Teams that need to create salary-cap space are using two devices: a “restructuring” that moves cap dollars from this year to future years with no pay cut and a “restructuring” that shrinks the cap number in 2013 by paying the player less money. (Then there’s the Tom Brady-style extension, in which the player does a deal that creates the impression he’s taking less, actually paying him more, and qualifies him for automatic canonization upon death.)
The Cowboys have asked linebacker Dan Connor to take the second kind of restructuring. If he doesn’t, he’ll be cut.
Specifically, the team wants Connor to reduce his $3 million base salary in 2013, the final year of his current deal. It’s unclear how much the Cowboys want to save. If he refuses, they’ll save $3 million by dumping him.
A third-round pick in 2008, Connor would instantly become a free agent if/when he’s cut.