The Dallas Cowboys placed the franchise tag on DeMarcus Lawrence on Monday Adidas Sidney Crosby Jersey , and the Pro Bowl defensive end quickly signed the one-year contract that guarantees him $17.1 million in 2018.

The Cowboys had until Tuesday to put the tag on Lawrence, who can still sign a long-term deal with the club that traded up him to get him early in the second round in 2014. Lawrence's agent, David Canter, wrote on Twitter that his client signed the deal.

Lawrence tied All-Pro Calais Campbell of Jacksonville for second in the NFL with 14陆 sacks last season. The 25-year-old's breakout year came after he struggled with injuries most of his first three seasons. He had back surgery each of the previous two offseasons.

On the one-year contract, Lawrence's salary would be the average of the NFL's five highest-paid defensive ends.

Lawrence is an important piece with the Cowboys trying to get back to the playoffs after missing at 9-7 a year after they had an NFC-best 13 wins before losing a divisional playoff to Green Bay.

The former Boise State player emerged for a Dallas defense that has lacked star power beyond 2016 All-Pro linebacker Sean Lee. Lawrence surpassed his previous career high of eight sacks in the fifth game.

Pass rushing was a problem for the Cowboys in each of their past two trips to the playoffs. In 2014, they finished 28th in sacks and couldn't get to a hobbled Aaron Rodgers in a divisional loss to the Packers after Lawrence clinched a wild-card win over Detroit with a sack of Matthew Stafford.

In the rematch with Rodgers, Dallas sacked him three times but couldn't get a stop in the final minutes of a 34-31 loss in January 2017.

Lawrence broke a foot in training camp his rookie year http://www.buffalobillsteamonline.com/tre_davious-white-jersey , missing half the season. His second year was Lawrence's only full season, when he had 31 QB pressures to go with the eight sacks.

After serving a four-game drug suspension to start 2016, he had three sacks in nine games before missing the final three regular-season games with a back injury. He played in the divisional loss to the Packers.

It took all 1,230 regular-season games to decide which 16 teams were going to the NBA playoffs.

Same goes for picking the 36 playoff-bound referees.

The NBA on Friday revealed the officials selected to work the opening round of the playoffs that start this weekend. The league got there with a process including everything from a study of analytics, ratings filed by teams and coaches, the assessments of retired veteran referees and much more.

”It’s definitely a different world to be a part of those who are doing the deciding, instead of those that are being decided upon 49ers Korey Toomer Jersey ,” said longtime referee Monty McCutchen, who left the floor this season to become an NBA vice president. ”And there’s a certain growth pattern for me in that regard, having to learn new skill sets and new ways of sort of approaching it.”

The five active officials with the most playoff experience are all headed back to the postseason this year: Ron Garretson, Ken Mauer, Mike Callahan, Derrick Stafford and Scott Foster have combined to work nearly 1,000 playoff games.

There are three first-time referees selected in Kevin Cutler Customized Oakland Raiders Jerseys , Karl Lane and Kevin Scott. If form for rookie playoff refs holds, they’ll do no more than a handful of games.

”Like in most professions you’re given what you can handle at the time – well, you’re not given it, you’ve earned this opportunity that we want you to experience,” McCutchen said. ”I think it is important to point out someone getting in their first year not going to be working 14 of our playoff games. There’s a developmental stage here that they have shown an excellence that warrants them being a part of this.”

Most of the 12 referees who worked last season’s NBA Finals are back in this year’s playoffs, the exceptions being McCutchen and Danny Crawford, both of whom have retired from officiating.

Courtney Kirkland Youth Dorian O'Daniel Jersey , who was taken off the floor for a week this season after an incident with Golden State’s Shaun Livingston , was selected for the postseason ref roster.

”Are they exhibiting the proper amounts of courage and strength without arrogance? Are they showing humility without weakness? Are they showing the proper amount of resoluteness and firmness to withstand crowd pressure?” McCutchen said, listing some of the things that he and others consider when deciding who gets the playoff call. ”Those are important aspects to being an effective referee.”

The NBA has been stressing better relationships between referees and players for months, and teams do provide some of the feedback that goes into the evaluation process for choosing which officials make the playoffs.

That process used to determine the first-round pool remains in play, as the group gets pared down for subsequent playoff rounds.

”Each referee has a dashboard of thousands of decisions that they’re rated on,” McCutchen said. ”And that gives a very clear picture of where people are being successful.”

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