Dallas Cowboys: Final Eight Rule Impacts Free-Agency Plans, but Not In-House

Cowboys Owner and General Manager Jerry Jones said that he will not be complacent in free agency this season. Jones knows that many teams haven't made many moves the offseason after winning their division and then faltered the next season (just look at the Titans)

"The idea is that we will not assume anything," Jones said. "We will continue to be very aggressive in trying to find talented players that fit us even better than maybe one that we have now."

However, if a collective bargaining agreement isn't reached by Mar. 5, then the 2010-11 NFL season will be an uncapped season. Normally this would mean a gold rush for the top NFL free agents, and we all know Jones doesn't mind spending money if it means winning, but there are rules to prevent that. 

The "Final Eight" rules are in place for the last eight teams in the playoffs. The top four teams (Colts, Jets, Vikings, and Saints) can't sign an unrestricted free agent unless they lose one of their own.

The four teams that lost in the playoffs (Cowboys, Cardinals, Chargers, and Ravens) can sign one unrestricted free agent with an estimated first year salary of at least $5.5 million. They can also sign an unrestricted free agent with estimated first year salary of $3.7 million or less.

This would make it harder for the Cowboys to sign moderately priced free agents (think Gerald Sensabaugh last season) that can add to a team that already has a core of players. It isn't all bad for the Cowboys however, as they have just one unrestricted free agent in Montrae Holland.

The Cowboys have some in house work to do first with 13 restricted free agents including Miles Austin, Sensabaugh, Marcus Spears, Stephen Bowen, Jason Hatcher, Pat Watkins, Sam Hurd, and others.

The players listed above are most likely to stay through a second- or third-round tender (meaning that if another team were to sign them, the Cowboys would receive a pick in the second or third round from that team) except Austin and Sensabaugh.

You can expect the Cowboys to give Austin a long-term deal after the Pro Bowl season he's had, and what they paid Roy Williams last season to do almost nothing.

Sensabaugh, who's said that he wants to stay in Dallas, could get a deal to return as well, but the Cowboys have alternative options with him.

He could get a second-round tender (worth $1.5 million last season). The Cowboys could also temporarily franchise Sensabaugh like they did Ken Hamlin last season before signing him to a six-year deal. The franchise amount for safeties last season was $6.34 million.

As for the rest of the restricted free agents (Cory Procter, Shaun Suisham, Junior Siavii, Duke Preston, Cletis Gordon, and Pat McQuistan), they could all be gone by the beginning of next season.

The Cowboys also have a full complement of draft picks to use to improve the team now that the picks that were given away for Roy Williams have been used by the Lions.