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Doug Free | Tackle

Team: Dallas Cowboys
Age / DOB:  (29) / 1/6/1984
Ht / Wt:  6'6' / 323
College: Northern Illinois
Contract: view contract details
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Cowboys RT Doug Free has agreed to a $3.5 million pay cut and will remain with the team.
Free originally had four years left on his contract, but ESPN Dallas' Todd Archer reports the 29-year-old has agreed to a new two-year deal. Free was vastly overpaid at $8 million annually. Even getting $3.5 million to stay should be counted as a win for Free, considering how terrible he was last season. He'll face competition from Jermey Parnell for the starting right tackle job, and this would seem to rule out an Eric Winston signing in Dallas. May 16 - 3:40 PM
Source: Calvin Watkins on Twitter

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Player News

Date:
Doug Free - T - Cowboys

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram expects the impasse between the Cowboys and RT Doug Free to be resolved by Tuesday.

The Cowboys have asked Free to accept roughly a $4 million pay cut from his scheduled $7 million salary, and the 29-year-old has yet to agree. OTAs start on Tuesday, and the Cowboys can't risk Free injuring himself. Free would be wise to accept, as it would be hard for him to find $3 million on the open market.
Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
May 16 - 2:44 PM
Doug Free - T - Cowboys

NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reports the Cowboys are "playing hardball" with RT Doug Free, and still requesting a "substantial" pay cut.

Per Rapoport, the Cowboys are "trying to draw it out" because they believe "time (is) on their side." That's true, but the Cowboys lost leverage when the Dolphins signed Tyson Clabo. Free — who is due $7 million — appears more than content to wait, otherwise he would have caved months ago. If the Cowboys are asking Free to take a $5-$6 million cut, he may just gamble he could get more on the open market, even though tackle-needy teams are drying up.
Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter
May 7 - 7:46 PM
Doug Free - T - Cowboys

After Tyson Clabo's signing in Miami, the Cowboys are likely to keep RT Doug Free.

At least that's what beat writer Calvin Watkins believes. The Cowboys were very interested in Clabo, but they didn't pursue him hard because they wanted to see what Free would do in regards to his salary. Free is due $7 million in 2013, but the Cowboys are demanding him to take a pay cut. Even if he ends up staying in Dallas, Free is going to face competition for the right tackle job. The Cowboys aren't as interested in free agent RT Eric Winston as they were with Clabo.
Source: Calvin Watkins on Twitter
May 5 - 3:07 PM
Doug Free - T - Cowboys

According to ESPN Dallas, the Cowboys will release RT Doug Free with a post-June 1 designation if he does not accept a pay cut before then.

Per beat writer Tim McMahon, the Cowboys have an offer on the table and "hope he accepts it." If not, they'll cut Free and sign a free agent replacement, preferably Tyson Clabo. It's unclear what owner/GM Jerry Jones is waiting for; Clabo would be a sizable upgrade on Free and probably cost the same amount as the pay-cut proposal, if not less. With age, Jones has become less and less willing to admit past mistakes. He blundered by signing Free to a four-year, $32 million in 2011, and can't bring himself to part with the player.
Source: ESPN Dallas
May 3 - 3:54 PM
Doug Free - T - Cowboys

Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones said Doug Free's status with the team will be determined after the draft.

Free is due $7M this season and closed out 2012 as a part-time right tackle. The two sides haven't come to an agreement on a pay cut yet. "If you draft a tackle, how does that impact a player like Doug, whether or not you move him around? I'm sure he's looking at it there as well," Jones said. The Cowboys have all the leverage here as free agents Eric Winston and Tyson Clabo as well as draft picks are all in play.
Source: Dallas Morning News
Apr 23 - 11:35 AM
Doug Free - T - Cowboys

ESPN's Ed Werder believes the Cowboys' interest in free agent RT Eric Winston may just be a leverage ploy to force RT Doug Free into a pay-cut.

There's been suspicion that Dallas' "interest" in Winston is agent-driven, but it could be the Cowboys are using Winston instead of vice-versa. Free is going to have to cut his $7 million salary regardless, it's just a matter of by how much. If the threat of an outside replacement doesn't compel Free to fall in line with the Cowboys' demands, he'll likely be cut loose.
Source: Ed Werder on Twitter
Apr 9 - 2:39 PM
Doug Free - T - Cowboys

The Cowboys are reportedly asking RT Doug Free to take a pay cut so they can sign free agent Eric Winston.

It's an awkward situation for Free. After getting demoted from left tackle to right tackle to part-time player, he knows he can't be back with the Cowboys at his scheduled salary of $7M. But if he accepts the restructure, he'll almost certainly lose his starting job to Winston. The decision will likely come down to how much Free thinks he can garner on the open market. Based on the current climate for right tackles, we wouldn't suspect he'd get anything more than a weak one-year deal.
Related: Eric Winston
Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter
Apr 9 - 12:23 PM
Doug Free - T - Cowboys

Sources tell ESPN Dallas that Cowboys RT Doug Free's contract won't be restructured.

ESPN Dallas' Todd Archer is contradicting colleague Adam Schefter. Both are among the most respected reporters in the business, so it's unclear what to believe. If Free isn't restructuring, it almost certainly means he'll be released, as the cap-strapped Cowboys simply can't afford to pay him $7 million after his nightmare of a 2012.
Source: ESPN Dallas
Mar 27 - 3:09 PM
Doug Free - T - Cowboys

Cowboys RT Doug Free will restructure his contract.

In this case, the "restructuring" will be a straight pay-cut, and a significant one. Free is one of the most overpaid players in the league at his current $7 million salary. Free will have to fight with Jermey Parnell for a starting job in camp. He could also be shifted inside to guard.
Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter
Mar 27 - 1:35 PM
Doug Free - T - Cowboys

Cowboys VP Stephen Jones was noncommittal Monday when asked about RT Doug Free's future, or lack thereof, in Dallas.

"No decision has been made," Jones said of Free's roster spot. "It’s not guaranteed. There are a lot of moving parts." The fact that Dallas has yet to adjust Free's $7 million base salary suggests he's in grave danger of being cut.
Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Mar 18 - 7:17 PM
Doug Free - T - Cowboys

A source tells ESPN Dallas that OT Doug Free's roster spot is secure for now.

Free counts $10.02 million against the 2013 cap. If the Cowboys released him as a June 1 cut, they could open up $7 million of much needed space. Free floundered over the last two seasons, going from left tackle, to right tackle and then getting benched in favor of Jermey Parnell. There's been offseason chatter that he could be moved inside to guard if he indeed avoids release.
Source: ESPN Dallas
Mar 15 - 8:33 AM
Doug Free - T - Cowboys

The Cowboys are considering moving OT Doug Free to guard.

"We’re looking at it," omnipresent executive VP Stephen Jones said. "We’re going to un-turn every stone to get better. I wouldn’t rule him out at tackle either. He’s a pretty versatile guy. He’s smart." To date, Free's "versatility" has consisted of going from starting left tackle to starting right tackle to rotational right tackle, so it's hardly surprising the Cowboys are mulling a position switch. Free is sounding unlikely to return as a starter if he avoids release in Big D.
Source: ESPN Dallas
Feb 25 - 11:49 AM
Doug Free - T - Cowboys

Executive VP Stephen Jones says he "wouldn't rule [RT] Doug [Free] out."

When asked if he would approach Free about a contract restructuring, Jones said, "That's speculative." All offseason long it has been assumed that Free would be cut, and the team's official website has gone as far to call him a "sunk cost" at his $7 million salary. But on Tuesday, NFL.com's Ian Rapoport said Free's release "isn't a foregone conclusion." We feel he'd have to take a hefty pay cut to return to the cap-strapped Cowboys.
Source: Dallas Morning News
Feb 20 - 10:28 PM
Doug Free - T - Cowboys

NFL.com's Ian Rapoport believes Cowboys RT Doug Free's release isn't a foregone conclusion.

DallasCowboys.com does, calling Free a "sunk cost" earlier this month. A disaster all season, Free began splitting snaps with Jermey Parnell in Week 14. We suppose Free could remain via a drastic pay-cut, but there's a zero percent chance he's back at his currently scheduled $7 million.
Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter
Feb 19 - 5:22 PM

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