Brandon Carr Refuses Pay Cut; Should Dallas Cowboys Cut Him?

The Dallas Cowboys may be forced to release starting cornerback Brandon Carr after it was reported on Monday that he is unwilling to take a reduction in salary.

Brandon Carr is not taking a pay cut, per his agent
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) March 23, 2015

This is unfortunate news as the Cowboys just significantly improved their pass rush with the signing of controversial free agent defensive end Greg Hardy last week. No player figured to benefit more than Carr.

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Since joining Dallas as a free agent himself, Carr has been one of the highest paid and underperforming cornerbacks in the NFL simultaneously. When Carr signed with the Cowboys in 2012, he agreed to a five-year, $50.1 million deal.

In 2014, Carr recorded his worst season since coming to Dallas. The 28-year old corner had 45 solo tackles, eight passes defended and, for the first time in his seven-year career, no interceptions.

Pro Football Focus ranked Carr as the 209th overall best cornerback in the NFL last season. And that’s out of only 230 corners total! Yet, OverTheCap.com ranks his yearly average salary in 2014 of $10.04 million as the sixth highest among all professional corners.

"“Carr played well this year and I’m not as critical of Carr as others. But that’s a lot of money,” Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones told the Star-Telegram back in January. “One thing that we just got to do is we’ve got to make sure that every way we can, we get the value for the money.”"

And the Cowboys are certainly not getting equal value from Carr. That’s why the idea of a reduction in his pay this offseason made sense.

Yet, Carr seems to believe his play was worth that kind of money. Actually, its worse than that as the veteran corner is schedule to make a $12.7 million cap hit in 2015.

Granted, Carr did play better towards the end of the year last season. But that in no way excuses three years of mediocre play. PFF ranked Carr the 101st best corner in the league in 2013, and 73rd the year before.

Taking a glimpse at the current free agent market for corners, I can understand why the Cowboys would want to retain Carr. All the big names have been signed.

With first round cornerback bust Morris Claiborne injured and in the final year of his rookie contract, plus the loss of veteran corner Sterling Moore to free agency, Dallas is a little shorthanded in the defensive backfield.

But if Carr is unwilling to admit his play hasn’t been worth the price tag, then I think it’s time to move on from him. Then, Dallas should look towards next month’s draft to find his replacement.

But what do you think? After refusing to take a pay cut, should Carr be cut by the Cowboys?

Submit your answer in the poll below and feel free to explain your choice in our comment section.

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