The Dallas Cowboys released DT Gerald McCoy today less than 24 hours after he suffered a season ending injury. This largely came as a surprise to most fans and members of the media but apparently there was a clause written into his contract which protected the team against the specific injury Gerald McCoy suffered to his right quad tendon. The details shown here as per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network:
Earlier today, Adam Shefter pointed out that the Dallas Cowboys are only obligated to pay out the $3 million signing bonus to Gerald McCoy but save the rest of his guarantees which were voided by the aforementioned clause. This saves the Dallas Cowboys $2.5 million this season and over $4 million over the next two seasons. This was a shrewd business move no doubt but the team also protected themselves with knowledge of a pre-existing injury which proved to be very prudent.
Yet, this may not be so simple as just a business decision. Gerald McCoy was only a Dallas Cowboys for a very short time but in that time he adhered himself to the coaching staff and his teammates emerging as a leader and a mentor. In fact, after McCoy suffered his season ending injury he reached out to Ed Werder of ESPN with the following statement:
“Just want the fans to know I truly appreciate the warm welcome and I’m sorry this happened. The Jones family opened their doors to an old vet to have an opportunity to come and help this team win and I was beyond excited to be a Cowboy. I was really looking forward to this amazing opportunity we have in front of us. I will remain the mentor I am to the young guys and do my part to make sure that this team goes where it needs to. As far as my mindset people deal with real life problems everybody day especially now with the state our country. There is a lot of pain and heartache taking place right now that all our attention needs to go towards whether it is the pandemic or our fight for social justice. In retrospect what I’m dealing with is minimal compared to that. Therefore this is light work for me. Anybody who knows me knows I love a challenge. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!! I will be back better. LETS GET IT!!”
That kind of positive attitude and leadership carries value beyond dollars and cents and beyond having another warm body on the football field. A few million dollars in guaranteed money, in my humble opinion, is well worth it to reward and retain a player who possess that kind of character. But, instead of taking this into consideration, the Dallas Cowboys decided to invoke the injury clause written upon initially signing McCoy and doing so while the man was having surgery to repair his ruptured quad tendon. It comes off a bit cold especially given the positive impact he has had on the team which new head coach Mike McCarthy raved about. Perhaps there is something far deeper that factored into this decision.
Before I continue, I feel obligated to point out that this is my own pure, unsolicited speculation which should be in no way considered credible. It is of my own intuition and not produced from any other source than my own observation and imagination. However, I do recall vividly a conversation that Gerald McCoy had with ESPN’s Ed Werner concerning the owner Jerry Jones and his silence on the social justice movement that has swept the nation recently. In that interview McCoy said:
“It doesn’t look good, and you can’t be silent at a time like this. I’m new to the Cowboys organization, and I’m blessed to be part of this organization. . . . But when things are not going well for the team, you can hear him screaming. Well, this is life. This is bigger than just football, it’s bigger than money, it’s bigger than winning a Super Bowl. And something needs to be said.”
McCoy doubled down on ESPN’s First Take when he said:
“Well, when you have a franchise that’s recognizable as the Cowboys, people listen when they speak up. And the owner, Jerry Jones, who is one of the most recognizable figures in sport history, when he speaks, everybody listens. Well, I think at this point in time, I feel it would be great to hear him say something positive or say anything. I love what he’s been to the sport. He’s been excellent to the sport of football. He’s a hall-of-famer. But at this point, it’s bigger than football. We need him to speak up about life. This is about human beings and equal rights, and that’s not what’s happening. And it would be great to hear him say something — anything.”
At that point, Gerald McCoy became the first player to call out the Dallas Cowboys owner with others following his lead such as teammate Dontari Poe as well as other members of the media. This may not have sat very well with Jerry Jones given that McCoy was a new acquisition and has not built a relationship with the owner known for valuing loyalty from his players.
At first glance the logic behind saving valuable cap dollars in an uncertain and unpredictable time while adhering to the agreed upon terms of the contract dictate that this was fundamentally a pure business decision. However, in the past Jerry Jones has made decisions that benefited his former players even to the detriment of the team. For example, allowing Tony Romo and Jason Witten to retire without seeking repayment like the Detroit Lions did with Calvin Johnson. Another example is how the team handled the DeMarcus Ware release, allowing him to hit free agency at peak period and choose his suitor rather than designating him a June 1st cut and allocating his dead cap hit over 2 seasons. Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys often make decisions which reward the loyalty of their players over the good of the team. This was not the case with Gerald McCoy. Gerald McCoy has not built up nearly the amount of credit that those guys had in his short time with the Dallas Cowboys but he did show great leadership and was well liked by his teammates. Even if moving on was a foregone conclusion, the manner in which it was announced while McCoy was still in the hospital? Surely, Gerald McCoy deserved better.
Now in fairness, Gerald McCoy himself seems to be in good spirits even after learning of his release. It may not have come as surprise, after all he did sign that contract. He even posted on his Instagram page that he would follow through with his promise to continue to mentor his teammates even if “I can’t go in the building and do it.” McCoy continues to show great character and a willingness to be a great teammate despite the extremely disappointing circumstances. Despite that, McCoy’s treatment should be heeded as a warning for other players. Specifically Dak Prescott. Next time anyone tries to tell a player to take a team friendly deal, just remember that the team isn’t that friendly.
*Photo by Joe Glorioso https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/legalcode.