HornedFrog Purple
02-18-2003, 12:00 PM
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/5205733.htm
IRVING - The next 48 hours should answer the question: Is Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith going to be back in Dallas next season?
All signs point to no, with an announcement likely to come today.
Nobody around Valley Ranch is definitively saying Smith is gone, deferring comment until after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Smith have had a chance to sit down. Scheduling conflicts had delayed any meeting, but both Jones and Smith were at Valley Ranch on Monday. Smith came in to work out around 5 a.m. and left around 7:30 a.m. while Jones spent a good portion of Monday in his office.
Neither Smith nor Jones was available for comment.
What is known is the Cowboys and coach Bill Parcells prefer to have the Smith question answered before leaving for the NFL Scouting Combine, which begins today in Indianapolis. Most of the Cowboys' personnel are scheduled to leave this afternoon.
Thursday is the first day teams can begin cutting players, which, if Jones decides to make a clean break as Valley Ranch insiders expect him to, means the NFL's all-time leading rusher could be cut along with cornerback Dwayne Goodrich and fullback Robert Thomas.
Jones chafed not too long ago at the suggestion the decision already had been made to cut Smith, telling the Star-Telegram: "No one in our organization can say Emmitt isn't coming back or what role he would have to take or what he's going to be making because I don't think even I know that right now."
And while nobody but Jones can say for sure Smith won't be back, nobody, including Jones, has even hinted he might be.
While Parcells has been heard saying he would like to have left tackle Flozell Adams around in 2003 and Jones has said he expected quarterback Quincy Carter back next season, no such proclamations have been made about Smith. There hasn't been a single indication from either Jones or Parcells that they believe Smith is still a No. 1 running back, nor have there been any hints if he would be a suitable mentor for Troy Hambrick.
The soon-to-be 34-year-old Smith rushed for 975 yards in 2002, his lowest output since his rookie year. He had two 100-yard games, tying a career low, had no runs longer than 30 yards and his 3.8 yards per rush ranked in the bottom third of the NFL.
He did accomplish this behind what may have been the worst and most unstable offensive line in the league, giving himself and others reason to believe he could still be a 1,000-yard back. Nothing has indicated the Cowboys are among the others and, if not, there is little reason for him to return.
Smith has been unafraid in his career to complain if he did not feel he was getting enough carries in a game, and it's doubtful fighting for a job with Hambrick would sit well with him. So he is left in a position that many veterans face toward the end of their careers, believing they can play but struggling to convince others.
It happened to wide receiver Jerry Rice, who was cut by the 49ers team for which he won three Super Bowls and promptly went across the bay to Oakland, where he has been productive the past two seasons.
Perhaps coincidentally, those same Raiders, as well as the Panthers and Buccaneers, are rumored to be interested in Smith if the Cowboys decide to cut him.
He is scheduled to make $7 million and count $9.8 million against the salary cap in 2003, but sources have said the Cowboys wouldn't bring him back for anything more than $1 million.
If he is cut before June 1, the cap hit would be $5.9 million. If he is cut on or after June 1, he'll count $2.8 million against the cap this season and $2.1 million next season. The cost-cutting move would be to wait, but Jones' history says he won't. In deference to Smith, he'll let him go early enough so he can see if he can play elsewhere next season.
Of course, the wild card is Jones' heart.
He is known to be fiercely loyal to the players who helped win Super Bowls for the Cowboys, which is one reason things have dragged on as long as they have. But the combine is coming, with Parcells' Feb. 26 team meeting and free agency not too far behind, and the Cowboys need to have this situation resolved.
So expect the next 48 hours to provide plenty of answers.
IRVING - The next 48 hours should answer the question: Is Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith going to be back in Dallas next season?
All signs point to no, with an announcement likely to come today.
Nobody around Valley Ranch is definitively saying Smith is gone, deferring comment until after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Smith have had a chance to sit down. Scheduling conflicts had delayed any meeting, but both Jones and Smith were at Valley Ranch on Monday. Smith came in to work out around 5 a.m. and left around 7:30 a.m. while Jones spent a good portion of Monday in his office.
Neither Smith nor Jones was available for comment.
What is known is the Cowboys and coach Bill Parcells prefer to have the Smith question answered before leaving for the NFL Scouting Combine, which begins today in Indianapolis. Most of the Cowboys' personnel are scheduled to leave this afternoon.
Thursday is the first day teams can begin cutting players, which, if Jones decides to make a clean break as Valley Ranch insiders expect him to, means the NFL's all-time leading rusher could be cut along with cornerback Dwayne Goodrich and fullback Robert Thomas.
Jones chafed not too long ago at the suggestion the decision already had been made to cut Smith, telling the Star-Telegram: "No one in our organization can say Emmitt isn't coming back or what role he would have to take or what he's going to be making because I don't think even I know that right now."
And while nobody but Jones can say for sure Smith won't be back, nobody, including Jones, has even hinted he might be.
While Parcells has been heard saying he would like to have left tackle Flozell Adams around in 2003 and Jones has said he expected quarterback Quincy Carter back next season, no such proclamations have been made about Smith. There hasn't been a single indication from either Jones or Parcells that they believe Smith is still a No. 1 running back, nor have there been any hints if he would be a suitable mentor for Troy Hambrick.
The soon-to-be 34-year-old Smith rushed for 975 yards in 2002, his lowest output since his rookie year. He had two 100-yard games, tying a career low, had no runs longer than 30 yards and his 3.8 yards per rush ranked in the bottom third of the NFL.
He did accomplish this behind what may have been the worst and most unstable offensive line in the league, giving himself and others reason to believe he could still be a 1,000-yard back. Nothing has indicated the Cowboys are among the others and, if not, there is little reason for him to return.
Smith has been unafraid in his career to complain if he did not feel he was getting enough carries in a game, and it's doubtful fighting for a job with Hambrick would sit well with him. So he is left in a position that many veterans face toward the end of their careers, believing they can play but struggling to convince others.
It happened to wide receiver Jerry Rice, who was cut by the 49ers team for which he won three Super Bowls and promptly went across the bay to Oakland, where he has been productive the past two seasons.
Perhaps coincidentally, those same Raiders, as well as the Panthers and Buccaneers, are rumored to be interested in Smith if the Cowboys decide to cut him.
He is scheduled to make $7 million and count $9.8 million against the salary cap in 2003, but sources have said the Cowboys wouldn't bring him back for anything more than $1 million.
If he is cut before June 1, the cap hit would be $5.9 million. If he is cut on or after June 1, he'll count $2.8 million against the cap this season and $2.1 million next season. The cost-cutting move would be to wait, but Jones' history says he won't. In deference to Smith, he'll let him go early enough so he can see if he can play elsewhere next season.
Of course, the wild card is Jones' heart.
He is known to be fiercely loyal to the players who helped win Super Bowls for the Cowboys, which is one reason things have dragged on as long as they have. But the combine is coming, with Parcells' Feb. 26 team meeting and free agency not too far behind, and the Cowboys need to have this situation resolved.
So expect the next 48 hours to provide plenty of answers.