Dallas Cowboys’ linebacker Anthony Spencer signs franchise tender, will play 2012 season as a Cowboy
Dallas Cowboys’ linebacker, Anthony Spencer, has signed the franchise tender, which will now guarantee his association with the franchise for the next National Football League (NFL) season.
After signing the tender on Monday, April 23, 2012, the player will now earn $8.8 million in 2012.
Spencer started his professional NFL career with the Cowboys, who gave him a five-year contract in 2007. He played two seasons at backup position before becoming the team’s regular starter.
In his rookie season, Spencer started only six games while playing all 16 in the regular season and posted 36 tackles. In the next season, however, he was not given starting role in any game and he ended up registering 34 tackles in 12 games. He could have
had a better record had he played more games in the season.
In 2009, he finally took the starting role and played and started all 16 games of the regular season in which he made 67 tackles. He recorded 63 tackles in the next season.
In the last season, Spencer made 15 starts while playing 16 games and got 66 tackles.
After the end of the last season, Spencer had expressed a desire to win a new long-term deal from the Cowboys. He even contemplated exploring different options in the free agency if the Cowboys did not give him the desired deal.
However, he was short of options right from the start. He commented after the end of the last season:
"I'm just waiting around, pretty much just waiting for something to happen. Of course I want the long-term security ... I would want to have something done. But if it doesn't happen, what can I do about it?”
Last month, Cowboys decided against giving Spencer the long-term deal and placed their franchise tag on the player.
Spencer still had the opportunity to attract buyers off the free agency. Had any team shown interest in him, the prospective buyer would have to match the tender amount put by the Cowboys.
But now it seems that Spencer could not attract any buyer who could match the tender price, leaving him with no other option but to sign the tender.
Spencer also did not participate in the first two weeks of the team’s ongoing offseason voluntary workout programme.
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