Sizing up Cowboys' run at Nnamdi Asomugha

June, 21, 2011
6/21/11
2:46
PM CT
IRVING, Texas -- In his Monday Morning Quarterback column, Sports Illustrated’s Peter King rated the Cowboys as the second-favorite to land cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha in free agency.

He had Philadelphia at the top of the list. I can’t disagree with it and it’s something we’ve talked about here for the last few months.

Here’s what Peter wrote:
2. Dallas. Go back in history. Remember when Jerry Jones, against the wishes of son Stephen, gave Deion Sanders a $13 million signing bonus in 1995 to come to Dallas? (Jerry thought his son was going to punch him over it.) Jones has the ability to fit Asomugha under his cap. With Tony Romo and DeMarcus Ware the only huge-money players on the roster, the Joneses can find a way to shoehorn an Asomugha contract into the fold.

I’m not sure the Cowboys have the ability to fit Asomugha under the cap so easily. The best way for the Cowboys to sign the Pro Bowler would be to have the 2010 rules in place in which there is no cap. The Cowboys already have $136.6 million committed to a cap in 2011 and that does not include draft picks.

They would need to create significant cap room to sign Asomugha, who averaged $15 million a year the last two years in Oakland. You can create some by re-working the deals for Romo, Ware and Miles Austin and you would likely have to cut players, like Marion Barber, Marc Colombo and Terence Newman, too.

One thing Peter did not mention when connecting the dots to the Cowboys is new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. From what I’m told, Asomugha loved playing for him in Oakland and would not be opposed to reuniting.
Todd Archer joined ESPNDallas.com in November 2010. He's covered the NFL since 1997 and the Cowboys since 2003. He covered the Bengals and Dolphins before arriving in Dallas. A Massachusetts native, Archer lives in the Dallas area with his wife and two children.

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