The Dallas Cowboys experimented once with oft-troubled cornerback Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones. Could they be on their way to doing so a second time?
A Yahoo! Sports report suggests that the Cowboys’ salary cap situation could mean a fit for the veteran cornerback. That could all depend on when and how the Cowboys decide to part ways with cornerback Brandon Carr though.
Carr is due a total of $13.8 million for the 2016 season, and given the fact that this total is topped by just three other cornerbacks (Darrell Reeves, Richard Sherman and Josh Norman), he is likely on his way out of Jerry World. The question is just how much of the salary is the team willing to eat?
From the Yahoo! Sports report:
As it stands, Dallas is roughly $14 million under the $155 million salary cap. While that’s not a dire cap situation, the available $14 million doesn’t account for space necessary to sign draft picks or prospective free agents. With that in mind, if the Cowboys cut Carr prior to June 1, it would open up another $6.4 million in cap space. If the Cowboys waited until after June 1, it would open up $9.1 million (but that money couldn’t be spent until Carr is off the roster).
In would step Pacman and his much more reasonable salary cap numbers to be expected on the free agent market. Jones didn’t help himself much late last season, as many have a lasting image of Pacman and his Bengals teammates going nuts towards the end of their playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He even went as far as to claim (and then walk back) that Antonio Brown was faking a head injury sustained in the playoff matchup between the two teams.
Given this history, and Jones’ injury and behavioral history while in Dallas during the 2008 season, it would certainly be a gamble for the Cowboys. Then again, when has that stopped Jerry Jones and the Dallas brass from bringing in a player in the past?
The Yahoo! Sports report also noted that Jones and his agent happened to be at the same Indianapolis steakhouse as Cowboys brass during the just-completed NFL Scouting Combine and were seen briefly chatting.
Will a second go-round with the Cowboys be mutually beneficial to Pacman and the Cowboys? Perhaps this deal gets done, but it may ultimately hinge on the timing of Carr’s release and the market for a player with the on and off-field issues of Pacman’s past.
