DeMarcus Lawrence Declined To Take Pay Cut With Cowboys

Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Cowboys asked DE DeMarcus Lawrence to take a pay cut from the $19 million he’s scheduled to make in 2022. However, Lawrence declined to do so.

Watkins mentions that typically in situations where a high-priced player rejects a pay cut, they’re usually released soon after.

This comes just a few days after reports that the Cowboys are expected to release veteran WR Amari Cooper for cap relief.

Dallas is working to get under the cap before the start of free agency and have a number of notable free agents to retain. 

Lawrence, 29, is a former second-round pick by the Cowboys in the 2014 NFL Draft out of Boise State. He finished a four-year rookie contract before the Cowboys used their franchise tag.

Dallas once again franchised Lawrence at the start of 2019 before agreeing on a five-year, $105 million deal. He was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list in July but was activated for the start of the regular season. 

Lawrence still has two years left on his current deal and is owed base salaries of $19 million and $21 million.

According to OverTheCap.com, releasing Lawrence would free up $8 million of available cap space while creating $19 million in dead money. 

In 2021, Lawrence appeared in seven games for the Cowboys and recorded 21 tackles, three sacks, a defensive touchdown, two forced fumbles and five pass deflections.

We’ll have more regarding Lawrence as the news is available.