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The Doug Free situation has finally reached its resolution. According to Calvin Watkins, Free has accepted a pay cut and will remain with the Dallas Cowboys in 2013. ESPN's Ed Werder reports that Free agreed to a 50 percent cut, which would reduce his 2013 salary from $7 million to $3.5 million and save the Cowboys room against this year's cap. Ed also reports that Free is now scheduled to be paid $3.5 million in each of the next two years, with only this year's salary guaranteed.

Obviously, these numbers are much more palatable to the Cowboys than were Free's original contract numbers. Since signing his four-year, $32 million free agent deal after a strong 2010 season, Free has played as poorly as any starting tackle in the NFL. The Cowboys hoped a move from the left side to the right side in 2012 would help things, but it did not, and had he not agreed to the reduction, he likely would have been released. The fact that the 2014 money is not guaranteed is significant, as releasing Free prior to this agreement would have dumped a significant amount of "dead money" onto next year's cap.

The pay cut could allow the Cowboys to sign a free-agent tackle such as Eric Winston, and even if they don't, it's a lot easier on their budget and on common sense to pay Free $3.5 million than $7 million this year. It's possible he's the starting right tackle again and also possible he could share time with or lose the job outright to Jermey Parnell. If he has to be a backup "swing" tackle, his salary for a job like that is at least closer than it was to reasonable.

The Free contract goes down as a boondoggle for the Cowboys because of the way Free has played since signing it. At the time, Free was coming off a fine season as Dallas' starting left tackle and Cowboys fans were panicked about the idea of failing to re-sign him. The deal is in line with what top tackles on that year's market were getting, and he'd played like a top tackle. But obviously, his failure to live up to that season and that deal have put the Cowboys in a bad spot. They obviously didn't want to just release him, and even if they had they couldn't have recouped the salary-cap savings until after June 1. So while this compromise doesn't rid them of their Free problem, it at least makes it a bit of an easier problem with which to deal.

Calvin also reports that the Cowboys are signing veteran defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove for depth at that positon.

» NFC Eight in the Box: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

With the draft in the rearview mirror, what is the most pressing issue on each NFC East team’s agenda?

Dallas Cowboys: Figure out right tackle.

The Cowboys bolstered their offensive line with the first-round pick of Wisconsin center/guard Travis Frederick, but the line needs more help, and right tackle is the spot that most needs addressing. Doug Free has been a disappointment since signing his big free-agent deal before the 2011 season, and while the Cowboys have said they liked the way Free and Jermey Parnell worked in rotation late last season, they'd be better off finding someone reliable and leaving him in there every play. Tyson Clabo and Eric Winston remain available on the free-agent market, and the Cowboys seem to prefer Clabo. They have enough cap room to sign one of them, but it seems they'd first like to figure out what to do with Free. Will he take a pay cut and stay as a backup? They could just cut him and save $7 million, but the savings wouldn't kick in until June 1 and the Cowboys don't like to admit mistakes or part with their guys. Expect something to change with Free, if only his salary, and the Cowboys to bring in a replacement at some point this offseason.

New York Giants: Resolve the Victor Cruz situation.

Cruz is a restricted free agent with whom the Giants have so far been unable to reach agreement on a long-term contract extension. No team signed him to an offer sheet, which means the next step for Cruz is to decide whether to report to camp when he's required to or hold out. He could sign his tender, play this season for $2.879 million and hit the open market next year, but that leaves him at risk for an injury that could drastically reduce his value. He could accept the Giants' current offer, which reports say is in excess of $7 million per year. Or he could hold out and force the Giants to see what life is like without him. Complicating the matter is that the Giants also have to worry about the contract status of their other star wide receiver, Hakeem Nicks, whose deal runs out at the end of the 2013 season.

Philadelphia Eagles: Pick a quarterback.

New head coach Chip Kelly has amassed a number of interesting options. He has veteran Michael Vick, who was the starter last season until he got injured. He has second-year man Nick Foles, who took over last year when Vick got hurt. He has career backup Dennis Dixon, whose final year at the University of Oregon was Kelly's first as the Ducks' offensive coordinator. And he has former USC star Matt Barkley, for whom the Eagles traded up in the fourth round of last week's NFL draft. Kelly's plan is to throw them all into the offseason and training-camp mix and see who wins the job, and it couldn't be called a huge surprise if any of them did. The most interesting case, however, is that of Vick, who's the current favorite to be the starter but likely would be released if he were to lose the job to one of his younger counterparts.

Washington Redskins: Make sure to get Robert Griffin III healthy.

The Redskins' dynamic young quarterback, who was named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year, is recovering from reconstructive knee surgery he had in January as a result of the injury he suffered in the Redskins' playoff loss. It's Griffin's second major reconstruction on the same knee. And while all reports have indicated that his recovery is progressing well, he and the Redskins must apply the lessons learned when they left him in that playoff game too long and take his recovery as slowly and responsibly as possible. In Kirk Cousins, they have a capable backup they like who can manage the offense through the offseason and even into September if need be. Griffin's long-term health is the most important thing to the Redskins' franchise right now, and managing his recovery through these summer months is organizational priority No. 1.

There was concern, I won't lie, as I sat there with the No. 18 pick for the Dallas Cowboys in the ESPN.com blogger mock draft. Dallas absolutely needs to come out of the first round with a new starting offensive lineman, and they were going off the board quickly. The top three tackles went in the top five picks, and when guard Chance Warmack went to Arizona at No. 7, I got worried.

Eyeing North Carolina's Jonathan Cooper, who was still on the board at No. 10, I reached out to Paul Kuharsky to ask if the Titans wanted to trade down. He said they did. I offered Dallas' first-round pick and third-round pick (Picks 18 and 80) for the No. 10. Paul countered by offering Picks 10 and 142 (fifth round) for Picks 18 and 47 (second round). I said I couldn't do that, after ripping the Cowboys for giving up their second-round pick last year to move up for Morris Claiborne. Don't want to be hypocritical, right?

So Paul and I talked about some possibilities involving 2014 compensation, but we couldn't agree on it, and he ended up taking Sharrif Floyd for the Titans at No. 10. My next move was to reach out to Bill Williamson, who was picking for the Chargers at No. 11. I made the same offer to him -- the 18 and the 80 -- but he said he was going to stay put and make a pick. He picked Cooper, which obviously disappointed me-as-Cowboys.

Now I had my eye on D.J. Fluker, the Alabama tackle who would allow the Cowboys to bid goodbye to Doug Free and help solidify the run game. I think he's the absolute perfect guy for the Cowboys at 18 if the guards are gone by then, and the only team I was still afraid might snatch him away was Carolina at 14. Fluker didn't feel worthy of trading up for, so I decided I'd stay put and hope he fell to 18, and if he didn't, I'd look into trading down and going after someone like Syracuse's Justin Pugh.

But Pat Yasinskas took Sheldon Richardson for Carolina at 14. And (because I know you guys want to know) Mike Sando took safety Kenny Vaccaro for the Rams at 16. And lo and behold, there was Fluker still sitting there at 18 for the Cowboys. I ran to the podium.

Will the Cowboys do the same if the same situation plays out Thursday night? It doesn't sound like them. But I think they'd be wise to take Fluker. And I don't even think they'd be nuts to take an offensive lineman in the second round as well. The need -- short term and long term -- is that significant.

Really interesting report Tuesday afternoon on Twitter from Adam Schefter:

Dallas and former Lions LB Justin Durant agreed to a 2-year contract that will be signed once Cowboys create more cap space, per team source

I didn't even know you could do that, which is why I find it so interesting. If you want to know about Durant specifically, it looks as though he's a candidate to be that strongside linebacker in their new 4-3 defensive alignment. This is what Scouts Inc. says about him in our free-agent tracker:

Durant had the most productive season of his career in 2012. He is a powerfully built linebacker with excellent athleticism. He is an instinctive defender who reacts quickly as plays unfold. He runs well and shows good range to overlap zones in the passing game and is effective in combination man schemes. He is a solid tackler in the open field and understands angles to leverage the ball. Durant brings consistency and leadership to the Lions.

It now appears he'll bring it to the Cowboys, but Durant's strengths and weaknesses as a player aren't want interests me about this news. What interests me about this news is the idea the Cowboys could get a player to agree to a contract with them on the premise that they have to clear cap space before they can finalize it. That tells me that they were able to present tangible evidence to this player that they will be able to clear that cap room. And that tells me that they're confident about getting long-term contract extensions done with either quarterback Tony Romo, defensive end Anthony Spencer or both.

Durant was one of three players who visited the Cowboys on Monday, along with safeties Will Allen and Michael Huff, and if they have in fact agreed to a contract with one of them, that could be a harbinger of further news on the free-agent front. The Cowboys only have about $100,000 in cap room at this point, and so at least one of those contract extensions with Romo or Spencer has to get done before they can add anyone. They'll save $7 million when they cut Doug Free, but only if he's a June 1 cut, and I don't imagine their plan is for Durant to skip minicamp while he waits until June 1 to sign. If you want to interpret this news as a sign that a new deal for Romo and/or Spencer is on the horizon, I think you're probably on the right track. That's how I'm interpreting it.

PHOENIX -- Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said the team is continuing its discussions with quarterback Tony Romo on a contract extension and that he believes they will eventually reach an agreement. Jones acknowledged it would be nice to reduce Romo's very high 2013 salary cap cost, but he did not indicate any particular deadline or hurry for reaching a deal.

"There's never really a start or stop time with Tony," Jones said in the lobby of the Arizona Biltmore. "I do think it will get done."

The Cowboys would like to lock up Romo long-term before his contract expires at the end of the 2013 season. Reducing this year's cap cost by spreading out signing bonus money from a new deal over future years would be one benefit of that, but that's not the sole motivation. The Cowboys like and believe in Romo as their starting quarterback and want him around for a long time. Asked which was a higher priority, Romo's new deal or a new long-term deal for defensive end Anthony Spencer, Jones didn't hesitate.

"Tony's," he said. "Quarterbacks take precedence."

Jones didn't make much of the extent to which the team's salary cap concerns have limited its ability to maneuver this offseason -- even as he revealed that the team had re-signed linebacker Ernie Sims to a veteran minimum deal and were down to "five figures" worth of cap space.

"We were never going to be big players in free agency this year," Jones said. "We played there last year, and we felt like we did some good things, and we've got to see what the end results are. A big focus for us is on this draft. We need to draft well."

They do indeed. Jones said he believes that offensive linemen such as Nate Livings, Mackenzy Bernadeau and Doug Free will play better in 2013 than they did in '12. And he said the team believes it has its two starting safeties already on on the roster, citing Barry Church and Matt Johnson. He acknowledged that they can't count on Johnson, who was a mid-round pick last year and missed the whole season due to injuries, and he said he wouldn't be surprised if they added a veteran safety. But the fact is the draft is the Cowboys' only significant means of filling the holes on their roster right now, and they need to find 2013 starters in the early rounds. Especially on the offensive line.

In terms of line specifics, Jones said no decision has yet been made on Free, who would save the team $7 million in salary cap space as of June 1 if cut.

"I think he improved last year," Jones said of the Cowboys' right tackle. "Obviously, toward the end of the year, when the competition got going there, he played some of his best games."

I still think they'll upgrade at tackle, but since they don't know for sure whether they'll be able to do that with their first-round pick -- and since they can't get the savings until June anyway -- it makes sense for the Cowboys to hold onto Free for now, and delay their decision until they know who his replacement will be.

Paralyzed in free agency, unable to get Tony Romo extended, and the hits just keep on coming for Dallas Cowboys fans, who are going to absolutely hate this story from Calvin Watkins about right tackle Doug Free. Calvin reports that, according to a source, Free's future with the Cowboys is "secure for now."

Earlier this offseason, executive vice president Stephen Jones said of Free's possible return: "I wouldn't rule Doug out."

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Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports Tackle Doug Free is scheduled to count $10.02 million against the Cowboys' salary cap.

Free's status could again become tenuous if the Cowboys believe there's a tackle worthy of selecting in the first two rounds of the draft. If that's the case, Free could be sent packing, and Jermey Parnell or the draft pick would become the starter at right tackle.

Yeah, see, that's the whole thing. The phrase "secure for now" doesn't really mean much, right? You're either secure or you're not. If the status of your security can change, you're not secure. So I wouldn't worry too much. I still think there's a really good chance they designate Free a June 1 cut and save $7 million against the cap during the summer.

But the fact that they haven't done that yet speaks to their situation, and their lack of ability to find a replacement for Free. They literally can't sign a free-agent tackle (unless they get that Tony Romo deal done and reduce their quarterback's 2013 cap cost in the process), and picking 18th in the draft they can't be certain they'll find their answer at right tackle in the draft. They could find a very good guard at that spot, such as Chance Warmack or Jonathan Cooper, which might help convince them they can afford to give Parnell a shot. But six weeks away from the draft they can't possibly know.

So they will wait on Free. They cut defensive lineman Marcus Spears and designated him a June 1 release because they felt like they had enough depth on the defensive line to do that now. But obviously, and justifiably, they don't feel the same about their offensive line. And as bad as Free was last year, they don't feel as though they can let him go without knowing who's going to replace him. Add all of that to the Cowboys' famous tendency to hang onto their own players too long and refuse to admit mistakes, and you find yourself unable to say with complete certainty that they will part ways with Free. Even if it seems obvious to all of us on the outside that they need to do so.

This Cowboys' offseason is going to be like this -- slow and frustrating -- and they're going to need to have a very good, 2013-focused draft if they're to make the playoffs this year. Cowboys fans aren't used to Marches like this one, but they don't have much choice right now other than to deal with it.

Hey, did you see who the Dallas Cowboys picked up in free agency Wednesday? Yeah, that's right. Same guy they signed Tuesday. Nobody.

The Cowboys are stuck up against the salary cap, as we have discussed here many times, until they find a way to get a contract extension for Tony Romo and/or Anthony Spencer. And even the moves they're making to save cap room aren't helping them right away. They decided Wednesday to release veteran defensive lineman Marcus Spears, but even that move doesn't help them until after June 1. Spears is designated a June 1 cut, as right tackle Doug Free is likely to be, so the Cowboys can't get the $2 million cap savings on him until then.

That (along with the expected release of Free) is likely to help the Cowboys sign their draft picks, but not to be factors in this early part of free agency. As of Tuesday morning, the Cowboys were $175,000 under the cap, which is kind of the same as being $1 under the cap, and until they get Romo's extension done (or, less likely, Spencer's), they're not going to be able to do much of anything in terms of signing players. The $5 million in league-imposed penalties they're still facing this year are a large part of the problem.

Why cut Spears now when they can't get the savings until June? Basically, it's a courtesy to Spears that allows him to look for work elsewhere in the meantime. They feel as though they have enough depth on the defensive line that they don't need to keep him around if they've decided they don't have a spot for him. So why not let him go find a job? Free's case is different, I believe, because they don't have as much depth on the offensive line as they do on the defensive line and they don't want to get caught short if they're unable to find a replacement for him.

So the Chiefs cut right tackle Eric Winston on Wednesday, probably because they've decided to take a tackle with the first pick in the draft. But this isn't a Chiefs blog. This is an NFC East blog, peopled by fans of teams in the NFC East. So why are we talking about this?

Because whenever a player of whom fans have heard gets cut in the middle of his contract, one of the first questions fans immediately ask is, "Should [my team] try to sign [this player that was just cut in the middle of his contract]?" And if you cheer for a team in the NFC East, and the player in question is Winston, the answer is yes.

It amazes me sometimes, the similarities our four teams can share. They all need help in the secondary, for instance, and they all need help on the right side of the offensive line. So here's a quickie team-by-team rundown of why each of our division's teams should kick the tires on this 29-year-old offensive lineman who is allowed to sign any time.

Dallas Cowboys

Obviously, the Doug Free contract is a huge bust and the Cowboys need a right tackle. They need guard help, too, but a right tackle is a fine place to start. Sadly for the Cowboys, they're too tight up against the cap to really compete for a free agent if that free agent is going to draw interest from multiple teams. I still think they address this in the draft.

New York Giants

Winston is better than David Diehl or James Brewer or Sean Locklear or whoever the Giants are currently planning to use on the right side. They won't overspend, but I'll bet they at least inquire about him.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles have the best right tackle in the division in Todd Herremans, but they also have the most cap room -- by a mile. There is some sense that the offensive line would be stronger if they acquired a right tackle and moved Herremans back inside to right guard to replace the disappointing Danny Watkins. Enter Winston. They can afford him. They need him. No question they'll have interest.

Washington Redskins

This would be the perfect fit, for player and team. The Redskins need a right tackle, as it appears Jammal Brown's hip is never going to be right. Winston has zone-blocking run game experience, as well as experience working with Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan from his time in Houston. I think the Redskins would have signed Winston last year if they hadn't be blindsided by the salary-cap penalty on the day before free agency started. They would love to have him. Unfortunately, that cap penalty is still in place this year. And even though they knew that in advance this time, it's likely to keep Winston out of their reach for the second year in a row.

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones spoke to reporters over the weekend at the scouting combine in Indianapolis, and obviously one of the topics of interest was the team's offensive line. The line was horrible in 2012, as has been thoroughly chronicled here, and though I agree with Jones' opinion that it showed improvement as the year went on, I submit that it had no other direction in which to go.

The question is what to do now. Jones mentioned that quarterback Tony Romo's ability to move around and make plays on the run helps, as he doesn't require a top-flight offensive line to be productive. But I'm certain that Romo would enjoy it if he were better protected, and obviously the Cowboys should not be making their offensive line plans based on the idea that their quarterback can succeed behind a substandard one. They need to get better. Jones suggests that they can get better with continued development from the guys they have:

Left tackle Tyron Smith is Jones’ only sure bet, but he liked what he saw at the end of the year from Doug Free and Jermey Parnell. Jones acknowledged the Cowboys “need more,” from free-agent pickups Nate Livings and Mackenzy Bernadeau in 2013, and he could see center Phil Costa as the starter “for several years.” He also touted the futures of Kevin Kowalski and Ronald Leary.

“Now does that make you sleep at night because you know you need depth? We might be talking about your depth there when I’m really alluding two five or six guys, which could be your starters,” Jones said. “I think we’ve got a chance to have a plus from a couple of these young guys, and we’re very likely, through a combination of free agency or this draft to get serious about another guard-center type there.”

Well, I think that last thing he said is the most encouraging if you're a Cowboys fan, because what the Cowboys really need is more elite-level talent on the line. Smith is the only current member of the Dallas line who appears to have elite-level talent, and part of the problem in 2012 was that he needed time to transition from right tackle to left tackle. I think he's a franchise-caliber player on the left side and will be more than fine there for years to come.

But while it's foolish to think the Cowboys could assemble a line on which all five positions had that kind of talent (Smith was, after all, a top-10 draft pick), they need at least one more. If they could draft or sign a top-shelf "guard-center type," of which there are a few in this year's draft, the whole thing would start to look at lot better. Then they'd be trying to fill three spots with the guys they already have on the roster instead of four, and that's feels a lot more manageable. I don't know if they'll be in position to pick someone like Chance Warmack or Jonathan Cooper in the first round, but if they're thinking along those lines I think they're doing themselves a favor. Finding someone besides Smith they can plug into their line and not have to worry about him for the next decade would be a fine use of that first-round pick.

» NFC Eight in the Box: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Welcome to Eight in the Box, an NFL Nation feature that will appear each Friday during the offseason. This week’s topic: Who will be each team’s biggest salary-cap casualty this offseason?

Dallas Cowboys: Offensive tackle Doug Free. The performance issues are obvious with Free. He struggled massively in 2012, and Jermey Parnell gives Dallas a replacement with experience within the system. Free’s 2013 cap number is $10.02 million, but the Cowboys can shed $7 million of that by releasing him under the post-June 1 designation. At more than $20 million over the cap and with Anthony Spencer set to hit the open market in free agency, the Cowboys have substantial work to do to put themselves in a position to retain the talented pass-rusher. Restructuring the deals of other high-paid veterans could aid the effort to accomplish that, and releasing Free would relieve the team of some of its cap congestion.

New York Giants: Cornerback Corey Webster. The Giants have already parted ways with a number of key veterans, led by running back Ahmad Bradshaw, whose toughness was roundly respected in the locker room. But the difficult reality of releasing Bradshaw is partially alleviated because of the promise shown by David Wilson during his rookie season in 2012. Webster, 30, is no longer the player he was when he signed a lucrative contract in 2008, and his $7 million base salary for 2013 is too rich to hang on to. Trouble is, the Giants lack substantial cornerback depth behind Webster and will need to address that position this offseason. The team needs the cap room to pay left tackle Will Beatty and work toward extensions with receivers Hakeem Nicks and restricted free agent Victor Cruz.

Philadelphia Eagles: Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. The Eagles are in really good shape from a salary-cap perspective, with big money already cleared by the release of left tackle Demetress Bell and recent reworking of quarterback Michael Vick's deal. But as ESPN's NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported on Friday morning, Asomugha will need to revamp his deal, or he will be released. He’s on the books for $15 million for 2013, only $4 million of which is guaranteed. Given his struggles during his first two seasons with the Eagles, Asomugha isn’t worth the hefty price tag he currently owns. Regardless of Asomugha's future, the secondary will be an area of emphasis for the Eagles this offseason.

Washington Redskins: Cornerback DeAngelo Hall. Hall has said he is willing to explore the possibility of tweaking his current deal, which includes $16.5 million over the final two years. That’s probably the only way he’ll stay with the Redskins, as it’s far too much to pay the 29-year-old, who had his share of struggles in 2012. Lump receiver Santana Moss ($4.15 million salary in 2013) into the same boat, as he’ll likely need to restructure his deal to return. The Redskins have endured salary-cap penalties in recent seasons and need to continue to clear space to be able to retain their own free agents and be players on the open market. Removing Hall from the books is one way to kick-start that process.

The Dallas Cowboys franchised Anthony Spencer last year in the hopes that he'd have a big contract year and they'd get the best out of him. They got their wish. Unfortunately, because of that, they may not be able to keep him.

Stephen Jones offered this not-overly-optimistic analysis of the team's chances to retain Spencer, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency while the Cowboys are projected to be about $18 million over the salary cap. Per the Dallas Morning News:

“Unfortunately you’ve got to make difficult decisions,” Jones said. “What that will entail we don’t know quite yet. We’ll be moving forward in a quick way. But obviously Anthony Spencer represents everything we want to be about. He plays hard. His leadership is tremendous. And then on top of that, he’s a great football player.”

The Cowboys can do some things to clear cap room. They can extend Tony Romo's contract, restructure the deals of Brandon Carr and Miles Austin. They can cut some players, like Marcus Spears and Doug Free. They likely could, if they wanted to, clear enough room to allow them to re-sign Spencer to play defensive end in their new 4-3 scheme. The problem is, they likely wouldn't be able to add any other pieces of significance, and they need help on the offensive line as well.

Spencer is going to cost. He made $8.8 million in 2012 on the franchise tag and is likely looking at an eight-figure average salary on the open market. He has the ability to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 or defensive end in a 4-3, which increases the size of his market and likely will lead to a bigger deal. He's not likely to do the Cowboys any favors by taking a below-market deal to stay in Dallas, and he shouldn't. The team-friendly way in which NFL contracts are structured takes loyalty almost completely out of the equation. These NFL careers are short, and Spencer needs to get the best possible deal for himself. No one will or should begrudge him that.

So while the Cowboys may want to keep Spencer and he may, in a vacuum, want to stay, I don't see how they can field a competitive offer to keep him. They can't afford to franchise him again. Their only hope of fitting him under this year's cap, even if they did all of that aforementioned work, would be a long-term deal with a prorated signing bonus and a low 2013 base salary. The franchise tag is the opposite of that.

If they do lose Spencer, the Cowboys are likely going to be on the hunt for a pass-rushing defensive end, and those are hard to find. They might end up needing to take one in the first round of the draft. There's some thought that Jason Hatcher could play that spot, and it's possible he can, but he's not a prototypical 4-3 pass-rushing end, and a move like that could leave them thin on the interior of the defensive line. Tyrone Crawford likely isn't ready to be a starter at that position. Losing Spencer could alter the Cowboys' offseason priority list in a major way.

But they and their fans need to be prepared to lose Spencer. Because the right thing for him to do is to hit the open market. And when he does, I think he'll quickly work his way out of the Cowboys' price range.

Here at the NFC East blog, we appreciate the extent to which ESPNDallas.com's Jean-Jacques Taylor has been helping us out with provocative Dallas Cowboys columns during a slow time. The ability to link to and discuss Jacques' work has helped carry us through a few days recently, and today is no different. Today Jacques writes that, rather than extend Tony Romo's contract this offseason to create salary-cap relief and ensure that they're not left without a quarterback a year from now when Romo's deal expires, the Cowboys should let Romo play out the final season of his deal.

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AP Photo/Tim SharpTony Romo threw for 4,903 yards and 28 touchdowns this past season.

The Cowboys should let Romo play out his deal just as the Baltimore Ravens did with quarterback Joe Flacco. Make Romo play his best football for himself -- and the team -- next season. And if Romo still hasn't earned a contract extension with his performance, Jones should place the franchise tag on him in 2014. And 2015 too, if necessary.

The Cowboys could absorb Romo's salary this season, but it would mean saying goodbye to players such as nose tackle Jay Ratliff, Doug Free, Marcus Spears, Dan Connor and Anthony Spencer. Then the Cowboys would have to restructure the contracts of Brandon Carr, DeMarcus Ware and maybe, Miles Austin. Bottom line: It could get done without too much pain.

Now, I am a great fan of Jacques personally and of his work, but I could not disagree with him more on this particular point. While the premise isn't a bad one -- the idea that the Cowboys would like to see more from Romo than they've seen to this point in terms of his ability to deliver big wins -- waiting a year is completely impractical.

First of all, I fail to see how losing Ratliff, Spears, Connor and Spencer and then working to restructure Carr, Ware and Austin isn't "too much pain." That sounds like a lot of losses on defense and a lot of work on deals (Carr's in particular) that may not be as restructure-friendly as the cap-strapped Cowboys would like them to be.

Second of all, there is the persistent problem of the lack of strong alternatives to Romo should they lose him in a year. Say Romo plays great, as he did in 2011 and for most of 2012 (the final game notwithstanding), and the Cowboys continue to struggle to put a representative offensive line in front of him. Maybe he doesn't want to come back. Maybe he wants to go to a team that can protect him better, where his reputation as a big-game flop isn't as integral a part of the way the team's fans feel about him. Maybe he'll want out of the Cowboys circus completely. And if that's the case, woe to the Cowboys trying to find a solution on next year's market without a decent candidate already in the fold. Look around the league at teams like the Chiefs, Browns, Jaguars, Jets and the Eagles for goodness' sake. You don't want to be the team looking for a quarterback on a market that might not have any. That's not a fun place for a franchise to be.

The Flacco comparison fails because it's not as though Flacco outperformed his prior résumé this season. He muddled through an up-and-down regular season and played well in the playoffs, as he always does. The Ravens lost last year's AFC Championship Game to the Patriots because of a dropped pass and a missed field goal that weren't his fault. This year, they won that game and the next one. Yes, the Super Bowl MVP award will help Flacco make more money on this next deal, but it's not as though the Ravens saw anything from their quarterback this year they didn't already know or believe he could do. Flacco didn't have a prove-it year. He just had a better ending than he's ever had before. If that's what the Cowboys need to see from Romo, then as we have discussed at length, they need to get him a lot more help.

But in the end, the biggest reason to extend Romo is the fact that it makes too much financial sense. The Cowboys have major salary-cap problems. One of the easiest ways for them to get relief is to give Romo an extension that his performance relative to his peers says he deserves anyway and which would save them cap space they'll need over the coming months. Standing on principle and saying Romo has to win a big game before he can get his money simply isn't the best thing for the franchise right now. Warts and all, Romo as the quarterback now and for the foreseeable future is.

Chris Sprow has an Insider feature up called "Who to cut, who to keep ," in which he examines potential salary-cap casualties by position around the league. It touches on the NFC East in a couple of places, including quarterback, where Sprow cites the Philadelphia Eagles' Michael Vick as someone not to cut because of the arrival of new coach Chip Kelly:

It's false to say Kelly constantly puts his QBs at risk as runners, but his offense at Oregon thrived on the threat of the run. The Eagles should cut Vick if he insists on being paid the $15.5M he's owed for 2013, but if he'll renegotiate, he and Philly should consider the grand experiment of Vick, Kelly, LLC.

You know how I feel about this. Vick's not the runner he once was, and even if he were, Kelly's offense is going to need a sharp decision-maker at quarterback more than it's going to need a runner. I think that's where Vick falls off and he and the Eagles part ways. But the fact is we don't know. Kelly's introducing his new coaching staff today and likely will get questions about this.

Sprow's list of players who should be cut includes Dallas Cowboys tackle Doug Free (obviously), and his don't-cut list includes Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. As Sprow points out, cutting Maclin could save the Eagles more than $3 million, but (a) they really don't need the savings and (b) they've seen enough from Maclin over the years to know that he could be a major asset if he comes around and stays healthy. Big "if"s, yes, but worth taking a shot on, especially if the offense is to be based on speed.

And Free... yeesh. Free was a near-total disaster in 2011 and a total one in 2012 and needs to go. The tackle market is going to be flooded with quality this offseason, and the Cowboys should be able to replace him without too much financial pain, even though they have major cap issues to deal with. The savings are greater if Free's a June 1 cut than if he's cut now, so the Cowboys will try to push it. But he can't be on next year's team.

Todd Archer's figures basically match up with the figures John Clayton had last week when he estimated that the Dallas Cowboys would be about $18.2 million over the salary cap right now assuming the cap is roughly the same as last year's. This creates a significant problem as the team begins to assess its needs in advance of free agency, and as Todd points out, the Cowboys are not denying this. But there are moves they can make, and Brandon Carr's contract in particular is built to help them out:

The Cowboys have a built-in trigger in Brandon Carr’s contract that will lower his $16.3 million cap number and save about $10.5 million based on how they structured his contract when he signed last year. They can re-work the deals of DeMarcus Ware, Jason Witten and Miles Austin to roughly save another $11 million.

The restructuring does not add money to a player’s pocket, nor does it take any out of it. It’s simply an accounting tool to help teams with the cap.

The downside of these moves is that it adds to the cap charges in future years. And from all accounts, there will not be a significant bump even when the new television deals kick in next year, so the Cowboys will have to figure out if they're worth doing.

To that end, Todd names a few players, including Jay Ratliff, Marcus Spears and Doug Free, who are candidates to be cut. Free would have to be a June 1 cut in order to avoid a massive cap hit, which means they wouldn't see the savings until well after most of the league's free-agent money is spent. And if all of these moves are made in an effort to fit Anthony Spencer under the cap, you're left to wonder what the Cowboys then do about their needs on the offensive line and elsewhere on the roster. So there are no perfect solutions here, and there's bound to be some pain. Unless Spencer's going to give them a discount because he wants to stay, it's still hard to see how they keep him and simultaneously address their other needs. And after the year he just had, I don't see Spencer doing that.

There's also the likely Tony Romo extension to help free up 2013 cap room, but at the expense of future years. So you get the sense of what the Cowboys are facing this offseason, and it's not pretty.

As the Dallas Cowboys prepare to host the Washington Redskins today at 4:15 pm ET (3:15 pm CT), here's one reason for Redskins fans to feel good and one reason for Cowboys fans to do the same.

Redskins feeling good: They're not seeing the Cowboys at their absolute best. With running back DeMarco Murray out, backup running back Felix Jones possibly out and Dallas' best offensive lineman, Tyron Smith, nursing a high-ankle sprain, the Redskins' defense finds itself in a position to make the Cowboys' offense one-dimensional. Washington may not have to respect the run, and with Jermey Parnell and Doug Free playing tackle, the ability to build on last week's impressive pass-rushing performance exists for the Redskins. They still need to shore up the coverage on the back end, and the loss of safety Brandon Meriweather could hurt some of the momentum from last week, but they have a chance to get Tony Romo on the run.

Cowboys feeling good: This is their turf, their home. They're used to playing on Thanksgiving. They didn't have to get on a plane during the short week. They know how to prepare for this game. Romo's won the last five of them he's played. And while they obviously haven't dealt yet with the unique challenge presented by Redskins rookie quarterback and NFC Offensive Player of the Week Robert Griffin III, they should have no problem covering his receivers and limiting his downfield options better than the Eagles did last week. The Cowboys should be able to keep the game close, even if they do struggle to get their offense going, and in a close game late Romo can generally get it done.