Big Changes In Big D

We knew a lot of this was coming. Marion Barber cut. No surprise. Marc Colombo rumored to be cut. Check. Leonard Davis likely cut. No shock there.

But then we get to Roy Williams. I am floored by this one. With the rules in place now the Cowboys actually save money this season by cutting Roy Williams. But they are pushing dead money into next year's cap which is never good. And now there is a big question mark at the #3 receiver. And Roy will still count more than $4 million against the cap this year and he won't be giving anything to the Cowboys in return.

I think the Marion Barber cut not only helps free up cap space but it also sends a message. Don't mess with the new coach or there will be a price to pay. Barber defied Garrett a couple of times last year and it appeared that he escaped without punishment. Maybe not so much.

It is hard to defend Leonard Davis. When you are one of the highest paid players on the team and you have to be benched during a game because you are playing so badly it isn't a good sign. And so the Cowboys cut their losses before Davis' play could decline any more. They probably could have held onto Davis for another season or two and gotten decent play out of him. But for his salary you want more than a decent player. If Davis wants to resign for a reasonable salary then I could see him coming back for one or two more years.

The Marc Colombo move is interesting. It appears the Cowboys are holding off on that move until they know what is going to happen with Doug Free. If they cut Colombo now and then Free signs with another team the Cowboys could find themselves in bad shape at tackle. But if Free comes back then Tyron Smith steps in to start at right tackle and the starting tackles could be better this year than last year. The next few days are scary from the standpoint of the offensive line. You don't want a rookie starting a left tackle and an unproven commodity like Sam Young forced into a starting role. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things will work out with Free.

Jason Garrett has a lot of work to do during training camp. It was obvious that changes were coming. But with this compressed free agency period the roster is turning over at an amazing rate. Hopefully Garrett and the rest of the staff can put the old a new pieces together quickly.