Are you happy with how the front office of the Dallas Cowboys is using their salary cap resources? Are there players you think they've signed that aren't living up to those type of investments?
Yesterday, I examined each of the top five highest paid players on the Cowboys roster in terms of average annual salary and determined whether they were worth the investment. Today, we'll take a look at the next five most expensive players, and again decide if their contribution to the team warrants that type of spending.
6. Tyron Smith, $12.2 million
You won't find a more favorable constructed contract than the one the Cowboys got Tyron Smith to sign back in 2014. After three seasons that watched this young former USC star transform into an All-Pro tackle, the team managed to sign him to an eight-year, $97.6 million extension. This ultimately locked him down with the Cowboys for the next decade. With each new year that passes, Smith becomes a bigger and bigger bargain as he's currently just the 19th highest paid tackle in the league.
Is he worth it? Yes; however, the discount the Cowboys got does start to lose it's value if Smith is unable to stay on the field. After only missing one game over his first five seasons, he went on to miss three games in each of the next four. And last year, he missed 14 games to injury. When Smith is healthy, he's still one of the strongest tackles in the game, which makes him a huge bargain. But if he continues to struggle staying healthy, all that great value slowly starts to diminish.
7. Jaylon Smith, $11.4 million
Everyone's favorite patsy for all things that is wrong with the Cowboys defense, Jaylon Smith is the player most fans are ready to part ways with. But that hasn't always been the case. When he signed his six-year, $68.4 million extension in 2019, he was coming off a great season to where you might've felt like the Cowboys landed themselves a good value signing by being proactive. Unfortunately, nothing has gone right since as Smith has now had back-to-back disappointing seasons.
Is he worth it? If he can get back to his 2018 version, then yes, he'd be worth the money. We are all hoping new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn can help make that happen. However, if we see more of the same in 2021, it's hard imagining Smith remaining on the roster next season. His dead money hit goes from $16.6 million now to just $6.8 million next offseason, so for all intent and purposes, this season is like a contract year for him.
8. La'el Collins, $10 million
Like Jaylon, the Cowboys surprised everyone by extending Collins with a year left on his deal right before the start of the 2019 season. The front office liked the price they were getting, so they got it done, signing LC to a five-year, $50 million deal. While many didn't see this coming because the team had already invested so much money into the offensive line, the Cowboys knew they had a good talent in Collins and wanted to secure his services long term. The front office looked like geniuses after the 2019 season as Collins came off his best season yet. Unfortunately, a hip injury sidelined him for the entire 2020 season.
Is he worth it? The only real question here is will there be any lingering effects from his hip injury? If he comes back at full strength, Collins will be worth the coinage. If he struggles, then the Cowboys are in a tough spot because the front office has restructured him in back-to-back years. While his average cost is just $10 million, these restructures have pushed money into the future and his cap hit will be roughly $15 million over the final three years of his deal.
9. Blake Jarwin, $5.5 million
For the last couple seasons, fans have been pounding the table to see the team's young pass catching tight end become more involved in the offense. Early struggles with his blocking combined with Jason Witten coming out of retirement have limited Jarwin's role in the past. So, when Witten again was no longer a part of the team and the front office signed Jarwin to a four-year, $22 million deal, the excitement of him finally being unleashed rose to an all-time high. Unfortunately, that excitement was short lived as Jarwin hurt his knee in the season opener last year and was lost for the season.
Is he worth it? This is one of those things that we're going to have to wait another year before we know the answer. Financially, the team is priced in to Jarwin for the upcoming season, but after that - all bets are off. He's really going to have to show his value to the team this season, and that includes being a viable blocker. His colleague Dalton Schultz is coming off a very productive season and is in the last year of his contract. Schultz has proven that he is capable of being a complete tight end with both blocking and pass catching ability. Jarwin is going to need to put together a good year or the Cowboys might choose to go a different direction in 2022.
10. Anthony Brown, $5.1 million
When the team signed Brown to a three-year, $15.5 million deal last offseason, it was met with mixed feelings. Some appreciated what Brown brought to the team. Others would rather those snaps go to fellow cornerback Jourdan Lewis. Brown has had an up and down carrer so far. He started off with a great rookie season, so much in fact the team gave him a starting outside corner job in 2017. Unfortunately, that didn't go all so well and the team found a better home for him playing the slot. Brown has shown himself to be a good slot corner, but he has his problems on the outside. However, that doesn't stop the coaches from playing him on the outside out at times of need as he's a better outside option than Lewis.
Is he worth it? Right now, Brown's value to the team is still pretty good because the team's outside corner options are young players who still need time to develop. Once players like Kelvin Joseph and Nahshon Wright get themselves ready, this becomes an entirely different situation. Brown then competes with Lewis for the slot corner job and that could go either way.