Last month, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said that the team would “probably” look at extending linebacker Sean Lee’s contract before it expires at the end of the 2013 season and the Cowboys website recently predicted that a new deal would come soon.
They may be looking, but a report from Albert Breer of the NFL Network suggests that they haven’t done much more than that at this point. According to Breer, there haven’t been any talks yet between the team and the linebacker, who is set to make $630,000 this year.
That’s low for a player who is ticketed for a major role in the Cowboys defense this season and Lee’s value to the team isn’t a matter for much debate after watching the defense go into the tank last season after Lee was lost for the season to a toe injury. It’s not the first serious injury that Lee has suffered, which raises concern about his durability while also possibly working in the Cowboys’ favor in terms of a deal because Lee has to be well aware of what he’d risk financially if another injury should keep him out for a long period of time.
Or the Cowboys could decide that they want to make sure Lee can play 16 games, even if it means paying a bit more in the long run. Cowboys history says that the patient route isn’t the one they’ll wind up taking, but, as of now, they haven’t rushed to secure Lee’s signature on an extension.