Cowboys Officially Retire Travis Frederick, Open Up $7M in Salary Cap

Dallas Cowboys Center Travis Frederick surprised us by announcing his retirement back in March, but only now did the team officially placed him in the reserve/retired list.  ESPN’s Todd Archer reported the team’s move on Thursday.

The reason it took so long is that by waiting until June, the team spread his cap hit over the next two years instead of absorbing his $12M hit in 2020 alone. The Cowboys’ front office was expected to make this happen to open up cap space this season.

https://twitter.com/toddarcher/status/1268602098649837568

Now that it’s official and the Cowboys have an extra $7M in cap space, the question becomes what are they going to spend it in? While negotiations with QB Dak Prescott continue, the team might be interested in a handful of free agents that are still available.

The main name that comes to mind is Defensive End Everson Griffen, formerly a Minnesota Viking. Although the league announced Aldon Smith was reinstated and the team drafted Bradlee Anae while also awaiting a potential return from Randy Gregory, the team needs a clear-cut starter to replace Robert Quinn in the defensive line.

As for the vacancy left by Frederick in the offensive line, the Cowboys will likely address things in-house. Joe Looney started in his place in 2018 and was quite successful at it. Among the team’s ranks, Connor McGovern should fight for the position as well after being drafted in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Also in the positional battle, rookie Tyler Biadasz will be featured.