The Cowboys will not tender a contract to restricted free agent Phillip Tanner, according to ESPN.com’s Todd Archer. The running back was set to be Dallas’ only RFA this offseason, but will instead hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent, assuming he and the Cowboys don’t agree to a lesser salary prior to free agency.
Since they currently have the most salary committed to 2014 of any of the NFL’s 32 teams, the Cowboys will be looking to create cap savings wherever they can. A contract offer to Tanner would have been worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.4MM, so the club figures to save a little money by trying to get him back at the minimum salary or replacing him with a cheaper alternative.
Tanner, 25, has spent the first three seasons of his career in Dallas, accumulating 56 overall carries for 149 yards and two TDs. He was also a contributor on special teams in 2013.