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While we rate and debate Roy Williams vs. Dez Bryant, the uncertainty about Miles Austin as the Dallas Cowboys’ No. 1 receiver is starting to linger into concern.
Today’s deadline will pass with Austin not having signed the team’s tender offer and still being a restricted free agent, meaning the Cowboys will have to re-tender to retain his rights. Not a huge deal. Owner Jerry Jones continues to maintain that Austin is a big part of the team’s long-term future.
But come June 15 – if Austin hasn’t signed the one-year tender of $3.1 million – the team can reduce that offer to $1.5 million. Uh-oh.
I’d be shocked if Austin doesn’t sign the offer before the 15th, have another Pro Bowl season and – about halfway through next year – get rewarded with a long-term deal.
But give Jones credit for learning as a general manager. Burned by players like Roy Williams, Ken Hamlin and Marion Barber – whose performances all plummeted in the wake of lucrative, long-term contracts – Jerry is covering his ass in the unlikely event that Austin is a one-year wonder.
Of course he’s not. Right?
