In the end, there wasn’t much drama to it at all. Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz will reportedly report to the first day of minicamp on Tuesday.
The news first came from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, citing a source.
Schultz had opted to sit out the final week of voluntary OTAs in an effort to prod contract negotiations with the club. The Cowboys placed the franchise tag on Schultz back in March as a way to secure the fifth-year veteran’s services. He signed a tender locking in a 2022 salary of $10.93 million if a new deal isn’t reached by July 15.
According to Pelissero, “talks have picked up in recent days.” Though nothing is apparently imminent, there’s been enough movement, apparently, to encourage the Stanford alum to report for the three-day mandatory session.
#Cowboys franchise-tagged TE Dalton Schultz will report to minicamp today, per source.
No deal imminent, but contract talks have picked up in recent days. Schultz already signed his tender, locking in a $10.931 million salary for 2022 if no deal by July 15.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) June 14, 2022
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Schultz said he spent considerable time in the gym this offseason to bulk up, gaining extra weight so he can, as he put it, “hold my own a little more” against the league’s larger edge rushers.
It’s felt that the Cowboys ultimately don’t want to pay Schultz elite tight end money, despite him turning in career highs in targets, receptions, receiving yards, first downs, and touchdowns in 2021. His franchise tag number places him within the top ten at the position in terms of annual salary.
But massive paydays are already being given to Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, and DeMarcus Lawrence. Rising superstars Trevon Diggs and CeeDee Lamb will be in line for second contracts soon. And the front office has to already be thinking about what it will take to keep linebacker phenom Micah Parsons in a Cowboys uniform.
As solid as Schultz has been, it may simply not be enough to stay in Dallas beyond 2022. That’s where the contract talks come in.
“I let my agent kind of handle all that business,” Schultz said two weeks ago.
But he’s back at work on Tuesday, at least.