A large part of the reason that the Cowboys want to get an extension done with Tony Romo this offseason is to help get themselves under the cap by the start of free agency.
One of the things the Cowboys might want to do with the money they clear is re-sign Anthony Spencer. The outside linebacker would likely be moving to defensive end in Monte Kiffin’s 4-3 defense, but that isn’t something that’s put him off staying in Dallas. Executive vice president Stephen Jones said it hasn’t shaken the team of the feeling that they’d like to keep Spencer on the roster in 2013 and beyond either.
“We’re always in the business of keeping great football players,” Jones said, via the Dallas Morning News. “And he is one of those.”
The issue, as you likely gleaned from the open, is going to be money. The Cowboys could franchise Spencer again, but the $10.6 million price tag for that would be just about the cap-unfriendliest way of keeping Spencer in the fold. That makes a long-term deal much more appealing, although such a deal is no slam dunk.
“Unfortunately you’ve got to make difficult decisions,” Jones said. “What that will entail we don’t know quite yet. We’ll be moving forward in a quick way. But obviously Anthony Spencer represents everything we want to be about. He plays hard. His leadership is tremendous. And then on top of that, he’s a great football player.”
Be it a deal with Romo or other roster shuffling, the Cowboys need to find cap space in a quick way as well because failing to do so could leave Spencer to hit the open market in search of another team to call his own.