.. but every time I see Jerruh or some phonetic spelling of Jerry I laugh…hard
Why must he use the franchise tag? Actually all Jerry has to do is sign him to a contract. Then no tags at all are needed.
Way to leave out the most obvious option Toolio
You say Vox gets “90% of his women in his dreams” like that means something. Vox has only been with one girl in the last ten years in the first place. In his other 30 years he’s been with .83 girls per decade. .83 girls over 30 years is 2.49 girls. Still good enough for Vox to tell people he’s not a virgin and also good enough to turn a grown man into an internet hack dedicated to posting mindless sophomoric ramblings on PFT. He’s proud of himself somehow, most people in his position cry themselves to sleep wearing sweatpants covered in Doritios and RC Cola. You’re welcome, Vox Vacuous.
Didn’t Jerry say the same thing about TO?
9 mill a year for Roy Williams – That gets funnier every time it comes up.
“You say “over 30% of his yards in two October games” like it means something. The guy only started 12 games in the first place. In the other 10 starts he still averaged 83.7 yards per game. 83.7 yards per game over a 16 game season is a 1,340 yard season. Still good enough for 3rd in the NFL and #1 in the NFC. You’re welcome.”
Playing well for part of an entire season does not impress anyone. Show the world a body of work then you’ll be thought of as the real deal.
overkil2 says: February 17, 2010 9:02 AM
So they’ll have 2 WRs at 10+ Mil per year and neither one of them is a top 10 receiver in the league.
Good Job Jerry.
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lol, funny but true.
RumorMongering: Without a doubt, Vox is the biggest loser I’ve ever encountered, on the internet or not.
Just a complete and total loser.
@RumorMongering
I double-checked your math. Everything was right on point. Good job.
“Vox has only been with one girl in the last ten years in the first place.”
That’s the way it is when you’re married, dumbshit.
Next.
# toe-to-toe bird law says: February 17, 2010 10:31 AM
“You say “over 30% of his yards in two October games” like it means something. The guy only started 12 games in the first place. In the other 10 starts he still averaged 83.7 yards per game. 83.7 yards per game over a 16 game season is a 1,340 yard season. Still good enough for 3rd in the NFL and #1 in the NFC. You’re welcome.”
Playing well for part of an entire season does not impress anyone. Show the world a body of work then you’ll be thought of as the real deal.
——————-
Then why is everyone on DeSean Jacksons jock? He has had a couple of good games as an actual WR. Dallas has exposed him now though, so say goodbye to the flash in the pan DJax
The thing is, the rich owners like Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder will throw money at the best players in the league and think that will win them championships. They will never learn one simple principle–you need to get players that are the best for your team.
If it’s uncapped, I’m worried, but in my heart of hearts I know that Jones and Snyder will put their ten cents into how the team should run and who should play/be drafted and screw things up. It’s happened in the past and it will happen again. They are owners and try to pretend they are coaches/directors of operations/draft specialists.
They are in it only for the money and glory–not for the love and integrity of the game.
Hey Vox! I find you generally a flame throwing troll! But NAY!
You’ve admit to loving one woman and staying faithful! Enough to melt my heart I tells ya
RumorMongering says:
February 17, 2010 10:08 AM
You say Vox gets “90% of his women in his dreams” like that means something. Vox has only been with one girl in the last ten years in the first place. In his other 30 years he’s been with .83 girls per decade. .83 girls over 30 years is 2.49 girls. Still good enough for Vox to tell people he’s not a virgin and also good enough to turn a grown man into an internet hack dedicated to posting mindless sophomoric ramblings on PFT. He’s proud of himself somehow, most people in his position cry themselves to sleep wearing sweatpants covered in Doritios and RC Cola. You’re welcome, Vox Vacuous.
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I don’t think real men get their panties in a knot over a poster on the internet. Go get yourself a box of crackers and a fresh tampon while the rest of us discuss FOOTBALL here.
@ RumorMongering,
Way too funny!
Vick Veritas and her wife Chapstick are gonna pound the Magic cards hard 2nite!
You’re married and Miles Austin looks like James Caan.
The Cowboys have been Austins meal ticket for the last few years. He wouldn’t be in the league if the Cowboys had not been grooming him the last few years. They will get a hometown discount and preference over any other teams. Have you ever heard him talk to the media? He is a team player all the way.
If you put a list together of the Cowboys top players, they are all good people that give back to the community and are machines on the football field.
Say what you want but in my opinion Wade and Jerry have done a hell of a job putting a TEAM together.
@AirlineGuy,
“Then why is everyone on DeSean Jacksons jock? He has had a couple of good games as an actual WR. Dallas has exposed him now though, so say goodbye to the flash in the pan DJax”
All Dallas did was put a pass rush on a devastated O-Line. So you figured it out…if you put pressure on the QB, he’ll be unable to make deep passes to the speedy WR. You’re a total genius! Of course Dallas’ highly touted secondary did the job! Yeah right!
Also, “DJax” has had ONE very good rookie season AND ONE very, very good 2nd year campaign. Do us all a favor and stay up in the air!
“All Dallas did was put a pass rush on a devastated O-Line. So you figured it out…if you put pressure on the QB, he’ll be unable to make deep passes to the speedy WR. You’re a total genius! Of course Dallas’ highly touted secondary did the job! Yeah right!
Also, “DJax” has had ONE very good rookie season AND ONE very, very good 2nd year campaign. Do us all a favor and stay up in the air!”
——————
Was that o-line injured the first time they met? Nope. Did they shut him down then? Yup.
DJax has had a few good GAMES and disappears in others. He does NOTHING but catch blown coverage TD’s. He is a very fast straight line runner. He can’t run a route, break coverage, or block to save his life.
Do us all a favor and shut up until you know what you are talking about.
Another guy Jerry and the front office found and had confidence in. He’s going nowhere, he’ll be a Cowboy for a while.
“Jerry is Humpty Dumpty. Always trying to piece back together what Jimmy Johnson had once built.”
Hahahah thats one of my personal favorites.. too true.. hahha
“Playing well for part of an entire season does not impress anyone. Show the world a body of work then you’ll be thought of as the real deal.”
Somebody tell Desean Jackson.
20-16
24-0
34-14
Miles Austin 15 for 221 and 2 TDs
De Jackson 8 for 90, 1 garbage time TD
Oh yeah, you’re impressed whether you’re man enough to admit it or not. So do you think it’ll cost more for the 0-3gles more to extend Jackson than the Cowboys will have to pay for Austin? I do.
You silly, whiney bitches don’t do anything but talk about ME while I’m talking about football and you say that *I’M* the loser? Seriously? We now return you to your pathetic existence following me around and getting no play at all, even from ugly Philly chicks.
P.S. Joe in Toronto, Canada should never host another Olympics. Not only did they kill a guy with MORE bad design AND screw up the opening ceremonies with a partially functioning Olympic torch, it’s starting to look like every medal awarded is being matched with three glitches. The area around the torch looks like a prison camp and they must be using ice surfacing equipment from the 40′s. Tens of thousands of ticket cancellations. All and all it’s been a less than amateur effort.
“All Dallas did was put a pass rush on a devastated O-Line.”
They shut your WRs down, too. They were playing scared, dropping it even when it hit them in the hands.
He better not go anywhere. I’ll be damned if Roy is back at #1…
“Jerry is Humpty Dumpty. Always trying to piece back together what Jimmy Johnson had once built.”
Hahahah thats one of my personal favorites.. too true.. hahha
Yeesh, who wouldn’t want a two-time Super Bowl winner? At least Jones got halfway there with his one Super Bowl win without Jimmuh. And remember when you talk about the Cowboys, you’re talking “piece back together”. When you’re talking 0-3gles… well they’ve never really been that good for anyone to hope that they’d put anything “back together”, now have they?
Jimmuh and Jerruh!!!! Stop!! I’m at work
I knew I’d check back in and see Vox doing his best to respond to every insult thrown his way. Pathetic. Every response is futher vindication of how much an immature unwitty douchebag this kid really is.
Vox is married alright and his wife is a marvel of modern science. She goes for about $1100 dollars and comes in all sorts of colors, usually black. She ain’t hard to find either as she’s available to purchase at your local electronics store. She comes in laptop and desktop varities.
You guys want to talk football then let’s talk football. Sorry if I fail to talk football when people mention Cowboys. Usually mentioning Cowboys is a precursor to scoopin’ dudes and sticking salted cured meats where they shouldn’t go. That just isn’t my thing but I’m not from Texas so that could be the reasoning……
@.VoxVeritas
I wish I had as much free time in my daily life to post stale responses to every “Fill-In-The-Blank-Insult-About-Your-Local-Football-Team” just as you do, but alas, some people have to work for a living. It must be nice to have no actual responsibilty, tangible employment or real-world concerns, so that you can invest so much time in responding to people who disagree with you on the internet.
RumorMongering says:
You say Vox gets “90% of his women in his dreams” like that means something. Vox has only been with one girl in the last ten years in the first place. In his other 30 years he’s been with .83 girls per decade. .83 girls over 30 years is 2.49 girls. Still good enough for Vox to tell people he’s not a virgin and also good enough to turn a grown man into an internet hack dedicated to posting mindless sophomoric ramblings on PFT. He’s proud of himself somehow, most people in his position cry themselves to sleep wearing sweatpants covered in Doritios and RC Cola. You’re welcome, Vox Vacuous.
————
Best post on PFT in a long while! And I love how Vox cries “But, but, I’m talking football!” as if he doesn’t take every opportunity to insult the city and people of Philadelphia every chance he gets.
It started out about football. Then Vox brought a knife to a fistfight — now he’s whining that it’s not fair that the crowd pulled out guns.
.VoxVeritas says: February 17, 2010 1:15 PM
P.S. Joe in Toronto, Canada should never host another Olympics. Not only did they kill a guy with MORE bad design..
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Yeah! How DARE the poor design of some kind of structure contribute to the death or paralyzation of a human being! I think the people responsible for this should be punished, right?
Tell it to Jerry “I want my cheap practice dome up and I don’t care how many substandard construction companies I have to pay to build it!” Jones
“I wish I had as much free time in my daily life to post stale responses”
I wish you had the intellectual wherewithall to do something besides follow me around.
“Yeah! How DARE the poor design of some kind of structure contribute to the death or paralyzation of a human being! I think the people responsible for this should be punished, right?”
Hell yes. The Cowboys’ practice facility was designed by a Canadian, dummy.
“It started out about football. Then Vox brought a knife to a fistfight — now he’s whining that it’s not fair that the crowd pulled out guns.”
Pulled out guns? Man, you guys are PHILLY tough! “pulled out guns” hahaha keep following me around, scrub.
When you retards talk about Magic the Gathering, do you fantasize that you’re shooting me? What a bunch of stupid, stupid lowbrows.
Yeah, Vox must not be getting any from his “wife”.
She probably has a hole in her somewhere, besides the ones the manufacturer put in as the main selling points. That explains why Vox is so full of hot air, he’s always trying to reinflate her.
(By the way, Vox? We’ve all googled “Vox Veritas” and had a great laugh at your expense, hence the Magic references. Nobody likes you or respects you. It’s kind of like everyone you meet in real life, only we don’t have to smell the reeking BO that comes from your fat rolls).
Michael LaRocca: you beat me to the punch.
@ vox: are you saying that the Philly area, Canadian company designed a flaw on purpose? Someone should look into that rumor…..
Actually, I’d like to see what kind of deal Austin gets for a 1 good season. And you can’t use the “if he started more games, based on his stats, he’d have had a great year” type of argument. Otherwise T.O. would’ve averaged better stats in Philly than in Dallas. Oh, wait, he did that already w/out the “if he’d only played more games argument.”
ha! That’s just funny