Cowboys DE DeMarcus Lawrence Looking For At Least $17M Per Year In Long-Term Deal

Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the Cowboys have yet to speak to DeMarcus Lawrence’s agent about a long-term deal.

However, the two parties are expected to meet at the Combine next week. Pelissero points out that Lawrence’s agent, David Canter, is the same agent who negotiated Olivier Vernon‘s five-year, $85 million contract a few years ago.

According to Pelissero, extension talks aren’t expected to go anywhere unless Dallas is willing to pay Lawrence at least the $17 million per year Vernon is getting from the Giants. Beyond that, Lawerence is reportedly comfortable playing out the season under the franchise tag, which he’s expected to receive in the coming weeks.

The franchise tag will cost the Cowboys around $17.5 million fully guaranteed for the 2018 season. Dallas should have around $20 million or so of cap room to work with this offseason, so this move would take a large portion of their available cap space.

Cowboys executive Stephen Jones said previously that the team’s “first goal” with Lawrence is to sign him to a long-term contract extension (NFLTR), so it will be interesting to see how negotiations go this offseason.

Lawrence, 25, is a former second-round pick by the Cowboys in the 2014 NFL Draft out of Boise State. He just finished a four-year rookie contract and is set to enter the open market as an unrestricted free agent.

In 2017, Lawrence appeared in all 16 games and recorded 58 total tackles, 15 sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and one pass defense. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 3 overall edge defender out of 106 qualifying players.

We have him featured in our Top 100 – 2018 NFL Free Agents list.