IRVING – Three years ago, the Cowboys made two of their worst draft choices in the past decade, when they took tackle Jacob Rogers in the second round and guard Stephen Peterman in the third. Each was the definition of a bust. Jerry Jones is still paying for those wretched selections Bill Parcells encouraged him to make.
Literally.
On Monday, Jones discussed the seven-year, $49.6 million deal, including a $16 million signing bonus he gave gargantuan offensive lineman Leonard Davis.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Jones gave Davis, the second player taken in the 2001 draft, a bigger signing bonus than Deion Sanders, Troy Aikman or Emmitt Smith received. This for a player who has been labeled an underachiever by those in Arizona and has never played in the Pro Bowl.
Before you pooh-pooh the Pro Bowl, at least admit that two-thirds of the vote comes from coaches and players, who are supposed to know the league's best players. That said, some say you'd have to be crazy to give Davis that kind of money.
But that's the cost of doing business in today's NFL, where seemingly every team has unlimited salary-cap room. Besides, other coveted free-agent linemen such as Eric Steinbach and Kris Dielman received similar deals.
Now you know why there's such a premium on drafting and developing players. The money in today's NFL is ridiculously high, so you can't focus on the dollars. You have to figure out whether the Cowboys are better at guard with Davis or Marco Rivera.
No need to even answer that question.
Is Dallas better at tackle with Davis or Marc Colombo, an unrestricted free agent who started 16 games for the Cowboys last season? They're easily better with Davis.
But that's not the lineup Jerry wants to start the 2007 opener.
He wants Colombo at right tackle, Davis at right guard, Andre Gurode at center, Kyle Kosier at left guard and Flozell Adams, playing for a contract, at left tackle.
On paper, that would be the Cowboys' best offensive line in years. On paper, that line would give the Cowboys an opportunity to physically dominate games in the fourth quarter. That offensive line wouldn't have weak links such as Rivera was last season or Rob Petitti and Torrin Tucker were the year before.
"We've missed on a couple of our picks over the last three years. This gives us a chance to really play catch-up," Jones said of signing Davis. "This gives us a chance to get back where we'd be if we had gotten better results with our draft picks."
But it costs so much more, when teams miss on premium draft picks. Rogers and Peterman would still be on their rookie contracts with salary-cap figures of less than a $1 million. Instead, the Cowboys have spent nearly $30 million in signing bonuses to sign Davis, Rivera, Kosier and Jason Fabini, in part, because Rogers and Peterman couldn't play. That number will go up if Dallas reaches an agreement with Colombo.
Now, it's up to the 28-year-old Davis to meet expectations, something he's never done as a pro. The reasons don't really matter. The Cowboys say they believe Davis will play at a high level. Jones must after spending a chunk of his children's inheritance.
"These days you can take a high pick go to the top of the draft and spend a lot of money not knowing what you're getting. We all know that. It happens every day," Jones said. "I don't recall seeing anyone in free agency at his position with his kind of skill and his age. I don't remember ever seeing that."
So why would Arizona let a player like that go?
The simple answer: They're the Cardinals. After all, they've gotten rid of quality players like Simeon Rice, Aeneas Williams and Thomas Jones – not to mention Jay Novacek – in the past. Then again, some say Davis balked at re-signing with Arizona. Perhaps, the Cardinals simply didn't want to pay top dollar to a player who never established himself as a force.
Frankly, it doesn't matter.
"I felt like I did everything I could possibly do," the 6-6, 366-pound Davis said of his six seasons in Arizona. "I kind of think sometimes you look at a player and expectations can be unrealistic.
"...I've dealt with challenges all my life being as big as I am. I've always been looked upon as leader. The expectations are nothing new to me."
Fulfilling them, however, would be.
Jones needs Davis to emerge as the star he's never been. It would alleviate the frustration of those worthless 2004 draft choices.
