The season is over for the Dallas Cowboys which means that they are fully in offseason mode. Much will be said by the team’s leadership about how they want to avoid a season like 2025 (and 2024 for that matter) moving forward which means that there is work to be done.
One of the first points of work for the Cowboys will be tending to their set-to-be free agents. It is often said how the Cowboys do not generally lose players who they seriously value to the open market, and there is relative history
to support that claim.
Here are all of the Cowboys set to hit free agency this offseason, courtesy of Spotrac:
Unrestricted Free Agents
- George Pickens
- Javonte Williams
- Jadeveon Clowney
- Sam Williams
- Brock Hoffman
- Corey Ballentine
- Hakeem Adeniji
- C.J. Goodwin
- Jalen Tolbert
- Miles Sanders
- Jack Sanborn
- Payton Turner
- Robert Jones
- Dante Fowler Jr.
- Donovan Wilson
- Kenneth Murray
Restricted Free Agents
- Brandon Aubrey
- T.J. Bass
- Juanyeh Thomas
Exclusive Rights Free Agents
- Josh Butler
- Reddy Steward
You will note that there are three different types of free agents listed here and they each have different meanings.
- UFA: These are players are on fully expiring contracts and will be eligible to negotiate deals with other teams unless they have the franchise tag placed upon them
- RFA: These players can negotiate deals with other teams, but the Cowboys can offer them “tenders” that would force an external team to pay a draft pick if they agree to a deal with the player in question
- ERFA: If the Cowboys offer these players a one-year deal at the league minimum based on their credited seasons then the player in question cannot even negotiate with another team, these players are basically a lock to say if the Cowboys want
Obviously the franchise tag is a situation worth watching as well. The Cowboys will have until March 3rd at 4pm ET to decide if they want to use the franchise or transition tag. George Pickens is a name to monitor here.
