Thursday in Texas was a big day for wide receivers restructuring their contracts.
Jason La Canfora of the NFL Network reports that both Andre Johnson and Dez Bryant have reworked their deals to give their teams a bit more salary cap room heading into free agency. Johnson converted the bulk of his $6.5 million base salary into a bonus that will be spread over the remaining five years on the contract. The move creates roughly $4.5 million in cap room for the Texans, money they can use as part of an effort to re-sign Mario Williams, find a replacement for him on the defense or a wide receiver to help Johnson exploit defenses next season.
Bryant’s restructuring doesn’t free up quite so much cap space for the Cowboys. He’s taking a $1.435 million roster bonus and turning it into a signing bonus to spread the cap hit over the remaining years on his rookie contract. The move creates about $960,000 in new space for the Cowboys, who are expected to be looking for help at guard and cornerback in free agency. The team will likely look for other contracts to rework in order to free up even more money for those quests.
Tackle Doug Free, cornerback Orlando Scandrick and linebacker DeMarcus Ware could be candidates for restructuring and the Cowboys will also see some cap relief if they do the expected and part ways with cornerback Terrence Newman.