Anthony Spencer still wants a long-term deal with the Cowboys, and hopes one comes this summer.
But if he doesn’t get it, he at least has experience dealing with the aftermath.
“I’m really not worried about it,” Spencer said, via Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I come here, I work, and then I go home and relax. If it gets done, it gets done. I have the same attitude I had last year. It ended up working out for me, so I don’t worry about it much.”
This is the second straight year the Cowboys used the franchise tag on the outside linebacker-turned-defensive end.
He made $8.8 million a year ago, and is scheduled to make $10.6 million this year, unless he and the Cowboys can meet in the middle on a long-term deal by the July 15 deadline.
Spencer said he was thinking something in the range of the five-year, $41 million Paul Kruger got from the Browns sounded about right.
“I want to be here for the rest of my career,” Spencer said. “Hopefully we can get that done. If we can’t, then so be it.
“With the franchise tag I have right now, it’s pretty much up in the air after this season. I want to be here, and that’s pretty much the bottom line.”
He also said he wasn’t concerned about switching to the line in Monte Kiffin’s 4-3 defense, as he’s added 10 pounds to get into the mid 260s.
“I get to rush,” Spencer said. “I don’t have to worry about any of the coverage stuff, formations and what’s going on in the back end. I can just focus on the ball and getting to the ball. That’s the easy part.”
The hard part, as they’ve shown over the last year-plus, is deciding what that’s worth.