Mar 15, 2022 - 03:19
By espn.com

Sources -- DeMarcus Lawrence agrees to 3-year deal with Dallas Cowboys

FRISCO, Texas — DeMarcus Lawrence has agreed to a new three-year deal worth $30 million guaranteed, sources told ESPN, with the new contract providing the Dallas Cowboys salary-cap relief this year.

Lawrence's future with the team had been in question with a $27 million salary-cap figure and the Cowboys needing to find room just to get under the cap, but the sides were able to work out a deal that keeps him in Dallas through at least 2024. Lawrence's $27 million cap figure would have been the fifth-highest hit of any defensive player in 2022.

While the exact figures are not yet known, the Cowboys will have more space to keep their own free agents, like safeties Jayron Kearse and Malik Hooker, as well as defensive end Randy Gregory, who has received early interest from multiple teams, including the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts, according to sources.

In 2019, Lawrence signed a five-year, $101 million deal that included $65 million in guaranteed money. After adding a voidable year on to the deal in 2020, the Cowboys tore up the final three years of the original deal in exchange for the new contract.

Lawrence is the heart and soul of the Cowboys' defense. Since posting 14.5 and 10.5 sacks in 2017 and 2018 that saw him land the franchise tag twice, he has not had more than 6.5 sacks in a season. He was limited to seven games in 2021 after undergoing foot surgery following the season opener. He finished with three sacks, five pass deflections, an interception, two tackles for loss and