DeMarcus Lawrence shocked by Gregory’s switch, thankful to be Dallas Cowboy for life
While it didn’t look amicable initially, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence never had any doubts about his future with the Dallas Cowboys.
And after navigating an initial offer of a pay cut — one that he summarily rejected leading to speculation that he may be cut — Lawrence is happy and thankful be able to finish his career with the only NFL team he’s ever known.
“I had high hopes that we would figure something out. It’s all in being able to negotiate and both parties really getting what both deserve out of the deal,” Lawrence said. ”Being a Cowboy for life is always a dream. I was blessed with the opportunity to do so. There is no reason why I would go against my aspirations and dream of being a Cowboy for life.”
Why was that important to him?
“You don’t want all your hard work to go unnoticed and really being able to finish the fight where you started, I know a lot of players wish they had that opportunity,” he said.
Lawrence, who had two years left on the five-year, $105 million contract he signed in 2019, said it was a no-brainer for him to re-do his deal and help the Cowboys out with the salary cap room in hopes of building a Super Bowl roster.
Lawrence signed a new three-year deal worth $40 million that includes $30 million in guaranteed money. His cap figure dropped from $27 million to $14 million.
“If we’re not building and putting strong players around us, we’re not going to be able to get better,” Lawrence said. “So I feel like that’s one of the reasons I restructured, but also being able to finish where I started and also have another opportunity to go for a Super Bowl. I don’t want to do it nowhere else. I made that decision a long time ago and I’m glad I’m still here.”
One of the players Lawrence hoped his reduced deal would help the Cowboys keep and continue to build with was fellow defensive end Randy Gregory.
And he, too, was taken aback like everyone else when Gregory switched course, rejecting the Cowboys’ offer and signing a similar five-year, $70 million deal with the Denver Broncos because he objected to a standard forfeiture clause Dallas puts in nearly all of their contracts.
“It was a shock to me,” Lawrence said. “I heard the news just like everyone else. ‘Randy signed with the Cowboys,’ and after my workout, I got home and saw on Instagram Randy had signed with the Broncos. “But Randy’s a brother for life. I wish nothing but the best for him. I’m glad he got paid the way he deserves to get paid. It’s a new chapter in his life, and our life, too.”
That new chapter in Lawrence’s life will be him being able to tackle an offseason healthy for the first time in years and hopefully get back to his old dominance.
Lawrence has long been the heart and soul of the Cowboys defense, but after posting 14.5 sacks and 10.5 sacks in 2017 and 2018, he has tallied 5, 6.5 and 3 sacks in each of the last three seasons.
He has battled a number of surgeries since 2019. He missed last year’s offseason program and training camp because of back surgery. He broke his foot after the season opener and missed the next 10 games.
Lawrence acknowledged that “it’s been awhile since I had a healthy offseason,” and he hopes a strong spring will pay off in 2022.
But he says it’s not about him and his numbers. It never has been. His focus is making the defense and the team strong enough to win games and accomplish his goal of winning the Super Bowl.
“I’m trying to be better than I was,” Lawrence said. “I’m trying to learn from my mistakes, make the guys around me better. The year I had 14.5 sacks, as a team we didn’t amount to [expletive], so what did that really matter? It’s about making sure we’re productive and winning games.”
And even though Gregory is gone, Lawrence is excited about what’s to come for a Cowboys defense in its second year with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to go along with the continued growth of 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Micah Parsons.
He doesn’t know much about newly-signed defensive end Dante Fowler except that Quinn coached him in Atlanta. “I know that he’s coming in here to help us win,” Lawrence said. “He’s coming to get better, and shoot, that’s all I can ask from a guy.”
“I feel like we can build on the foundation that we made last year,” he continued. “I feel like we’ve got a bunch of great young guys in the room that are good players, they listen well, they respect the game. And we’ve got some good vets in the room that know how to play and respect the game and also want to get better and better.”
Brian Schottenheimer joins coaching staff as a consultant
The Cowboys added former Jacksonville Jaguars passing game coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as consultant to the coaching staff.
Schottenheimer will help offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn with opposing team analysis and leaguewide trends, filling the role Ben McAdoo had last year.
McAdoo left to be offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers.
The addition of Schottenheimer, who was the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator from 2018 to 2020, brings life full circle for McCarthy, who got his start in the NFL as a quality control coach with the Kansas City Chiefs under Schottenheimer’s father, Marty Schottenheimer.
This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 5:00 PM.
