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Calvin Watkins: Cowboys getting calls for No. 9 pick
NEW ORLEANS -- The Cowboys are getting calls from other teams about trading the No. 9 pick of the draft according to a source.
Whether or not the Cowboys do trade the pick is uncertain but after a 6-10 season that saw coach Wade Phillips get fired there are all sorts of needs.
Stephen Jones, the Cowboys executive vice president, has said the team has to get the best player available at No. 9. You can laugh at that if you want, but it's true in so many ways for a team trying to get back to the postseason after failing to reach its goals last year.
Dallas is projected to take either Nebraska cornerback Prince Amukamara or USC tackle Tyron Smith in mock drafts. However, there is a need to get a tackle, with the possibility of cutting right tackle Marc Colombo, who is due a $2.6 million roster bonus when the league year starts.
Finding another pass rusher, outside linebacker Anthony Spencer who has underachieved enters the final year of his contract, seems to be another option but the best ones could be gone at No. 9. If that's the case, trading down to get defensive ends J.J. Watt of Wisconsin, Cameron Jordan from Cal or Aldon Smith from Missouri in the middle to lower part of the first round would be an interesting move.
Moving down in the first round could also be a cost cutting measure with the Cowboys who might cut payroll to get under a salary cap for 2011. The league proposed a $114 million cap for 2011 to the union which was rejected and currently the Cowboys have $137 million devoted to player salaries this year, the highest in the league.
It's doubtful a cap of $114 million will be in play for 2011 but the Cowboys have plenty of high salaried players in DeMarcus Ware ($11.3 million cap number), Tony Romo ($12.9 million cap number) and Terence Newman ($10 million cap number).
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has said he expects his team to have another high payroll in 2011, most likely the highest in the league for the second consecutive year.
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NEW ORLEANS -- The Cowboys are getting calls from other teams about trading the No. 9 pick of the draft according to a source.
Whether or not the Cowboys do trade the pick is uncertain but after a 6-10 season that saw coach Wade Phillips get fired there are all sorts of needs.
Stephen Jones, the Cowboys executive vice president, has said the team has to get the best player available at No. 9. You can laugh at that if you want, but it's true in so many ways for a team trying to get back to the postseason after failing to reach its goals last year.
Dallas is projected to take either Nebraska cornerback Prince Amukamara or USC tackle Tyron Smith in mock drafts. However, there is a need to get a tackle, with the possibility of cutting right tackle Marc Colombo, who is due a $2.6 million roster bonus when the league year starts.
Finding another pass rusher, outside linebacker Anthony Spencer who has underachieved enters the final year of his contract, seems to be another option but the best ones could be gone at No. 9. If that's the case, trading down to get defensive ends J.J. Watt of Wisconsin, Cameron Jordan from Cal or Aldon Smith from Missouri in the middle to lower part of the first round would be an interesting move.
Moving down in the first round could also be a cost cutting measure with the Cowboys who might cut payroll to get under a salary cap for 2011. The league proposed a $114 million cap for 2011 to the union which was rejected and currently the Cowboys have $137 million devoted to player salaries this year, the highest in the league.
It's doubtful a cap of $114 million will be in play for 2011 but the Cowboys have plenty of high salaried players in DeMarcus Ware ($11.3 million cap number), Tony Romo ($12.9 million cap number) and Terence Newman ($10 million cap number).
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has said he expects his team to have another high payroll in 2011, most likely the highest in the league for the second consecutive year.
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