Cowboys 2025 free agency primer: Pending free agents, cap space available, what to know this NFL offseason

The Dallas Cowboys‘ “all in” 2024 offseason  was just the opposite of what owner and general manager Jerry Jones initially promised. 

Dallas ended up spending an NFL-low $20.47 million in free agency, per OverTheCap.com, and procrastinated on extending both All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and All-Pro quarterback Dak Prescott, which is why Jones’ offseason slogan transformed into “get it done with less.”  Having less experienced depth and just less depth in general doesn’t yield positive results in the NFL. That’s why the Cowboys went from having three consecutive 12-win seasons from 2021 to 2023 to going 7-10 in 2024 amid an injury-plagued campaign.

Cowboys executive vice president and COO Stephen Jones took some accountability on behalf of the team’s front office at head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s introductory press conference, saying they needed to “take a long hard look” at their free agency strategy. Following some reflection, the younger Jones declared Dallas will be “selectively aggressive” this offseason. 

“We’re going to look at everything we can. We’re going to be selectively aggressive,” Stephen Jones said Monday at the NFL Scouting Combine. “Obviously you know there are things in this league, you have certain amount of resources they allow you to have. We’ll look at that. We’re going to try to improve our football team. Not try, we’re going to improve our football, and we expect to have success next year.”  

As we get closer and closer to the unofficial kickoff to free agency with the legal tampering window beginning on March 10, let’s take a closer look at the Cowboys and where they stand entering this key period on the calendar.   

Cowboys free agency lookahead

Unrestricted free agents: DE DeMarcus Lawrence, LB Eric Kendricks, CB Jourdan Lewis, DT Osa Odighizuwa, RB Rico Dowdle, G/C Brock Hoffman, WR Brandin Cooks, QB Cooper Rush, DE Carl Lawson, WR KaVontae Turpin, CB Amani Oruwariye, DT Linval Joseph, DT Carlos Watkins, OT Chuma Edoga, S/CB Israel Mukuamu, LB Nick Vigil, QB Trey Lance, CB C.J. Goodwin

Projected effective cap space: -$324,317 (26th in NFL)

Team needs: DT, CB, DE, RB, OG/C, WR, LB, S, P, LS

Key free agents

Edge rusher Micah Parsons*

* Parsons is not a free agent this offseason, but Dallas would be wise to approach his contract negotiations like he is

Re-signing three-time All-Pro edge rusher Parsons needs to be priority No. 1 for the Cowboys this offseason. He is the only player since sacks began being tracked as an individual statistic in 1982 to have 12 or more sacks in each of his first four seasons in the NFL. Naturally, Parsons desires to be paid like the “best in the business.” He even sought to get his contract negotiations going with Jerry Jones early by arranging a meeting with Jerry Jones in his suite at the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game in January.

Being paid like the best would equate to signing a contract with an average per year salary around 2022 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa’s $34 million on his five-year, $170 million deal. Stephen Jones conceded large deals in the wide receiver market lengthened negotiations prior to their re-signing of Lamb, which didn’t happen until after the bulk of their training camp had concluded. Prescott wasn’t re-upped until literally hours prior to kickoff in Week 1 at the Cleveland Browns last season. 

“There’s always extenuating circumstances to these things. Every contract negotiation is different,” Stephen Jones said on Monday. “[With Lamb], there were other receivers trying to get their deals done, and some of them still haven’t gotten those deals done. … The CeeDee deal was just different. We’ll just see how Micah’s deal goes. I don’t necessarily know that there’s a lot of extenuating situations out there that would [prevent] us from being able to get our hands around something with Micah, but we’ll see.” 

Defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa 

Odighizuwa, whose 60 quarterback pressures in 2024 were the second-most in the NFL among defensive tackles, is someone the Cowboys are actively pushing to re-sign. Odighizuwa outpaced Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter in both quarterback pressures (60 to 53) and quarterback pressure rate (12.3% to 10.4%) in 2024. New defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus went to bat for Odighizuwa’s return, saying he “is a guy that we like a lot, and he’s a really good player for us.” Head coach Brian Schottenheimer also said Odighizuwa is “a a guy we would love to have back” at the NFL combine on Thursday. 

Stephen Jones revealed contract talks between the front office and Odighizuwa’s representation are taking place on Monday. 

“Yeah, we’re certainly working with [Osa] right now, working with his agent and have had productive talks and we’ll see where we end up this week,” Jones said on Monday. 

Having a dependable defensive tackle lined up as a three-technique, on the outside shoulder of the offensive guard, is a crucial ingredient of Eberflus’ defense, so safe to say Odighizuwa will be up there with Parsons as a priority. 

Cornerback Jourdan Lewis

Jourdan Lewis is one of the NFL’s most versatile defensive backs. He’s mostly a nickel, but he played outside corner well when injuries to All-Pro Cowboys corners Da’Ron Bland and Trevon Diggs forced him into the lineup at that spot. His football IQ also makes him a strong blitzer and instinctual against the run. He turns 30 just before the 2025 season begins (Aug. 31), but Lewis would be a wise re-signing given the late-season knee injury to Diggs in 2024. 

Running back Rico Dowdle 

Dowdle could be the most coveted free agent on the open market this offseason after taking into consideration his age at the start of the 2025 season (27) and his career carries number of 331. He had the benefit of learning behind Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, but once he became the lead back for Dallas in 2024, he shined. Dowdle became the first undrafted running back in Dallas history to rush for over 1,000 yards thanks to his efficiency. His 53.6% rushing success rate on 235 carries was the sixth-best in the NFL in 2024, minimum 200 carries. Re-signing to Dowdle would allow for the Cowboys to not feel like they have to reach for a running back in the 2025 NFL Draft. 

Edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence

Four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence will be the team’s longest-tenured player if re-signed following Zack Martin’s retirement. The 2014 second-round pick played just four games last season after suffering a foot injury at MetLife Stadium against the New York Giants in the Week 4 edition of “Thursday Night Football.” Lawrence also turns 33-years-old in April, but he’s been strong at setting the edge against the run. His quarterback pressure rate of 10.8% in 2024 was his lowest since 2017, but he can still be a valuable contributor for the Cowboys’ defensive line in 2025 after having nearly a full year to recover. 

Wide receiver KaVontae Turpin

KaVontae Turpin has been the NFC’s Pro Bowl kick returner in two of the last three seasons (2022 and 2024), and he was named the NFL’s 2024 first-team All-Pro returner for his work this past season. Turpin led the NFL in both kick return yards (904) and yards per kick return (33.5). That 33.5 yards per kickoff return in 2024 is now the Cowboys single-season record, and the second-highest since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger trailing only Colts defensive back and returner Jim Duncan’s 35.4 average in the 1970 season.

Turpin was also the only player in the NFL to have both a kickoff return touchdown and punt return touchdown in 2024, and he became the only player in Dallas history with both types of return touchdowns and a receiving touchdown (two) in the same season. At the age of 28, he’s certainly worth bringing back. 

How aggressive will the Cowboys be? 

It’s fair question to ask with Dallas currently slightly over the salary cap at the moment. Cutting linebacker Damone Clark could save around $3 million and releasing safety Donovan Wilson could save around $7 million. Quarterback Dak Prescott told CBS Sports in early December that he would be willing to restructure his four-year, $260 million contract to accommodate the Cowboys making more moves this offseason. Pulling that lever could save Dallas as much as $37 million this offseason. That’s something Dallas’ front office plans to do along with restructuring Lamb’s four-year, $136 million deal to free up another $20 million and around $57 million in cap space combined between those two All-Pro restructures. 

“From our standpoint, it gives us some more flexibility in terms of what we can do,” Stephen Jones said on Monday when talking about restructuring both Prescott and Lamb.

Extending Parsons before March 18 could save the Cowboys around $18 million for free agency as well, and the aforementioned moves combined could free up $85 million in cap space for Dallas this offseason. 

There’s also a couple more moves the Cowboys can utilize to approach around $95 million in cap room this offseason. The front office could release right tackle Terence Steele, who has allowed an NFL-most 94 quarterback pressures, since 2023 when he returned from a torn ACL and MCL injury. That would open up another $4.6 million in cap space, and then the Cowboys could flip 2024 first-round pick Tyler Guyton from left tackle to his collegiate position of right tackle where he would likely play much more comfortably. Restructuring All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs could also save around $5.9 million. 

More cap room could be spared for future years as well with extensions for two-time Pro Bowl left guard Tyler Smith and All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland. Both just finished their third NFL seasons, which means they are extension eligible for the first time. Stephen Jones said the Cowboys’ front office would consider the Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles’ roster-building method as they evaluate their own plan of attack. A key component to why the Eagles are able to pay as many players as they do is because they sign their own drafted talent early. That’s how they avoid having to pay top of the market rates as a consequence of losing leverage by letting a player get closer and closer to free agency. Extending Smith and Bland would save Dallas’ money down the road, something Stephen Jones would certainly appreciate with how much he respects the league’s salary cap.

External free agency signings along the offensive line at either center or right guard– depending on where 2024 third-round pick Cooper Beebe lines up in 2024 –, linebacker — to offset DeMarvion Overshown’s knee injury — and wide receiver — to give Lamb a viable No. 2 to run routes alongside — would greatly benefit the Cowboys ahead of pivotal 2025 draft.