Bryant McKinnie is the hottest name in free agency at the moment. He has visited almost every possible team in search of a tackle at the moment. The former Baltimore Raven had a slow start to the free agent period, but things have certainly picked up now that the NFL Draft is over and teams are assessing remaining needs on the roster. McKinnie has visited everyone from the Miami Dolphins to the San Diego Chargers. Now, the Dallas Cowboys are getting in on the tackle fun.
The more teams that become interested in McKinnie, the greater his value becomes. He is smart to take the visits from teams since it will likely increase his contract size and worth. The Cowboys have been trying to decide what to do about the tackle position. Current right tackle Doug Free is hanging in limbo. The Cowboys will either ask him to take a pay cut with the team or flat out cut him by June. They have limited salary cap space and need to work out Free's status with the team first.
Free's salary of $7 million makes him the highest paid right tackle in the league and the Cowboys intend on reducing that. They need him to take a pay cut in the range of $3 to $4 million to work with their available cap space. The team's interest in McKinnie could be just a smoke screen to get Free to reduce his salary. The market has been hit or miss with tackles lately and Free would be wise to just reduce his salary.
The San Diego Chargers already have an offer in place for McKinnie. The tackle visited team facilities and stayed overnight to have dinner with team executives. While he is said to be considering the contract, he has also remained in discussions with the Miami Dolphins, another team interested in McKinnie. The Baltimore Ravens are also asking the veteran to not forget about them, because they are leaving the door open for his possible return.
The tackle carousel will likely not stop until Branden Albert is signed with a team. Once that happens, everyone else can figure out their next move.
