There has been some consternation among Cowboys fans about the status of defensive lineman David Irving. When it came time to place a tender on the restricted free agent, the Cowboys opted to use a second-round tender instead of a first-round one, leading to speculation that the Cowboys are actually dangling him out there in hopes that another team will make an offer.

If a team did make an offer that Irving accepted, and the Cowboys chose not to match it, then Dallas would receive that team’s second-round pick. There are thoughts they might do this to bolster the opportunity of making a trade for a player or to move up in the draft. If Irving did stay, by offering the second-round tender the Cowboys will have saved a little over $1 million on the cap.

While the fans are debating the subject, Irving and his agent aren’t really thinking that way, In fact, they are pretty confident Irving will be playing his 2018 season in Dallas. Here is what his agent, Louis Bing, is thinking:

While Irving and his agent would of course listen to overtures made by other teams between now and the April 20 deadline to execute an offer sheet, the offer would need to be substantial. Why? If Irving puts together another solid or great season, he will be able to demand a major deal next offseason as an unrestricted free agent. ”It would have to make sense for him not to play out this year and get to free agency,” Bing said.

Basically, this is a case of Irving betting on himself. Unless he got a deal that just knocked him out, he might want to wait to make it to free agency next season. After all, he did just come off a season where he missed four games due to suspension, and another four games because of injury. That might make other teams a little more cautious, plus missing those games depressed his stats totals. The offers might not be as good as he would like, and he’d rather try to get a full 16-game season on the field in 2018, thus driving up his free agency price if he performs well.

For the Cowboys, they would probably like to see one more year of Irving before going to a long-term deal. There have been off the field incidents that have made the front office a little cautious about fully committing to Irving.

But Irving seems set on playing 2018 in Dallas.

Bing said the 6-7 mismatch has already signed a one-year lease on a new residence. He’s outfitting the garage with a gym and sauna, part of preparing for the upcoming season. Irving is expected to take part in voluntary workouts starting here next week.

Unless some other team decides they just have to spend a ton of money on Irving, it’s likely he will be back this season.