FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys are turning the page when it comes to their Blow It Up roster remake, and to be frank, DeMarcus Lawrence finishing his run with "America's Team'' after the 2024 season was always the plan.
Would he join up with former Dallas assistant coach Dan Quinn by being poached by the Washington Commanders? Would he find his way to the AFC, where he would be less likely to come back to haunt the Cowboys?
In the end, it is the Seattle Seahawks who are stealing DeMarcus Lawrence away from the Dallas Cowboys.
After 11 seasons representing the Cowboys, "Tank'' is getting a handsome payday as he will join the Seahawks on a three-year deal worth up to $42 million with $18 million guaranteed.
That $18 million number is what blows anything Dallas was going to consider out of the water.
Lawrence's move to Seattle will reunite him with his former defensive line coach and current Seahawks defensive coordinator, Aden Durde, who coached Lawrence in Dallas from 2021 to 2023.
But this is about money.
The Cowboys were never going to pay up like that for 11-year veteran, who was a free agent for less than a day coming off a deal that paid him $20 million per year.
We did know there was a number in his mind, as agent David Canter had explained to us that the Cowboys knew there "is a number that gets it done.''
And we also know that Tank wants to stay in DFW, where he and his family have made their home since was drafted in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
But ...
“I’m going to have other options,'' Lawrence said, "but I’d like to stay here. It would be a glorious thing.”
"Glorious'' just happened in Seattle, where the Seahawks will hope that a foot injury limited him to just four games in 2024 - and the fact he will turn 33 years old at the end of April - will not hamper him.
D-Law can upgrade the pass rush production, and Lawrence unselfishly plays the run as well. ... and all in all, this is an emotionally tough deal for the Cowboys to decide to part ways here with D-Law ... and surely emotional for him to make the move as well.
