Cowboys restructure Travis Frederick's contract to clear $7 million in cap space
With two free agent signings now on the books, the Dallas Cowboys have restructured the contract of the center Travis Frederick to create more cap room, as expected.
The Cowboys converted most of Frederick's $10 million base salary into a signing bonus, freeing up roughly $7 million in space under the 2018 salary cap, according to a source.
The room was necessary to make the signings of linebacker Joe Thomas and receiver Deonte Thompson official, while also giving them space for any more prospective signings.
The team hosted eight free agents this week and remain interested in the group.
Frederick’s cap hit before the restructuring was $13.2 million.
This was a trigger the Cowboys long expected to pull when it came time to create more space.
The Cowboys could also do the same with left tackle Tyron Smith and linebacker Sean Lee, though they hope to not have to do the latter.
There remains the possibility that the Cowboys could ask receiver Dez Bryant to take a pay cut from his $12.5 million base salary to create even more cap room.
Thomas, 26, has spent the past three seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
In addition to sharing a name with a seven-time All-Pro left tackle for the Cleveland Browns who recently retired, Thomas had a brief stint on the Cowboys' practice squad in 2015. He has played in 42 games with eight starts, and has 99 tackles and seven pass breakups in his career.
His best season came in 2016 when he started seven games and was credited with a career-high 77 tackles.
Thompson, 29, has spent six seasons in the NFL with five different teams since entering the league from Florida. He played with the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills last season, starting a combined 10 games. He finished with 38 catches for 555 yards and two touchdowns.
For his career, Thompson has 77 catches for 1,032 yards and four touchdowns.
Thompson is known for his speed as he was a member of the Florida track team in college. He won a football national championship with the Gators in 2009, and a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in 2012.
Vice president Stephen Jones has talked about addressing Bryant’s contract since the start of the off-season.
This story was originally published March 22, 2018 at 1:15 PM with the headline "Cowboys restructure Travis Frederick's contract to clear $7 million in cap space."