The Dallas Cowboys are setting themselves up to make moves in free agency by getting under the NFL cap.
The Dallas Cowboys still need to get in cap compliance, and made several moves to do so on Wednesday, ones that reduced their $55 million over the cap to get below that $301.2 million salary cap threshold. The Cowboys cleared about $66 million by restructuring the three key deals of star quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and left guard Tyler Smith. Now, that all just gives them about $10 million in cap space to work with, and owner and general manager Jerry Jones will need to make a few more moves in order to have the opportunity to make subsequent ones and be aggressive in free agency.
Mainly, one of the priorities on Dallas’ fans minds is securing a long-term deal with wide receiver George Pickens, a move that would also reduce Pickens’ $27.3 million cap hit in tandem. Jones already announced plans at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine to rework the deals of defensive tackles Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark and Osa Odighizuwa, all of whom stand to have a $63 million total cap hit. That’s pretty much the only position on defense that the Cowboys don’t have glaring needs at to address in free agency.
Here is the full story from Cowboys Roundtable writer Mike Fisher on the major moves that hopefully set the stage for bigger plays down the line in Dallas.
Now, it doesn’t make those cap hits go away – it essentially kicks the can down the road. Prescott’s 2027 cap number is now a considerable hit over $76 million as a result of converting his base salary into a signing bonus – something written in players’ contracts. But it certainly sets up the ability to keep shuffling and potentially make a more aggressive move at the start of free agency.