Robert Blanton Visiting Cowboys
The Cowboys have observed defections across their secondary this month after seeing Barry Church, Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne sign elsewhere. They are thinner at both cornerback and safety but brought in a player with some experience for a visit today in Robert Blanton, Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets.
Blanton has mostly served as a second-stringer during his five years in the NFL, with his work for the 2014 Vikings being an exception. Blanton started 13 games for the Vikes that year and made 105 tackles. Since, he’s been deployed as a first-unit player in just three games, two with the Bills last season.
But Blanton became part of a revolving Buffalo back-line crew after going on IR in late November. His one-year deal with the Bills produced 28 tackles. Dallas currently has just Jeff Heath and 2016 sixth-rounder Kavon Frazier as safeties alongside Byron Jones.
Cowboys Re-Sign QB Kellen Moore
The Cowboys have re-signed quarterback Kellen Moore, according to a team announcement. Terms of the deal are not yet known. 
[RELATED: PFR’s Best Remaining Free Agent Quarterbacks]
Moore will return to Dallas to provide depth behind starter Dak Prescott. Tony Romo remains under contract in Dallas, but he’ll probably be off the roster one way or another, whether via trade or release. Once the Romo situation is resolved, the Cowboys may look to sign another QB and that could bump Moore down to the QB3 spot.
Moore appeared in three games (two starts) in 2015 while Romo was sidelined. Last season, he suffered a leg injury in the offseason and missed all of 2016. If it weren’t for that, Moore could have been Dallas’ starter again when Romo got hurt weeks later. Ultimately, things worked out alright for the Cowboys as they discovered a superstar in Prescott.
In 2015, Moore completed 61 of 104 passes for 779 yards and four touchdowns against six picks. In our updated version of the free agent quarterback rankings, we had Moore as the 14th best available option.
Veteran QB Josh McCown has been heavily linked to the Cowboys. It remains to be seen whether he can still wind up in Dallas.
Does Jerry Jones Not Want Romo In Houston?
- Following news that the Cowboys were planning on releasing quarterback Tony Romo, reports indicated that the organization would instead try to trade the veteran. Florio wonders if the change of heart could be attributed to owner Jerry Jones‘ unwillingness to let Romo go to the Texans. The two teams aren’t technically rivals, but Florio believes the Cowboys owner doesn’t want to share viewers with another Texas team. Furthermore, if the Texans establish themselves as one of the best teams in the NFL with Romo, plenty of pundits will question the Cowboys’ logic to just cut bate with the quarterback. Ultimately, Florio believes that Jones is waiting for an offer to materialize at the upcoming league meetings.
[SOURCE LINK]
NFL Could Drop Ezekiel Elliott Investigation
The NFL has been investigating domestic violence claims against Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott since July, but it appears the first-team All-Pro will emerge without punishment. Representatives for Elliott have advised him that he won’t face discipline when the league closes the case, which should happen soon, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
After the Cowboys’ season ended in January, the 21-year-old Elliott complained that the league’s investigation was taking too long.
“I do want closure,” Elliott said. “I would rather it not drag on this long. If there was something to find, which there’s not, they would’ve found it by now. The police did a very thorough investigation. I will tell you this — it just seems like they’re dragging their feet right now. Who knows, man? I’m just ready for it to end.”
Elliott’s statement came two months after a report that he was “Public Enemy No. 1” in the NFL’s view. The league has taken its time, and has gotten cooperation from Elliott’s ex-girlfriend, because it doesn’t want to botch yet another domestic violence investigation after it mishandled the Ray Rice and Josh Brown cases.
Elliott’s accuser claims that she was a victim of five separate domestic violence incidents when they were together, though the district attorney’s office in Columbus, Ohio, decided not to pursue charges against him last September. For his part, the league’s reigning rushing champion has maintained his innocence.
Contract Details: Foles, Carr, Poe, Cowboys
Here’s a fun fact from Albert Breer of The MMQB (Twitter links): Of the 155 free-agent contracts that have been filed since March 9, only 23 have more than $3MM fully guaranteed in post-2017 money. In essence, that means 85.2% of the contracts done over the last ten days are one-year deals with team options.
Now for the latest contract details:
- Cornerback Brandon Carr‘s four-year, $23MM Ravens contract comes with $6MM in 2017 – most of which is by way of a $4MM signing bonus – and then the Ravens will have a 2018 team option, reports Breer (on Twitter).
- Falcons defensive tackle Dontari Poe‘s one-year, $8MM accord features a $500K signing bonus and incentives for playing time, sacks and a Pro Bowl appearance (Twitter link via Breer).
- Quarterback Nick Foles‘ previously reported two-year, $11MM deal with the Eagles is actually a five-year, $27.5MM pact, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. However, the final three years of the contract will void if Foles is still on Philadelphia’s roster 23 days before the start of the 2019 league year. The arrangement comes with $5MM in incentives and an esclator for 2018 worth as much as $6MM (Twitter links).
- Panthers defensive tackle Kyle Love‘s two-year contract is worth $2.2MM and features a few bonuses – $200K for signing, $25K for workouts and $10K per game active – as well as $500K in annual incentives, tweets Wilson.
- Cowboys running back Darren McFadden‘s one-year contract is a minimum salary benefit deal worth $980K (a salary of $900K and an $80K signing bonus). Guard Jonathan Cooper‘s single-year accord is worth $2MM and has a $31,250 bonus per game active, $500K in incentives and a $100K workout base de-esclator (Twitter links via Wilson).
- Cardinals running back/wide receiver Andre Ellington will earn a $775K base salary on his one-year agreement, tweets Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports 910.
- Redskins defensive tackle Ziggy Hood’s two-year, $2.7MM deal includes a $300K signing bonus, per-game active bonuses of $15,625 each, $600K in incentives and a $600K escalator. Meanwhile, the Redskins gave linebacker Chris Carter a minimum salary benefit deal worth $855K, including $775K in salary and a signing bonus of $80K, relays Wilson (Twitter links).
- Saints running back Travaris Cadet also got a minimum salary benefit contract for 2017, says Wilson (Twitter link). It’s worth $855K ($775K in salary and an $80K signing bonus).
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Cowboys Re-Sign Darren McFadden
The Cowboys have re-signed running back Darren McFadden, according to the team website. The veteran received a one-year deal. 
Unfortunately, McFadden lost much of the 2016 season to injury. After rushing for 1,000+ yards in 2015, the veteran appeared in only four regular season games for Dallas. If healthy, the former No. 4 overall pick can be a fine reserve for the Cowboys.
Heading into free agency, I had McFadden ranked as the sixth-best tailback on the market behind Eddie Lacy, Adrian Peterson, LeGarrette Blount, Latavius Murray, and Jamaal Charles.
The Cowboys saw one reserve running back skip town today when Lance Dunbar signed with the Rams. They’ve retained McFadden, however, giving them a strong RB depth chart headlined by Ezekiel Elliott. McFadden and Alfred Morris will duke it out for carries behind the young superstar. The Cowboys will continue to have three running backs who at one point or another were among the league’s elite. On the other hand, Morris might not last in Dallas. There were rumblings earlier this month that Dallas would shop him.
Cowboys Re-Sign G Jonathan Cooper
The Cowboys have reached an agreement on a one-year deal with free-agent guard Jonathan Cooper, according to a source who spoke with Todd Archer of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Cooper joined the Cowboys during the playoffs in January he was released by Cleveland. 
The former No. 7 overall pick hasn’t come close to living up to draft day expectations, but he did do enough for Dallas to give him a second look. He also looked pretty decent in his short stint with the Browns. Pro Football Focus assigned Cooper a 73.2 overall grade in his 183 snaps for Cleveland, a score that would have put him in the middle of the pack amongst guards if he had enough playing time to qualify.
Now that Doug Free is retiring, the Cowboys could slot La’el Collins at right tackle with Cooper taking over at left guard. At minimum, Cooper could be a quality depth signing for Dallas.
DeMarcus Ware Retires From NFL
DeMarcus Ware is done playing football. The free agent linebacker announced his retirement via Twitter on Monday afternoon. 
“I’m hanging up my cleats and beginning the journey to my next destination,” Ware wrote as a part of his statement.
Ware, 35 in July, piled up 21.5 sacks in three years as a member of the Broncos, giving him 138.5 for his career. Just over a week ago, there was word that he wanted to end his career as a member of the Cowboys. Broncos GM John Elway also wanted to re-sign the veteran. Despite the options that were out there, Ware has decided to focus on other ventures and spend more time with his family. He leaves the sport eighth on the all-time sack list.
A 2017 return would have represented Ware’s 13th NFL season, and there were offers for the pass-rusher to suit up again. Ware turned down proposals in the $7-$8MM-per-year range, per Jane Slater of NFL.com (on Twitter). “A few” teams made these kind of offers, per Slater, potentially meaning Ware drew serious interest from beyond the Broncos or Cowboys. Slater adds to the notion that other teams were pursuing Ware, noting the Cowboys and Broncos didn’t reach the offers stage of this pursuit (Twitter link). Those talks didn’t expand beyond the formative stage, per Slater.
Ware said in December he intended to play next season but ultimately decided to move on to other things.
The future Hall of Famer enjoyed some of his best seasons with Dallas, a run that included four first-team All-Pro selections and seven consecutive Pro Bowl nods. He continued to be productive in Denver, even though he wasn’t fully healthy in the last two seasons.
We here at PFR wish Ware the best in retirement.
Contract Details: Campbell, Demps, Wheaton
Let’s take a look the financial details of some recently-signed contracts:
- Mike Adams, S (Panthers): Two years, $4.2MM. $1.15MM guaranteed. $650K signing bonus. $00K available annually via Pro Bowl and interception incentives (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle).
- Calais Campbell, DL (Jaguars): Four years, $60MM. $30MM guaranteed. $6MM signing bonus. Base salaries $9MM (guaranteed), $15MM (guaranteed), $12MM, $15MM. $3MM option bonus for 2019 (Twitter link via Wilson).
- Marcus Cooper, CB (Bears): Three years, $16MM. $8MM guaranteed. $1.5MM signing bonus. $1MM available annually in Pro Bowl and interception incentives (Twitter links via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune).
- Quintin Demps, S (Bears): Three years, $13.5MM. $5MM guaranteed. $1MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Wilson).
- Ryan Griffin, TE (Texans): Three years, $9MM. $3.225MM guaranteed. Annual $100K workout base de-escalator (Twitter links via Wilson).
- D.J. Hayden, CB (Lions): One year, $3.75MM. $2.25MM guaranteed. $1MM signing bonus. $250K workout bonus. $1.5MM available via incentives (Twitter link via Wilson).
- Ted Larsen, OL (Dolphins): Three years, $5.65MM. $1.75MM guaranteed. $1.25MM signing bonus. $500K escalator in 2018. $1MM escalator in 2019 (Twitter link via Wilson).
- Josh Robinson, CB (Buccaneers): Two years, $5M. $2MM guaranteed. $1MM roster bonus due on eighth day of 2017 league year. $1.75MM team option in 2018. $750K available via incentives (Twitter link via Wilson).
- Cornelius Washington, DL (Lions): Two years, $5.825MM. $1.5MM signing bonus. $1.5MM guaranteed (link via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press).
- Markus Wheaton, WR (Bears): Two years, $11MM. $5MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times)
- Terrance Williams, WR (Cowboys): Four years, $17MM. $9.5MM guaranteed. $5MM signing bonus. 2020 option season. Annual $200K workout base salary de-escalator (Twitter links via Wilson).
Latest On Tony Romo, Cowboys
When Tony Romo inevitably joins a new team, it will likely be via free agency. ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets that it’d be a “major upset” if the Cowboys trade the veteran quarterback, noting that it’s much more likely that he’s ultimately released.
There were whispers from earlier this week that the team was going to cut the four-time Pro Bowler, but subsequent reports indicated that the team was instead going to trade the 36-year-old instead. Regardless, Romo’s tenure in Dallas is surely over as the team looks to move forward with Dak Prescott.
The Broncos have consistently been connected to Romo, and we learned earlier this week that the veteran wants to play for Denver. The Texans have also been mentioned as a likely suitor, and the organization’s trade of Brock Osweiler may have been motivated by an impending Romo trade or signing.
Despite the rumors, the market for the quarterback has been “laid back,” although I don’t necessarily attribute this to a lack of interest. Rather, teams may not want to give up any type of assets for Romo. After all, the Cowboys won’t head into next season with another quarterback controversy, so their hand will eventually be forced.
Romo last played full-time during the 2014 season, when he completed a league-high 69.9% of his passes for 3,705 yards and 34 touchdowns against just nine interceptions.