Report: Cowboys to use franchise tag on DE Lawrence

The Dallas Cowboys will place the franchise tag on Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence after being unable to reach a deal on a long-term contract, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter on Monday.

Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET is the deadline for teams to place the franchise tag on pending free agents.

The 25-year-old Lawrence led the Cowboys with 14.5 sacks in 2017, playing all 16 games while earning his first Pro Bowl selection.

Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said last month that the team prefers a long-term contract rather than using the franchise tag.

"We won't let D-Law not be a Dallas Cowboy next year. We'll get that straight right now," Jones told the team's official website. "We'll do everything we can to try to make something work, and if we don't get it done then we'll franchise tag him. Then we'll go back to work. We'd like to not have that franchise tag hanging out there. We've got a big negotiation ahead of us. But we don't want Demarcus Lawrence going anywhere."

If the two sides don't agree to a deal by Tuesday's deadline, the Cowboys will have until 4 p.m. ET on July 15 to sign Lawrence to a multiyear contract or he will have to play the 2018 season under the one-year tender for around $17 million.

Lawrence, who turns 26 in April, had back surgery after the 2015 season and recorded just one sack in 2016, playing in nine games after dealing with back pain for most of the season. He had a second surgery on his back in January 2017.

A healthy Lawrence also had 58 tackles, five tackles for loss and four forced fumbles, recovering two, last season.

The Cowboys traded up in the second round to take Lawrence with the 34th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.

--Field Level Media