Cowboys To Tag DeMarcus Lawrence

Another top-tier edge defender will not make it to the market. For the second straight year, the Cowboys will place their franchise tag on DeMarcus Lawrence, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Lawrence follows Dee Ford and Jadeveon Clowney, with Frank Clark‘s Seahawks tag imminent. Dallas’ top pass rusher, though, comes with a higher price. A second Lawrence tag will cost the Cowboys $20.57MM, and the sixth-year defender is not likely to sign this tender anytime soon. However, after the Cowboys appeared to be set to rent Lawrence in 2018, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer notes the team wants to have a long-term deal in place by the July 15 deadline.

The 26-year-old dynamo said in the past he would not sign this tender if tagged again. This is still his stance, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. Lawrence signed his 2018 tender quickly and attended Cowboys offseason workouts. As could be the case with Ezekiel Elliott as well, Lawrence is not expected to show for OTAs and minicamp this year — unless the sides reach a long-term extension. And that does not appear to be on the horizon. Lawrence, though, does not plan to miss regular-season time, Calvin Watkins of The Athletic notes (subscription required).

Dallas does not believe Lawrence is worth a $20MM-per-year contract, Watkins adds, noting the team’s initial offers have not been for that amount. Only Khalil Mack and Aaron Donald are $20MM-AAV defenders, but Lawrence’s new tag likely will prevent him from accepting a deal averaging less than that figure. Lawrence is not demanding a deal that eclipses Mack’s or Donald’s, per Watkins, but merely one that places him in the top five at his position.

The Cowboys proceeding cautiously with Lawrence in 2018 made sense. He had dealt with multiple injuries during his first three seasons before breaking out for 14.5 sacks in 2017. Last season, the former second-round pick proved it again, registering 10.5 sacks. Though Jerry Jones said the Cowboys are more comfortable with his long-term outlook, and the team has made an offer, this could be a long waiting game.

This offseason will also include a Lawrence shoulder surgery as well, so without a contract in place, he will not be eager to return to the team. In fact, Watkins reports a procedure will not be scheduled until Lawrence has an extension in place. This would stand to make it more difficult for Lawrence to be ready on time for training camp.

Having a $20.57MM tag on its cap sheet will slice Dallas’ $47MM-plus in cap space almost in half, making it, for the time being, more difficult to add outside free agents or work with its litany of extension candidates on deals.