To cut DeMarcus Ware or not to cut DeMarcus Ware: That is the question in Dallas.
Jerry Jones admitted Monday that the Dallas Cowboys' financial constraints could necessitate cutting ties with their best defensive lineman.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday that the Cowboys haven't asked Ware to take a pay cut. In fact, according to Rapoport, there has been no communication between the parties.
Releasing Ware would open up $7.4 million in salary-cap space. The Cowboys currently sit at a projected $21 million over the 2014 cap.
Earlier this week, Jones placed the blame for the Cowboys' financial nightmare squarely on his own shoulders.
"All of that boils down to management of a cap, management of certainly having players that deserve to get the money that you got," Jones said, the team's general manager, per ESPN.com. "When I look back on it, we probably paid some people that we probably would have been better off not paying."
There is no probably about it.
The 31-year-old Ware is coming off an injury-plagued season with the worst statistical output of his career. While we've continued to maintain Jones would be hard-pressed to cut Ware, a restructure makes sense for both sides.
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Ware has been amicable to rework the deal to add years and lower his cap number this year -- a move Jones often uses with his big-name players. The question will be how much Ware is willing to give up in a restructured deal to avoid free agency.
At this point, however, the team hasn't even reached out to gauge that number.
On the latest edition of the "Around The League Podcast," the guys talk about the Jim Harbaugh drama in San Francisco and discuss who made the most striking impression at the NFL Scouting Combine.
