Brandon Carr Gets Big Money From Cowboys On 5-Year Deal

The franchise tender will pay Spencer $8.8 million for the 2012 season. Spencer, 28, was a first-round pick by the Cowboys in the 2007 NFL Draft. He tallied six sacks last season, which was the second most on the team. He has a total of 17 sacks over the last three seasons. He led the team with four forced fumbles.

Woy left open the possibility of his client talking about a new contract with the Cowboys down the road. Under the rules of the league’s collective bargaining agreement, Spencer cannot sign a new deal until after the 2012 season.

Pool played the last two seasons with the New York Jets. He also has experience with defensive coordinator Rob Ryan from their days in Cleveland.

Connor and Pool join a Cowboys free agent class that is currently headlined by CB Brandon Carr and QB Kyle Orton.

Carr was drafted by the Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL draft. He started as a rookie and hasn’t missed a start since. He’s only 25 years old so he’ll be hitting free agency again as he hits 30 years old.

The Cowboys pass defense was 23rd in the NFL last year. Replacing Newman with Carr is a solid upgrade.

Bennett is big (6’7” and 248 pounds) and athletic so I think he could be a decent option in the Giants offense.

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Orton was also drawing interest from the Chiefs and Washington Redskins.

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He was due $6 million in 2012 and his play had dropped significantly as of late. He was a prime candidate to be released, especially now that the Cowboys will be losing some salary cap space.

Newman had been in Dallas since they made him a first round pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. He now joins a somewhat weak cornerback in free agency.

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The two sides will continue to work on a long-term deal.

The deadline to assign the franchise tag comes at 4 p.m. ET on Monday, March 5.

As Thorman notes, any Dallas interest is going to drive up the price for Carr. It appears as though the cornerback could be in for a lucrative free agency.

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There will definitely be teams looking to beef up their depth at that position and there is the further chance that Bennett will be given an opportunity to shine as the starting tight end for a team in need.

The reasoning for opting to franchise tag and keep Anthony Spencer rather than find a replacement in free agency is there just may not be a viable replacement available. If one can’t be found in free agency, they’ll likely force their own hand in the draft as well looking for his replacement. For now, the best solution for the Cowboys would be to hold onto Spencer.

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Routt signed a five-year deal with the Raiders last year before getting released on Thursday.

For more on the Raiders’ off-season moves, pay attention to Silver And Black Pride.

Here is a full list of free agents, courtesy of Mac’s Football Blog.

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