Report: Cowboys Ask Doug Free To Take Pay Cut, Could Be Targeting Eric Winston

Ian Rapoport reports that the Cowboys have approached RT Doug Free regarding a pay cut.

Rapoport mentions that the saving that would come from reducing Free’s $7 million base salary could be used to sign free agent RT Eric Winston.

Dallas is reportedly unsure if Free would be willing to accept a reduction in salary given that he holds some leverage in the situation.

Rapoport adds that releasing Free now doesn’t help their cap situation as he still would count as $10 million in dead money. They could, however, designate him as a June 1 cut, but that would force them to hold off on signing someone like Winston.

Reports from yesterday indicated that the Cowboys were considering Winston as well. He mentioned that he’s targeting a short-term contract that would pay him $3 – $4 million annually, which is a fairly reasonable asking price.

We have Winston listed as the No. 3 player in our recently updated Best Available Free Agents list.