Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Sports
Sports

Marcus Spears To Be Released By The Cowboys

Posted byBy Jacobi Eaves | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

The Dallas Cowboys have decided to release one of their top players in defensive end Marcus Spears, according to ESPNDallas.com.

“Fans of Dallas thank u all so much for 8 yrs the good and bad times ill be moving on!! The support has been tremendous! From my family thx U,” Spears posted on his Twitter account. “Guys don’t be sad for me please! I’ve been blessed beyond measure! Everything you do in life is for a season except for family!”

The Cowboys drafted Spears in 2005 with their second pick of the first round. He was about to  enter his third year of a five-year deal he signed in 2011. Spears was scheduled to make $2 million this upcoming season, which would count $2.7 million against the salary cap.

The Cowboys have decided to make the 30-year-old Spears a post-June 1 cut, which means they can spread out the cap hit over the next two years. Spears will count $700,000 against the cap this year and $1.4 million against the cap in 2014.

The decision to release Spears will allow the Cowboys to save $2 million in cap room this year, but they will not receive the cap credit until June 1. This will allow the Cowboys to put a post June-1 tag of two players, and offensive tackle Doug Free is an early name that has been speculated to be a candidate, according to the website.

When Spears was first drafted by the Cowboys, he was the ideal candidate that fit the team’s 3-4 defensive scheme under head coach Bill Parcels at the time. But since Jason Garrett has taken the helm as the Cowboys head coach and hired Rob Ryan – who is now the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints – to be the defensive coordinator, he changed the scheme to a 4-3 defense.

Spears played in a total of 15 games in 2012, six of which he started. He completed the year with 35 tackles, one sack and two tackles for a loss. In his eight seasons with Cowboys he had 10 sacks.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top