Cowboys’ “First Goal” To Sign DeMarcus Lawrence To Long-Term Deal

Cowboys executive Stephen Jones said on Tuesday that the team’s “first goal” with impending free-agent DE DeMarcus Lawrence is to sign him to a long-term contract extension, according to Brandon George.

Jones added that the team would like to get a deal done to avoid using the franchise tag. Lawrence was just selected to the NFC’s 2018 Pro Bowl roster, so he is due for a sizeable payday this offseason.

The Cowboys are projected to have $19.3 million in available cap space and would likely have to use the majority of that to re-sign Lawrence to a long-term deal.

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.