Restricting your free agents

2:14 PM Tue, Feb 12, 2008 | Permalink
Albert Breer

The Cowboys enter the off-season with five potentially restricted free agents. They are ...

RB Marion Barber
C/G Joe Berger
DE Chris Canty
LS L.P. Ladouceur
RB Tyson Thompson

The Cowboys have until Feb. 28 to place tender offers on those players. Doing so gives Dallas matching rights on each player, and compensation is based on the amount offered. Here are the four tiers of tenders:

$927,000 -- draft-level compensation
$1.47 million -- second-round pick
$2.017 million -- first-round pick
$2.562 million -- first- and third-round picks

Draft-level compensation is defined as a pick corresponding with where each player was originally drafted. That means the $927,000 tender would merit fourth-pick compensation for Barber and Canty, a sixth-round pick for Berger, and no compensation for Ladouceur or Thompson.

Chances are, Barber and Canty will be tendered at the highest level, effectively taking both off the market. If any of the other three are tendered, it would likely be at the lowest level. If they are not tendered, they become unrestricted free agents. Just so we're clear on that.