FRISCO, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones loves where the team is in its ability to add quality players through the draft and free agency, which he traces to the decision made at the start of the 2025 season.
"The very best of what we were trying to get involving the Micah Parsons trade is all out there ahead of us," Jones said at the end-of-season press conference.
Away from the cameras, Jones mentioned the possibility to "bust the budget" as he chases his stated goal of being the owner with the most Super Bowl wins when he is done. Jones is three behind New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's six.
It makes you think the Cowboys might actually do something in free agency.
At this moment, the salary cap picture is more of a Monet painting -- a little fuzzy depending on the perspective.
What we know is the Cowboys will need to clear space to get under the 2026 cap. What we don't know is just how much. That will come sometime in early March when the cap is set.
The Cowboys have contracts totaling about $330 million in cap room. Some NFL cap projections are between $295 million and $305 million.
So, conservatively, the Cowboys will have to come up with $30 million just to get under the cap. If they place the wide receiver tag on unrestricted free agent George Pickens, then that's another $28 million or so that hits the cap immediately.
Fear not, the Cowboys can create upward of $100 million in salary cap room by restructuring the contracts of QB Dak Prescott, WR CeeDee Lamb, G Tyler Smith, DT Osa Odighizuwa, CB DaRon Bland and TE Jake Ferguson if they reduce their base salaries down to the minimum.
But there is a caveat there with at least two of those restructures.
If they do the full restructure on Prescott, then that adds nearly $8 million to his cap figures from 2027 to 2031. His cap numbers in 2027 and 2028 would grow to more than $75 million and $85 million. Perhaps it would be wiser to not fully convert Prescott's $40 million base salary to ease the burden down the road.
Then there is Bland. He is coming off his second foot surgery in as many years. Do the Cowboys want to add to his future cap numbers when there is an injury concern? Bland's fully guaranteed money ends after this season, giving the Cowboys the possibility of an easier out in 2027 should they not restructure his deal now.
Perhaps the best plan is to hold off on restructuring Bland's contract for a rainy day if something comes up later in free agency, the summer or by the trade deadline.
But all of these contracts were designed in their early years to be restructured to give the Cowboys cap flexibility. By reworking the deals of Lamb and Smith, the Cowboys can net roughly $36 million in space.
And if they want even more space, they can sign defensive tackles Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark to extensions. Clark is due an $11 million roster bonus by March 13, so there might be a more pressing need with him, although both are signed through 2027.
Of the Cowboys' 15 unrestricted free agents, three appear to be the most vital to return: Pickens, running back Javonte Williams and defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.
All three said they want to return to the Cowboys, but all three have different situations.
Pickens can ask for top-of-the-market receiver money. Two years ago, the Cowboys paid Lamb a deal worth $34 million annually. Would they top that for Pickens, who had career highs in catches (93), yards (1,412) and touchdowns (eight) after coming over from the Pittsburgh Steelers in an offseason trade?
That's why the belief is the Cowboys will use the franchise tag on Pickens. And that would open up other scenarios, like Pickens' availability in the voluntary offseason program and training camp. The Cowboys went through Parsons' hold-in during training camp last summer, and Pickens has the same agency as Parsons at Athletes First.
The price for Clowney, who led the Cowboys with 8.5 sacks, went up with how he closed the season, even as he enters his 13th season. He said he wants to be part of an offseason program and training camp, so he is more physically prepared to play than he was when he joined the Cowboys in September. His on-field value is important to a pass rush that was not a strength in 2025, and coach Brian Schottenheimer lauded Clowney's off-field work with younger players like Donovan Ezeiruaku.
Williams finished with 1,201 yards, the most by a Dallas running back since Ezekiel Elliott in 2019. But he made $3 million in 2025 and is likely to double that average on a multi-year deal. The Cowboys can point to their last two 1,000-yard rushers -- Williams and Rico Dowdle, a 2020 undrafted free agent -- as proof a running back can be found anywhere.
The Cowboys also have some decisions to make with their restricted free agents. Since he was not drafted, All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey is likely to receive the second-round tender, which is projected to be a little more than $6 million. The Cowboys had talks with Aubrey's agent, Todd France, on a multiyear deal last summer but never got close. Perhaps those get rekindled in the offseason, which could make Aubrey the highest-paid kicker in the NFL but with a cap number of less than $6 million for 2026.
Guard T.J. Bass, also undrafted, started five games last season. If the Cowboys want to keep Smith at left tackle, Bass has shown he can handle the left guard spot. Do the Cowboys look to do a shorter multiyear deal with Bass that pays him well enough to buy out his unrestricted free agent year in 2027? The Cowboys made similar deals with returner KaVontae Turpin and safety Markquese Bell last summer. Brock Hoffman, who has been a top interior reserve the last two years, is in the same boat.
In a perfect world, the Cowboys will get all of that done before free agency begins March 11 because they will need to be active and do more than just fill holes on defense.
Defensive tackle is the only spot they are set with Williams, Clark, Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas. They need multiple linebackers, perhaps multiple safeties and cornerbacks as well as edge rushers.
From a cap perspective, the Cowboys will be in position to do whatever they want to do in free agency.
Will they choose to do what most fans want?
"I don't want to sound by saying 'We're going to be active in free agency,' then disappoint and say that we weren't," Jones said. "But if we have an opportunity in free agency, and if we have more than one opportunity, we're going to take advantage of the fact that we're in better shape today to play free agency than we thought we might be. And so we're going to use it."
