Dallas Cowboys: Henry Melton Proving To Be Worth His Contract
By Shawn Lealos
When the Dallas Cowboys signed defensive tackle Henry Melton, he was coming off an injury plagued season with the Chicago Bears. He had torn his ACL and only played in three games with the Bears in 2013. The Cowboys knew he was a risky pick, but they had to replace a defensive line that had lost DeMarcus Ware, Jason Hatcher and Jay Ratliff. To make the signing safe, Dallas wrote the deal as a one-year contract with an option for three more.
After proving himself back to full strength from his ACL surgery, Melton told ESPN on Monday that he doesn’t even think about the option on his contract. While signing with Dallas was a case of Melton betting on himself, a bet that he is winning, Melton is just thinking about winning games right now and helping the Cowboys defense continue to defy odds.
After the first few games of the 2014 NFL season, the Dallas Cowboys defensive line was greatly underperforming. The line had recorded less sacks through the first few games than anyone in the NFL, and when looking at how Ware and Hatcher were performing with their new teams, Cowboys fans missed the quarterback sacks that they had grown accustomed to. Then Melton, who has worked all season as a reserve in the Cowboys’ rotation, came to life.
Henry Melton has five sacks on the season now, the most on the Cowboys defense. Melton shared a sack in the second game of the season and recorded his first solo sack against the New Orleans Saints in week four. In back-to-back games against the Washington Redskins and Arizona Cardinals, Melton recorded 3.5 sacks. Those aren’t bad numbers for a reserve working in a rotation, especially one only getting paid a base salary of $1.25 million.
However, if Dallas picks up his option, his salary will jump to $9 million in 2015 and then $7.5 million in 2016 and 2017. With Melton not starting right now, Dallas will have to decide if he is worth that much money. Since he is the only defensive lineman reaching the quarterback, it seems like he deserves more playing time and serious consideration for the Cowboys to pick up his option. If he gets one more sack this season, he earns $250,000 in incentive bonus and if he gets another sack, it jumps to $500,000. Eight sacks and he tops out at a $750,000 bonus.
The big problem with paying someone like Melton is that Dallas really needs to consider re-signing Dez Bryant, DeMarco Murray and Rolando McClain in 2015, and they might not have the money needed to pay Melton as well. Melton is a dominating presence, with two tackles for a loss, 13 quarterback pressures, three pass breakups and two fumble recoveries. The problem is that he has only started two games and only averages 30 snaps a game. Much like Anthony Spencer, Melton is a quality reserve who could be a starter anywhere else.
The Dallas Cowboys have a lot of decisions to make in 2015. Signing Bryant, Murray and McClain should lead the discussion, but Henry Melton is playing well enough to make his argument that the Cowboys should not ignore him. There aren’t enough pass rushers on this defense to let another one escape.
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Shawn S. Lealos is a freelance writer who graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2000 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. He writes for a variety of national publications and has over 15 years of sports journalism experience. Follow Shawn on Twitter @sslealos. Examiner.com.