Dallas Cowboys’ Spears enters critical final year of contract
By CHAREAN WILLIAMScjwilliams@star-telegram.com
CARROLLTON — Defensive ends Marcus Spears and Chris Canty started 49 games together after being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 2005. Canty, though, signed a six-year, $42 million contract with the New York Giants this off-season.
While Spears is happy for Canty, he is sad for himself.
"It hurt me bad," Spears said Saturday during a break at Randy White’s Big Man Camp. "But that’s the business of football, and you’ve got to understand that guys have to do what’s best for their family and maximize that opportunity they have at that time. That turned out to be real fortunate and substantial decision that he made."
Spears knows that could be him a year from now. He is entering the final year of the five-year, $9.35 million contract he signed as a rookie after the Cowboys made him the 20th overall pick in 2005. Team officials have not approached his agent about an extension, Spears said.
"I think they’ve got to get 94 [DeMarcus Ware] taken care of first before they take care of anybody else," Spears said. "I think in due time talks will start, or if talks don’t start, then they’re probably opting to let me go somewhere else. We’ll find out."
Spears has started 57 games, making 141 tackles and 5.5 sacks in his career. He began working with White a month ago. White is teaching Spears applied martial arts in football, something the Hall of Famer began using when he was drafted by the Cowboys in 1975.
Spears understands that his long-term future will depend a lot on how he performs during his contract year.
"That’s always in the back of your mind," said Spears, 26. "But you have to take care of that day to day. That stuff is usually an accumulation of the type of guy you’ve been, the type of player you’ve been, your durability and how you’ve been able to perform. Hopefully Dallas sees it as a good thing what I’ve been doing thus far.
"I just want to go and perform and keep playing at a consistent level. Hopefully I can end up here in Dallas for the rest of my career. That would be how I would draw the picture up. If that’s not what God has planned or the place I’m supposed to be, I’m pretty sure I’ll end up some place I’m happy with, but I love Dallas. My family is here. Me and my wife grew our family here, so we would love to stay here and finish it out."
That was Terrell Owens’ wish too, but the Cowboys released him. He is one of five starters from last season who no longer are on the team’s roster. Backup defensive tackle Tank Johnson and cornerback Pacman Jones also are gone.
"I’ve often said I don’t think guys were as bad as people thought they were," Spears said, referring to Owens, Johnson and Jones. "But at the same time, the organization has to make decisions based on 53 guys as opposed to one, two or three. I think our front office and our management probably went back and forth, and they decided to make those moves, and I’m pretty sure they had what was in the best interest of the team."
CARROLLTON — Defensive ends Marcus Spears and Chris Canty started 49 games together after being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 2005. Canty, though, signed a six-year, $42 million contract with the New York Giants this off-season.
While Spears is happy for Canty, he is sad for himself.
"It hurt me bad," Spears said Saturday during a break at Randy White’s Big Man Camp. "But that’s the business of football, and you’ve got to understand that guys have to do what’s best for their family and maximize that opportunity they have at that time. That turned out to be real fortunate and substantial decision that he made."
Spears knows that could be him a year from now. He is entering the final year of the five-year, $9.35 million contract he signed as a rookie after the Cowboys made him the 20th overall pick in 2005. Team officials have not approached his agent about an extension, Spears said.
"I think they’ve got to get 94 [DeMarcus Ware] taken care of first before they take care of anybody else," Spears said. "I think in due time talks will start, or if talks don’t start, then they’re probably opting to let me go somewhere else. We’ll find out."
Spears has started 57 games, making 141 tackles and 5.5 sacks in his career. He began working with White a month ago. White is teaching Spears applied martial arts in football, something the Hall of Famer began using when he was drafted by the Cowboys in 1975.
Spears understands that his long-term future will depend a lot on how he performs during his contract year.
"That’s always in the back of your mind," said Spears, 26. "But you have to take care of that day to day. That stuff is usually an accumulation of the type of guy you’ve been, the type of player you’ve been, your durability and how you’ve been able to perform. Hopefully Dallas sees it as a good thing what I’ve been doing thus far.
"I just want to go and perform and keep playing at a consistent level. Hopefully I can end up here in Dallas for the rest of my career. That would be how I would draw the picture up. If that’s not what God has planned or the place I’m supposed to be, I’m pretty sure I’ll end up some place I’m happy with, but I love Dallas. My family is here. Me and my wife grew our family here, so we would love to stay here and finish it out."
That was Terrell Owens’ wish too, but the Cowboys released him. He is one of five starters from last season who no longer are on the team’s roster. Backup defensive tackle Tank Johnson and cornerback Pacman Jones also are gone.
"I’ve often said I don’t think guys were as bad as people thought they were," Spears said, referring to Owens, Johnson and Jones. "But at the same time, the organization has to make decisions based on 53 guys as opposed to one, two or three. I think our front office and our management probably went back and forth, and they decided to make those moves, and I’m pretty sure they had what was in the best interest of the team."
posted by The Gryphon at 9:09 PM
<< Home