Talks between Austin, Cowboys far from contentious
Published: June 11th, 2010 | Tags: Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Elvis Dumervil, Marcus McNeill, Miles Austin, San Diego Chargers, Vincent Jackson
With Tuesday’s deadline looming for restricted free agents to sign their tender offers, several teams are playing hardball. The Dallas Cowboys are taking a different approach with WR Miles Austin.
According to a report in The Denver Post earlier this week, citing a source with the NFL Players Association, the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers sent letters to Elvis Dumervil (more on that here), Logan Mankins, Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeill warning the restricted free agents that if they didn’t sign their tenders by Monday, their offers would be reduced.
The situation in Dallas, however, appears to be far less contentious. Todd Archer of The Dallas Morning News reported Friday the Cowboys have sent no such letter to Austin as they continue to work on a long-term deal, and he expects the Pro Bowl receiver to sign his tender soon. The Cowboys opened a three-day minicamp on Friday.
The Cowboys extended a first- and third-round level tender offer of $3.168 million to Austin, and re-issued their offer on June 1. The team could exercise their right to reduce that offer to 110 percent of his 2009 salary, or about $1.65 million, after the June 15 deadline. But that doesn’t seem to be the case as the Cowboys try to lock up their leading receiver.