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Better To Receive
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
All five of Williams' touchdowns in 2010 came with Tony Romo at quarterback. IRVING, Texas - About this time last year, the one player Cowboys fans wanted to replace more than any other was Roy Williams.
The guy was in a lose-lose situation and he was the first one to recognize it. He knew his fan base was against him. He knew he made more money than any other receiver - and for that matter any other player on the team aside from Tony Romo and DeMarcus Ware - and he knew his production wasn't matching his pay.
All of those things were apparent to Williams, who didn't just have a slice of humble pie last offseason, but ate the whole thing - numerous times. All he could do was shrug his shoulders and vow to do a better job this year.
I think it's safe to say he did that. He was a better player this past season, although his stats don't exactly suggest that.
In 2010, he caught 37 passes for 530 yards and five touchdowns.
In 2009, Williams had 38 catches for 596 yards and seven touchdowns.
Of course, there wasn't a Dez Bryant to contend with in 2009, a season in which Williams also had a lot more dropped passes.
Regardless, over the last two years, that's pretty much what you should expect from Williams. High 30s in receptions, 500-something yards, and anywhere from five to seven touchdowns.
The problem, of course, is that for a guy making about $3.4 million in base salary and for a guy who has received in the neighborhood of $20 million in guaranteed cash, Williams' numbers for two seasons was what the Cowboys were expecting in about one year.
Think about it - if Williams was catching 75 passes for 1,126 yards and 12 touchdowns, he may or may not be in the Pro Bowl, but he would certainly be worth all the cash Jerry Jones shelled out to get him, not to mention the first- and third-round picks of 2009. And by the way, even with Roy Williams included in that, 2009 is still shaping up to be one of the worst drafts in Cowboys' history.
Numbers, contracts, owed money, dropped passes … take it all in. It still comes down to the big question of the offseason:
Do you bring Roy Williams back for 2011?
If we're going to assume there will be a season, then also assume there will be a salary cap. If you want to assume exactly how much it will be, and are not an accountant already, then maybe you should consider a different line of work.
Let's just assume it's in the ballpark of the last cap of $128 million - give or take a little.
As it stands now, Williams is set to count about $9.4 million against the cap next year. That's including a salary that jumps to $5.10 million next season and a prorated signing bonus amount of about $4.3 million.
So he plays on the Cowboys next year and Williams counts about $9.4 million. If the Cowboys decide to release him, it would cost in the ballpark of $12.9 million, maybe even over $13 million.
Keep him for $9.4. Cut him and you pay $13 million. And that doesn't include the salary that you would have to go out and pay someone else.
Let's not forget that Dez Bryant hasn't shown anyone he can stay healthy. If you go into a season with just Miles and Dez, you're going to have to make sure you've got a quality third receiver anyway.
Now, you can sit there and argue that you can find a guy off the street to catch 38 passes for 500 yards and a few touchdowns, but I beg to differ.
Plus, we heard for two years how Romo and Williams weren't on the same page. And actually, it was Williams who raved about Jon Kitna, being an ex-teammate of his in Detroit.
But look at the numbers this year. Before Romo's injury, Williams had 21catches for 306 yards and five scores. That was in six games.
After the injury, Williams had 16 receptions for 224 yards and no touchdowns.
Maybe Roy and Romo had found a rhythm. If Romo doesn't get hurt, who knows what happens in the last 10 games. All you can go by is the pace, and Williams was on a pace for about 55 catches for about 800 yards and around a dozen scores. What kind of season would that have been?
Obviously, that's not how it worked out for Roy. And here lately, it never seems to work out for him. If there's a guy that seems more snake-bitten than Williams, I'd be shocked.
Only Roy can catch the game-winning touchdown in Washington and have it called back on a holding penalty.
Only Roy can have a good game in Chicago the next week, but have a fumble ripped out of his hands even though it appeared his progress had been stopped. Fumble lost - game over.
Only Roy can score a touchdown in Minnesota and have one teammate leapfrog him while another is simulating his Texas 'hook'em horns' sign. Either one of those gestures resulted in a costly penalty.
Only Roy can make what appeared to be a game-clinching catch against the Saints, only to switch the ball into his left arm at the last moment and have it pulled out for another lost fumble.
And I would say "Only Roy" can have a pass go off his hands in Arizona and get returned for a touchdown against the Cardinals, had it happened to Miles Austin about five times this season, including once earlier in that same game.
I'm sure I left out a few things. I'm not trying to stick up for Williams but am just listing all these things that have gone against him. I think it's safe to say the ball hasn't bounced his way too often.
But that doesn't mean the Cowboys should keep him. It doesn't mean they shouldn't.
To me, it's pretty simple. While I understand the importance of salary cap economics (at least I get the idea - I won't say I've mastered it by any stretch of the imagination), I know there are times when you should cut a player, based on his money.
This isn't one of those times. If it costs you about $4 million more to get rid of a player than it does to keep him, then I'm keeping him.
Think about it like a car. You might be upside down in a car. It still runs pretty well, but it has its share of problems. Still, are you going to turn back into the deal AND pay out more money that you might owe on it? And now you've got to go out and get another car.
The best deal would be to keep it for at least another year. Keep paying off on your investment, hope it learns to cooperate better with its driver and get a few more miles on it.
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
All five of Williams' touchdowns in 2010 came with Tony Romo at quarterback. IRVING, Texas - About this time last year, the one player Cowboys fans wanted to replace more than any other was Roy Williams.
The guy was in a lose-lose situation and he was the first one to recognize it. He knew his fan base was against him. He knew he made more money than any other receiver - and for that matter any other player on the team aside from Tony Romo and DeMarcus Ware - and he knew his production wasn't matching his pay.
All of those things were apparent to Williams, who didn't just have a slice of humble pie last offseason, but ate the whole thing - numerous times. All he could do was shrug his shoulders and vow to do a better job this year.
I think it's safe to say he did that. He was a better player this past season, although his stats don't exactly suggest that.
In 2010, he caught 37 passes for 530 yards and five touchdowns.
In 2009, Williams had 38 catches for 596 yards and seven touchdowns.
Of course, there wasn't a Dez Bryant to contend with in 2009, a season in which Williams also had a lot more dropped passes.
Regardless, over the last two years, that's pretty much what you should expect from Williams. High 30s in receptions, 500-something yards, and anywhere from five to seven touchdowns.
The problem, of course, is that for a guy making about $3.4 million in base salary and for a guy who has received in the neighborhood of $20 million in guaranteed cash, Williams' numbers for two seasons was what the Cowboys were expecting in about one year.
Think about it - if Williams was catching 75 passes for 1,126 yards and 12 touchdowns, he may or may not be in the Pro Bowl, but he would certainly be worth all the cash Jerry Jones shelled out to get him, not to mention the first- and third-round picks of 2009. And by the way, even with Roy Williams included in that, 2009 is still shaping up to be one of the worst drafts in Cowboys' history.
Numbers, contracts, owed money, dropped passes … take it all in. It still comes down to the big question of the offseason:
Do you bring Roy Williams back for 2011?
If we're going to assume there will be a season, then also assume there will be a salary cap. If you want to assume exactly how much it will be, and are not an accountant already, then maybe you should consider a different line of work.
Let's just assume it's in the ballpark of the last cap of $128 million - give or take a little.
As it stands now, Williams is set to count about $9.4 million against the cap next year. That's including a salary that jumps to $5.10 million next season and a prorated signing bonus amount of about $4.3 million.
So he plays on the Cowboys next year and Williams counts about $9.4 million. If the Cowboys decide to release him, it would cost in the ballpark of $12.9 million, maybe even over $13 million.
Keep him for $9.4. Cut him and you pay $13 million. And that doesn't include the salary that you would have to go out and pay someone else.
Let's not forget that Dez Bryant hasn't shown anyone he can stay healthy. If you go into a season with just Miles and Dez, you're going to have to make sure you've got a quality third receiver anyway.
Now, you can sit there and argue that you can find a guy off the street to catch 38 passes for 500 yards and a few touchdowns, but I beg to differ.
Plus, we heard for two years how Romo and Williams weren't on the same page. And actually, it was Williams who raved about Jon Kitna, being an ex-teammate of his in Detroit.
But look at the numbers this year. Before Romo's injury, Williams had 21catches for 306 yards and five scores. That was in six games.
After the injury, Williams had 16 receptions for 224 yards and no touchdowns.
Maybe Roy and Romo had found a rhythm. If Romo doesn't get hurt, who knows what happens in the last 10 games. All you can go by is the pace, and Williams was on a pace for about 55 catches for about 800 yards and around a dozen scores. What kind of season would that have been?
Obviously, that's not how it worked out for Roy. And here lately, it never seems to work out for him. If there's a guy that seems more snake-bitten than Williams, I'd be shocked.
Only Roy can catch the game-winning touchdown in Washington and have it called back on a holding penalty.
Only Roy can have a good game in Chicago the next week, but have a fumble ripped out of his hands even though it appeared his progress had been stopped. Fumble lost - game over.
Only Roy can score a touchdown in Minnesota and have one teammate leapfrog him while another is simulating his Texas 'hook'em horns' sign. Either one of those gestures resulted in a costly penalty.
Only Roy can make what appeared to be a game-clinching catch against the Saints, only to switch the ball into his left arm at the last moment and have it pulled out for another lost fumble.
And I would say "Only Roy" can have a pass go off his hands in Arizona and get returned for a touchdown against the Cardinals, had it happened to Miles Austin about five times this season, including once earlier in that same game.
I'm sure I left out a few things. I'm not trying to stick up for Williams but am just listing all these things that have gone against him. I think it's safe to say the ball hasn't bounced his way too often.
But that doesn't mean the Cowboys should keep him. It doesn't mean they shouldn't.
To me, it's pretty simple. While I understand the importance of salary cap economics (at least I get the idea - I won't say I've mastered it by any stretch of the imagination), I know there are times when you should cut a player, based on his money.
This isn't one of those times. If it costs you about $4 million more to get rid of a player than it does to keep him, then I'm keeping him.
Think about it like a car. You might be upside down in a car. It still runs pretty well, but it has its share of problems. Still, are you going to turn back into the deal AND pay out more money that you might owe on it? And now you've got to go out and get another car.
The best deal would be to keep it for at least another year. Keep paying off on your investment, hope it learns to cooperate better with its driver and get a few more miles on it.
