The Cowboys are one of five teams that have a payroll higher than $120 million heading into the 2011 season. The New York Jets, Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos and New York Giants also have more than $120 million already written out to players this fall. These teams will be required to trim their expenditures to the new limit by the time the season officially begins.

The Cowboys currently have $136.6 million scheduled in player salaries for this season, almost $17 million over the new salary cap. At first, it seems this would give Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones a good reason to release receiver Roy Williams, running back Marion Barber and offensive tackle Marc Colombo. Those three players combine for a whopping $11.25 million of the Cowboys’ 2011 payroll. However, releasing all three of them would still leave the Cowboys $5.35 million over the salary cap.

Judging by Jones’ history and reputation, he’ll find a way to make it work. The new CBA also creates a loophole for teams to fit all their players under the new salary cap. Leaked details of the new deal state teams can now restructure veteran contracts to reflect dollar amounts as mostly signing bonuses rather than cap dollars. That means Jones will still pay quarterback Tony Romo, linebacker DeMarcus Ware and receiver Miles Austin a combined $24.2 million in 2011. Instead of all that money counting toward the cap, Jones can change the words in those players’ contracts to where they receive the league minimum in salaries and the rest in signing bonuses.

By releasing Williams, Barber and Colombo and then restructuring Romo, Ware and Austin’s contacts, Dallas could bring its 2011 payroll down to $103.3 million. This is possible by Romo and Ware each making $765,000 and Austin earning $640,000 in cap salaries. That would leave the Cowboys with $16.7 million to spend on draft picks and free agents. That’s still pretty scary because first-round draft pick Tyron Smith was taken No. 9 overall and top 16 picks still make pretty good money under the new CBA.

Although absolute details of a new rookie wage scale have not been completely ironed out yet, a ballpark figure of Smith’s contract can be accurately estimated. Details of the new CBA state all rookies will be signed to four-year deals with a fifth-year team option. These new rules also state first overall pick Cam Newton will make roughly $22 million over his four-year deal with his salary gradually increasing each season the same way rookie deals were done under the old CBA. The details of the fifth-year option are still up in the air. The owners are looking toward $4 million for the last year while the players are leaning closer to $13 million.

From that, it can be estimated that Smith will make around $20 million over his first four years in Dallas. Jones could structure Smith’s deal in a fashion that would give him the league minimum during his first year, which would keep the Cowboys far enough under the salary cap that one or two marquee free agents could be signed.

Of course, one of those would have to be left tackle Doug Free, who is now an unrestricted free agent thanks to the new CBA. This new deal will give Jones a 72-hour window to sign Free once free agency officially begins, whether it be on July 21 or later. Jones might can sign Free to a big contract and put a majority of it in signing bonuses if the new CBA holds true, but that still doesn’t leave much room for a big prize like Oakland Raiders free agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.

Plus, releasing Williams, Barber and/or Colombo could result in cap penalties, which also haven’t been set in stone. Those cap penalties could keep Dallas from signing any free agents, including Free. Is all of this clear as mud? Needless to say, Jones needs to tread lightly during his 72-hour window and then even lighter after that. Otherwise, the Cowboys could be doomed to another disappointing season.

Under the current deal, players’ salaries are set and affect the salary cap as dollar figures. If the leaked details of the potential new deal are true, then all of the Cowboys’ veteran players could continue to receive large cash flows. But these astronomical amounts of money could all end up virtually as presents from team owner Jerry Jones. Technically, the extra money could be counted as signing bonuses, even though veterans “signed” their contracts years earlier.

As of right now, the new CBA will require teams to use at least 90 percent of cap space and that could increase to 93 percent before it’s all said and done. To accomplish this without overpaying underachieving players like Williams, team will be able to restructure veteran salaries to the league minimum with the remaining money technically becoming signing bonuses.

That means guys like Barber and Williams could be kept if Jones is willing to shell out enough money to pay their ludicrous contracts out of his ocean-deep pockets. Of course, their contracts can still be restructured the old fashioned way; they can simply take pay cuts if they simply want to continue wearing the star on their helmets. Regardless of this new loophole, I wouldn’t bet on Barber or Colombo being in Dallas this fall.

This is also good news for the Cowboys regarding highly paid star players like quarterback Tony Romo, receiver Miles Austin and linebacker DeMarcus Ware. The three of them combined are scheduled to make almost $25 million in 2011 and will still do so, but the money may be written on the payroll as signing bonuses instead of salary. To clarify, all those Benjamins still work just the same.

This new deal could make moving money easier than ever for Jones and help with free agency, which is affected in a negative way for him under the new CBA.

Ware finished twelfth on both lists, but believes he should be No. 1 on each. NFL Network’s Top 100 NFL Players of 2011 saw Ware just ahead of Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson and just behind Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Ware finished ahead of five other Cowboys, tight end Jason Witten, center Andre Gurode, receiver Miles Austin, quarterback Tony Romo and nose tackle Jay Ratliff. The NFL Network rankings were voted on by NFL players, also to the dismay of Ware.

The writers who put together ESPN’s NFL Player Power Rankings had Ware just ahead of Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews and just behind Houston Texans receiver Andre Johnson. Ware was the only Cowboy to make that list, which only showcases 20 players.

As mentioned, Ware is an elite player in the NFL. He has led the league in sacks in two of his six seasons and finished in the top 10 in three out of the other four. The only exception was his rookie season in2005 when he finished 24^th with eight sacks. Ware even finished with a whopping 20 sacks in 2008, the sixth most all time in a single season.

If Ware can perform at that high level on a normal basis, imagine what he will do this season with all the incentive facing him. Ware has publicly expressed his disapproval of the Cowboys’ disappointing 2010 season and vowed to correct it this year. On top of that, Ware got no praise for leading the league in sacks last year and now has been snubbed on two different NFL top 10 player lists. To put a cherry on top, so to speak, one of those rankings was formulated by his NFL peers.

Any left tackle in the league that has to face Ware this season won’t stand a chance. That includes a couple of Pro Bowlers and All-Pros in the New England Patriots’ Matt Light, the New York Jets’ D’Brickashaw Ferguson, the Miami Dolphins’ Jake Long, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jason Peters and the New York Giants’ David Diehl. In retrospect, Ware has his work cut out for him. But with the incentive he has to prove he’s the NFL’s best, I’d count on a monster year from the new “Manster.”

When asked specifically what he thought about being No. 12 on the list, Ware didn’t answer modestly.

“I think I should be the number one guy on the list. But at the end of the day, people are going to vote you where they think you should be,” Ware said.

While in studio, Ware was asked to create his own list of the top five pass rushers in the NFL other than himself. That list is includes:

1. Julius Peppers, Chicago Bears DE
2. Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis Colts DE
3. Jared Allen, Minnesota Vikings DE
4. James Harrison, Pittsburgh Steelers LB
5. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers LB

NFL Network personality and NFL Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk said Freeney should have been ranked higher than Ware on the overall list. Freeney is listed three spots below Ware at No. 15. Ware said he respected Faulk’s opinion, but he truly believes he should be No. 1 on the list. Regardless of Ware’s opinion, many, including myself, think it absurd Ware is outside the top 10.

NFL Network recently released its list of the 100 best players in the league heading into the 2011 season. NFL Network started from the bottom at No. 100 and is slowly revealing each player until we get to No. 1. Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware is the sixth player on America’s Team to make the list at No. 12 ahead of tight end Jason Witten at No. 36, center Andre Gurode at No. 57, receiver Miles Austin at No. 70, quarterback Tony Romo at No. 72 and defensive tackle Jay Ratliff at No. 75. Just ahead of Ware is Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and just behind him is  Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson.

QB

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts

2. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

3. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers

RB

1. LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles

2. Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs

3. Arian Foster, Houston Texans

WR-X

1. Hakeem Nicks, New York Giants

2. Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts

3. Andre Johnson, Houston Texans

TE

1. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers

2. Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys

3. Dallas Clark, Indianapolis Colts

WR-Z

1. Miles Austin, Dallas Cowboys

2. Wes Welker, New England Patriots

3. Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles

LT

1. Joe Thomas, Cleveland Browns

2. Jake Long, Miami Dolphins

3. D’Brickashaw Ferguson, New York Jets

LG

1. Jahri Evans, New Orleans Saints

2. Brian Waters, Kansas City Chiefs

3. Kris Dielman, San Diego Chargers

C

1. Jeff Saturday, Indianapolis Colts

2. Nick Mangold, New York Jets

3. Andre Gurode, Dallas Cowboys

RG

1. Chris Snee, New York Giants

2. Logan Mankins, New England Patriots

3. Carl Nicks, New Orleans Saints

RT

1. Jordan Gross, Carolina Panthers

2. Chad Llifton, Green Bay Packers

3. Donald Penn, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

LE

1. Julius Peppers, Chicago Bears

2. Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis Colts

3. John Abraham, Atlanta Falcons

DT

1. Haloti Ngata, Baltimore Ravens

2. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions

3. Vince Wilfork, New England Patriots

RE

1. Robert Mathis, Indianapolis Colts

2. Justin Tuck, New York Giants

3. Brett Keisel, Pittsburgh Steelers

LOLB

1. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers

2. James Harrison, Pittsburgh Steelers

3. Brian Orakpo, Washington Redskins

MLB

1. Jonathan Vilma, New Orleans Saints

2. Patrick Willis, San Francisco 49ers

3. Jon Beason, Carolina Panthers

ROLB

1. DeMarcus Ware, Dallas Cowboys

2. Terrell Suggs, Baltimore Ravens

3. Cameron Wake, Miami Dolphins

LCB

1. Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland Raiders*

2. Darrelle Revis, New York Jets

3. DeAngelo Hall, Washington Redskins

FS

1. Ed Reed, Baltimore Ravens

2. Nick Collins, Green Bay Packers

3. Michael Griffin, Tennessee Titans

SS

1. Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh Steelers

2. Michael Huff, Oakland Raiders*

3. Adrian Wilson, Arizona Cardinals

RCB

1. Asante Samuel, Philadelphia Eagles

2. Brent Grimes, Atlanta Falcons

3. Antoine Winfield, Minnesota Vikings

P

1. Mat McBriar, Dallas Cowboys

2. Shane Lechler, Oakland Raiders

3. Andy Lee, San Francisco 49ers

K

1. Mason Crosby, Green Bay Packers

2. Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots

3. Nate Kaeding, San Diego Chargers

* Notable free agent

Bowen spoke of his situation as a restricted free agent on Tuesday.

“There’s nothing I can do,” Bowen said. “Hopefully it works itself out and a player in my position will get a chance to get a second deal.”

Bowen has been working out with Dallas teammates DeMarcus Ware, Anthony Spencer, Victor Butler and Jason Hatcher this off-season in Grapevine, Texas. Bowen could easily work out on his own if he didn’t expect or didn’t want to be a Cowboy when the lockout is resolved.

Bowen has also praised new Dallas defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and his unique version of the 3-4 defense. Bowen has been studying Ryan’s scheme this off-season with Ware and a majority of his defensive teammates. It’s apparent Bowen wants to remain in Dallas. The new CBA will determine his fate.

Romo told the media that his fiancée does most of the wedding planning.

“Candice has gotten a lot of help from a lot of people,” Romo said. “I go and put my two cents in whenever there is music to be determined or things of that nature.”

Those close to Romo know he’s not the type to be deeply involved in planning something such as a wedding. Still, his teammates offer their advice when Romo needs or wants it, just like Cowboys tight end Jason Witten.

“I’m excited for him, because he’s marrying a real sweet girl,” Witten said. “This is an exciting time in his life.”

Of course, players like Romo and Witten are also eager to discuss football, or the lack thereof lately. The player-only workouts are the only thing the Cowboys have right now that ties the players’ to their employment.

“It’s been good for us,” Witten said. “I think we said at the beginning when we did this that we wanted to get an edge in the off-season. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do. We were 6-10 last year, so we have a lot we can get better at.”

Of course, Witten went on to credit Romo for the workouts, although he and Dallas linebacker DeMarcus Ware have also been instrumental in organizing them.

“Romo has done a good job of leading it, but a lot of other guys, too, are being responsible for their group — Marc Colombo and Keith Brooking and Bradie James and DeMarcus Ware,” Witten said. “There are so many guys. It’s really an opportunity for us as leaders to take our team to another level.”

Romo summed it all up with a statement that most likely reelects all players’ attitudes:

“We want to play football,” Romo said. “We want to be out there, and we want to be doing what we love to do. I hope, and I expect that will happen.”

The Cowboys were recently fined after Ryan gave defensive playbooks to several of the team’s defensive players. That fine turned out to be a small price to pay for a team desperate to become a defensive powerhouse again. Ryan is definitely the answer at defensive coordinator to begin that process and he’s off to a good start by getting his scheme to his players despite the lockout.

On Tuesday, Ware spoke of his defense’s progress during the player-only workouts.

“It’s going really good,” Ware said. “It’s actually a lot better because there’s no pressure of the coaches telling you what to do. We’ve got a playbook. We’re all going off the sheet.”

Ryan’s defense is a complex hybrid of the traditional 3-4 defense, which is almost as difficult for the players as switching from 4-3 to 3-4 entirely. Ware said he and his teammates are taking the change in stride.

“We’re not going from a 4-3 to a 3-4,” Ware said. “It’s 3-4 to 3-4 with different terminology, with different positions but the principles are still the same. You’re just learning the terminology and communicating out there what to do, communicating the plays. If we mess up it’s not like someone’s on your back saying, ‘Get it right.’ It’s, ‘OK, let’s do it over again.’ We’re going at our own pace, which is good.”

The process would obviously be easier with Ryan in attendance, but the Cowboys are making immense progress with players like Ware and fellow linebackers Bradie James and Keith Brooking acting as player-coaches during the workouts. Ware said Ryan’s new defense allows players like himself to be more versatile.

“When I look at this, I’m like three different guys,” Ware said. “I can be a defensive end, a tackle, a standup outside linebacker. There’s a lot of movement. The thing is it’s not about which guy plays that position. It’s about everybody being in the right spot at the right time so things play out the right way.”

Offense

WR -X: 1. Dez Bryant 2. Roy Williams 3. Jesse Holley

LT: 1. Doug Free 2. Alex Barron

LG: 1. Kyle Kosier 2. Montrae Holland

C: 1. Andre Gurode 2. Phil Costa

RG: 1. Leonard Davis 2. David Arkin

RT: 1. Tyron Smith 2. Sam Young

TE: 1. Jason Witten 2. John Phillips 3. Martellus Bennett

WR-Z: 1. Miles Austin 2. Sam Hurd 3. Kevin Ogletree

QB: 1. Tony Romo 2. Jon Kitna 3. Stephen McGee

FB: 1. Chris Gronkowski 2. Shaun Chapas

RB: 1. Felix Jones 2. Tashard Choice 3. DeMarco Murray

Defense

RE: 1. Igor Olshansky 2. Jason Hatcher

NT: 1. Jay Ratliff 2. Josh Brent

LE: 1. Stephen Bowen 2. Jason Hatcher

LOLB: 1. Anthony Spencer 2. Victor Butler

LMLB: 1. Bradie James 2. Bruce Carter

RMLB: 1. Keith Brooking 2. Sean Lee

ROLB: 1. DeMarcus Ware 2. Bruce Carter

LCB: 1. Terence Newman 2. Alan Ball 3. Orlando Scandrick

RCB: 1. Mike Jenkins 2. Bryan McCann 3. Orlando Scandrick

FS: 1. Akwasi Owusu-Ansah 2. Danny McCray

SS: 1. Gerald Sensabaugh 2: Barry Church

Special Teams

P: 1. Mat McBriar

K: 1. David Buehler

KOS: 1. David Buehler 2. Mat McBriar

FGH: 1. Mat McBriar 2. Stephen McGee

KR: 1. Bryan McCann 2. Kevin Ogletree

PR: 1. Bryan McCann 2. Akwasi Owusu-Ansah

LS: 1. L.P. Ladouceur