Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is opening dialogue with Pro Bowl kicker Brandon Aubrey. Expect a record-setting deal for the reliable, powerful leg in Dallas.
ARLINGTON - Since Jerry Jones’ trading of superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons to end a months-long contract dispute, there is no arguing that the Dallas Cowboys owner/GM has taken steps to expedite other contract situations.
Jones and his front office signed cornerback DaRon Bland (four years, $92 million) and left guard Tyler Smith (four years, $96 million) to new contract extensions before they could expire after this season.
Dallas has also been a "spender'' when it comes to the trade-gets of Kenny Clark (coming in the Micah deal) and of Quinnen Williams.
Now just a couple more integral players remain in search of a new deal.
And one of them is in the news today as 4-5-1 Dallas plays host to the 8-2 Eagles in NFL Week 12.
All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey has proven his worth, and by the sounds of it, Jerry agrees.
“He certainly is coming,” Jones said in September, referring to a potential extension for Aubrey. “We’ll be looking at that, probably have had communications ... He’s certainly in the future.”
And now comes the NFL Network report that Dallas has had those "communications,'' the outlet writing that the team has "dipped its toes'' into talks.
Aubrey and wide receiver George Pickens are the next two extension candidates in this cycle.
Aubrey, the McKinney native and former soccer pro and software engineer, is off to a historic start to his football career, already with two All-Pro accreditations in as many seasons.
Aubrey has consistency and a big leg - an almost unmatchable combo.
We would try it from 70-ish," coach Brian Schottenheimer has said about how far a field goal he’d be willing to try. "We've seen him make those before (in practice]) We always want to try to get as close as we can. But he's always like, 'yeah, I'm good.' That's pretty cool."
So, a record-long kick could be coming soon, but one record likely comes before that: Aubrey becoming the highest-paid kicker in NFL history.
Agent Todd France (who has given Dallas fits in his winning representation of Dak Prescott) will have his say. But in the end? We say Jones can make that happen at the (relatively) low, low price of $6.5 million a season.
Jerry may already be getting his pen ready. It’s a check that shouldn't take long to write.