Sean Lee is under contract for 2019, and the Cowboys linebacker has decided to continue playing in 2019. With Lee now a backup linebacker, having had Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith supplant him, he likely will have to take a pay cut to make it work.
Lee is scheduled to make $7 million in base salary and count $10.1 million against the salary cap.
But coach Jason Garrett said the Cowboys want Lee to return.
“He did such an amazing job with our young linebackers that we had,” Garrett said Wednesday. “If you think about Jaylon Smith, had not played a lot of football for us, coming off the injury and then obviously Leighton Vander Esch being a rookie. They hadn’t played a lot of snaps in the NFL. When they were playing more and more and more in Sean’s absence, he did such a great job helping those guys in their preparation, how they get ready for a game, how they handle the different situations that come up in a game He just did a fantastic job, and he’s a really good football player, just watch him play in the Rams game, the number of plays that he made.
“He’s got a lot of football left in him and he’ll be apart of what we’re doing going forward.”
Lee, 32, missed nine games last season and has missed 51 in his nine-year career.
“Unfortunately that’s something Sean has dealt with for a large part of his career,” Garrett said. “Nobody cares about it more than Sean Lee. Nobody works harder than Sean Lee. But unfortunately durability has been an issue. That was a big reason we drafted these young linebackers the last couple of years because Sean has missed time. He’d be the first to tell you that. But when he has played, he has played really well. He’s had a big impact on our football team, not only what he’s doing on the field but off the field with his leadership. You continue to try to find the key with all your players to keep them healthy. Sean works harder at this than anybody I’ve ever been around. We’ll keep trying to do that, try to keep him on the field.”
