Canty Signs 1-Year Deal; Long-Term Talks Continue - Practice Points
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com
Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas - Cowboys defensive end Chris Canty has seen new contracts handed out to his three of his teammates in the last month.
He said last week he hoped his turn was coming soon.
And while that might be the case, Canty at least signed his one-year, $2.017 million restricted tender on Wednesday. The Cowboys issued the one-year tender back on Feb. 29.
Although Canty had yet to sign the tender, he had full participation in the team's off-season conditioning program and all of the OTA (organized team activity) practices, including Wednesday's workout here at Valley Ranch.
In the last month, the Cowboys have signed Marion Barber, Terence Newman and Terrell Owens to multi-year deals totaling $130 million.
By NFL rules, the Cowboys could've lowered Canty's one-year contract offer had he not signed the tender by June 15. However, the club had no intention of doing that, considering Canty has been a regular participant this off-season and the Cowboys have hopes of signing him to a long-term deal.
Last season, Canty had a career-high 46 tackles and finished tied for third on the team with 3 ½ sacks. His biggest play of the season occurred against Minnesota when he blocked a field goal attempt that led to a go-ahead touchdown return by Pat Watkins.
After somewhat of a slow start to his career, Canty certainly came into his own last year and will likely warrant a contract that makes him one of the highest-paid defensive ends in the NFL.
The Cowboys will continue their contract talks with Canty, as well as safety Ken Hamlin, who has not signed his franchise tag tender of $4.33 million. Unlike Canty, Hamlin has not participated in any of the team's off-season activities, from the conditioning programs to the OTA practices.
Next week, the Cowboys will hold a mandatory three-day mini-camp (June 17-19) at Valley Ranch.
So far, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and head coach Wade Phillips have both reiterated the "voluntary" part of these OTA practices when addressing both Hamlin and wide receiver Terry Glenn, who has not practiced with the team while he continues to rehab his right knee.
The Cowboys have asked Glenn to sign a split contract that would pay him $500,000 should he re-injure his knee this season. The veteran receiver is scheduled to make a $1.74 million base salary in 2008.
Practice Points
* Wide receiver Miles Austin made one of the best catches of the afternoon when he hauled in Tony Romo's deep pass for a touchdown. The most impressive part, other than simply running by Pacman Jones, was his leaping grab over the cornerback to make the catch.
* This is the time of year integrate different packages on both sides of the ball. An interesting defensive look in the dime defense had six defensive backs, including the top four cornerbacks - Terence Newman, Anthony Henry, Pacman Jones and Mike Jenkins. The two safeties on that defense were Pat Watkins and Courtney Brown. While Ken Hamlin remains absent from the OTA practices, Roy Williams did practice. He worked with the second-team defense on that package, but was the first-team safety in the standard defense.
* On offense, the Cowboys toyed with some packages that included both running backs Marion Barber and Felix Jones in the backfield. Jones paired up with Darren McFadden on many occasions in college at Arkansas, but usually either motioned to or from the receiver position before the snap.
* Pacman Jones showed some rust in his punt return abilities, dropping one punt in special teams drills and bobbling a few more.
* Tight end Jason Witten had a one-handed catch in front of linebacker Zach Thomas, pinning the ball on his thigh while making the grab in front of the sideline.
* Rookie wide receiver Daniel Polk, a college quarterback, returned to practice after missing the last two weeks of OTA's with a hamstring injury. Cornerback Quincy Butler also returned after being sideline last week with a foot injury and recorded an interception in the team drills.
Giant Relief?
Don't expect Tony Romo to shed any tears regarding Giants defensive end Michael Strahan's decision to retire this week.
In fact, the Cowboys quarterback considered it good news.
"I was very happy when he retired. He's a great player, and he really made that defense, I thought, go in some ways," Romo said of Strahan. "They've got a lot of talent there, but he's the anchor of that, not only D-line, but that defensive unit. He's going to be missed, I'm sure, but they've still got talent . . . Super Bowl champs . . . so they'll come back ready to play."
Strahan, a seven-time Pro Bowler, holds the NFL single-season record for sacks, recording 22 ½ in 2001, when he earned Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Romo also said he won't be surprised if Strahan makes a return.
"Oh yeah, I think there's a strong chance," Romo said of Strahan changing his mind. "Anybody who's playing at the level that him or (Brett) Favre or any of those guys, it's tough to walk away, I'm sure, because they're such great players and they can still play.
DallasCowboys.com
Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas - Cowboys defensive end Chris Canty has seen new contracts handed out to his three of his teammates in the last month.
He said last week he hoped his turn was coming soon.
And while that might be the case, Canty at least signed his one-year, $2.017 million restricted tender on Wednesday. The Cowboys issued the one-year tender back on Feb. 29.
Although Canty had yet to sign the tender, he had full participation in the team's off-season conditioning program and all of the OTA (organized team activity) practices, including Wednesday's workout here at Valley Ranch.
In the last month, the Cowboys have signed Marion Barber, Terence Newman and Terrell Owens to multi-year deals totaling $130 million.
By NFL rules, the Cowboys could've lowered Canty's one-year contract offer had he not signed the tender by June 15. However, the club had no intention of doing that, considering Canty has been a regular participant this off-season and the Cowboys have hopes of signing him to a long-term deal.
Last season, Canty had a career-high 46 tackles and finished tied for third on the team with 3 ½ sacks. His biggest play of the season occurred against Minnesota when he blocked a field goal attempt that led to a go-ahead touchdown return by Pat Watkins.
After somewhat of a slow start to his career, Canty certainly came into his own last year and will likely warrant a contract that makes him one of the highest-paid defensive ends in the NFL.
The Cowboys will continue their contract talks with Canty, as well as safety Ken Hamlin, who has not signed his franchise tag tender of $4.33 million. Unlike Canty, Hamlin has not participated in any of the team's off-season activities, from the conditioning programs to the OTA practices.
Next week, the Cowboys will hold a mandatory three-day mini-camp (June 17-19) at Valley Ranch.
So far, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and head coach Wade Phillips have both reiterated the "voluntary" part of these OTA practices when addressing both Hamlin and wide receiver Terry Glenn, who has not practiced with the team while he continues to rehab his right knee.
The Cowboys have asked Glenn to sign a split contract that would pay him $500,000 should he re-injure his knee this season. The veteran receiver is scheduled to make a $1.74 million base salary in 2008.
Practice Points
* Wide receiver Miles Austin made one of the best catches of the afternoon when he hauled in Tony Romo's deep pass for a touchdown. The most impressive part, other than simply running by Pacman Jones, was his leaping grab over the cornerback to make the catch.
* This is the time of year integrate different packages on both sides of the ball. An interesting defensive look in the dime defense had six defensive backs, including the top four cornerbacks - Terence Newman, Anthony Henry, Pacman Jones and Mike Jenkins. The two safeties on that defense were Pat Watkins and Courtney Brown. While Ken Hamlin remains absent from the OTA practices, Roy Williams did practice. He worked with the second-team defense on that package, but was the first-team safety in the standard defense.
* On offense, the Cowboys toyed with some packages that included both running backs Marion Barber and Felix Jones in the backfield. Jones paired up with Darren McFadden on many occasions in college at Arkansas, but usually either motioned to or from the receiver position before the snap.
* Pacman Jones showed some rust in his punt return abilities, dropping one punt in special teams drills and bobbling a few more.
* Tight end Jason Witten had a one-handed catch in front of linebacker Zach Thomas, pinning the ball on his thigh while making the grab in front of the sideline.
* Rookie wide receiver Daniel Polk, a college quarterback, returned to practice after missing the last two weeks of OTA's with a hamstring injury. Cornerback Quincy Butler also returned after being sideline last week with a foot injury and recorded an interception in the team drills.
Giant Relief?
Don't expect Tony Romo to shed any tears regarding Giants defensive end Michael Strahan's decision to retire this week.
In fact, the Cowboys quarterback considered it good news.
"I was very happy when he retired. He's a great player, and he really made that defense, I thought, go in some ways," Romo said of Strahan. "They've got a lot of talent there, but he's the anchor of that, not only D-line, but that defensive unit. He's going to be missed, I'm sure, but they've still got talent . . . Super Bowl champs . . . so they'll come back ready to play."
Strahan, a seven-time Pro Bowler, holds the NFL single-season record for sacks, recording 22 ½ in 2001, when he earned Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Romo also said he won't be surprised if Strahan makes a return.
"Oh yeah, I think there's a strong chance," Romo said of Strahan changing his mind. "Anybody who's playing at the level that him or (Brett) Favre or any of those guys, it's tough to walk away, I'm sure, because they're such great players and they can still play.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:43 AM
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