Sean Lee agrees to restructure contract

Despite going from irreplaceable to very much replaceable due to emergence of and , oft-injured linebacker has secured yet another season in Dallas. In order to do so, Lee agreed to cut his base salary in half.According to CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora, the Cowboys trimmed Lee's $7 million base salary in half while still giving him a chance to earn up to $7 million through incentives. David Moore was the first to Taylor Lewan Jersey report on Friday that while NFL Network's Ian Rapoport first reported on Saturday. Sean Lee's restructured contract with Cowboys takes his salary down to $3.5M. Can earn a max of $7M with incentives Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) Lee, who has been with the Cowboys since they selected him in the second round of the 2010 draft, has often been considered the quarterback of their defense. But injuries have prevented him from reaching his full potential Ryan Tannehill Jersey . In his nine-year career, he's appeared in only 93 of 144 po sible games, which is why an incentive-laden contract makes more sense for the Cowboys. If he can stay healthy, he can be an important player for the Cowboys. But he almost never stays healthy. He mi sed nine games this past season. The Cowboys Jack Conklin Jersey have also found his replacements in Vander Esch and Smith, who form one of the better linebacker groups in football. In 2018, the duo combined for 184 solo tackles, 11 pa ses defended, and eight tackles for a Austin Johnson Jersey lo s. Both Smith (second-rounder in 2016) and Vander Esch (first-rounder in 2018) are 23 years old. Lee is 32. Even if Lee didn't have injury i sues, the Cowboys would be right to begin the proce s of moving on from him.Expect Lee to take on more of a backup type of role behind Smith and Vander Esch, which isn't a bad thing. It means Lee doesn't have to take on Steve McNair Jersey his usual workload, which perhaps could help him stay healthy. And it means the Cowboys have three capable linebackers on their roster, which protects them in the event they get hit with an injury at the position. Now that Lee's contract is taken care of, the Cowboys can focus on the remainder of what should be a busy offseason as they look to deal with future after , and map out future extensions for , , and .