One of the most exciting week(s) of the football calendar is here. The legal tampering period starts today at 12 PM Eastern Standard Time and a good portion of the high-quality free agents will agree to terms with new teams soon after. Unlike previous years, it sounds like the Cowboys will be a bit more active in the first few days of the legal tampering period and free agency, so today we will get you ready for it all.
Salary Cap Situation
At this moment, the Cowboys have very little cap space available. The good thing
is, they still have until Wednesday to free up cap space to sign any of the players they “agree to terms” with before Wednesday. Long story short, with the Cowboys sitting at $222,896 in available cap space, they can agree to terms with whoever they like, at whatever dollar figure they like, as long as by the start of the new year on Wednesday, they have the available cap room in 2026 to sign those deals.
The Cowboys still have quite a few easy conversions they can trigger, to free up plenty of room.
Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams are the two easiest to start with. While Quinnen Williams could be signed to a new extension, it’s more likely they will restructure his current contract to free up $14.5 million in cap space. Clark is a bit more interesting, because they could go about his contract in a few different ways. Clark is due $21.5 million in 2026 under his current contract, with zero guaranteed money left on his deal, but a simple cap conversion could free up another $9.6 million in space. The best case scenario is Clark and the Cowboys agree on a completely new contract, giving him more guaranteed money over the next few years, and significantly reducing his cap number for the 2026 and 2027 season. For this article, we are going to assume the Cowboys, get an extension done with Clark, and free up $15.3 million, which is the most likely scenario. By adjusting Clark and Williams, the Cowboys now have just under $30 million in available space for 2026.
Another move to highlight that could free up more space in 2026 are a conversion of Osa Odighizuwa, freeing up just over $12 million. Based on comments from Stephen Jones in recent weeks, it is unlikely they will be touching DaRon Bland’s deal, meaning he will be on the books for $17.1 million in 2026, but his later year cap figures will not be impacted. With these few simple moves in mind the Cowboys should have anywhere from $40-50 million to spend in 2026, with the potential to free up close to $80 million if they want to flip switches on Terence Steele, Bland, Ferguson, and signing George Pickens to a long-term deal instead of allowing him to hold the $27.3 non-exclusive franchise tag value throughout the offseason.
Now that we got all that out of the way, let’s get into the fun stuff. Finding new players to improve the Cowboys in 2026.
After missing out on a blockbuster trade for Maxx Crosby, the Cowboys will be turning their attention to the free agent class to improve their pass rush. Fortunately for the Cowboys, there are a lot of edge rushers available this offseason. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, the good ones are going to cost a ton.
Players to Pursue
EDGE
Former Cincinnati Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson headlines the free agent class at edge rusher, and plenty of insiders have already reported the Cowboys have interest in pursuing Hendrickson. According to a source, Hendrickson is expected to sign a two-year, $55-60 million dollar deal this offseason, bringing his APY to $28-30-million. If that’s the case, it’s hard to imagine the Cowboys winning any sort of bidding war for Hendrickson, forcing them to look elsewhere.
Former Los Angeles Charger and Baltimore Raven, Odafe Oweh, is viewed as the next best free agent pass rusher after posting 7.5 sacks in 2026 between the Ravens and Chargers. Oweh played his best football in Los Angeles under Jesse Minter. According to the same source, Oweh is likely to demand a 18-20-million APY deal this offseason (similar to Josh Sweat last offseason), which is likely more in the Cowboys ballpark. With Oweh likely to sign a multi-year deal in the next few days, you can assume his 2026 cap hit will be around $7-9 million.
Boye Mafe is another edge rusher that the Cowboys should have interest in. Mafe was not a full-time starter for the Seattle Seahawks in 2025, but he was a key contributor and effective pass rusher, posting the eight highest pass rush win rate in the NFL last season. Mafe is expected to sign in the $13-15 million dollar range per year, and would be a nice OLB fit in Christian Parker’s defense.
In terms of free agents, Hendrickson, Oweh, and Mafe are the only three guys that fit what the Cowboys are looking for. While it’s a safe bet to assume Hendrickson will be priced out of the Cowboys comfort zone, Oweh and Mafe would be nice consolation prizes to add juice to the Cowboys edge room that currently is very thin heading into the offseason.
LB
One position you can be very confident that the Cowboys will address somewhat early in the week is the linebacker position. It has already been reported the Cowboys have shown interest in reuniting Nakobe Dean with Christian Parker. Dean makes a lot of sense for the Cowboys due to him not getting market setting money like Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd, and his familiarity with Parker’s defense from his time in Philadelphia.
A high-risk, high-reward signing at linebacker would be Devin Bush. Bush started his career in Pittsburgh, before ending up in Cleveland, where he had a career year in 2025. Bush was viewed as a disappointment after being drafted in the first-round of the 2019 NFL draft, but his last two seasons in Cleveland showed more of the player many thought he would be coming out of Michigan. Bush is projected to receive around $10-12 million APY on a new contract when free agency kicks off, giving the Cowboys the ability to compete in his market.
Two other cheaper options to mention is Leo Chenal and Quincy Williams. The Cowboys had interest in acquiring Quincy Williams when they made the trade for his brother, Quinnen Williams, at the trade deadline last season. Williams had a down year in 2025 for the Jets, but that seemed to be the case for just about anyone wearing a Jets uniform last season. Chenal is an interesting one that hasn’t generated much buzz leading up to free agency. Chenal has been more of a role player in Kansas City the last few seasons, instead of an every down player, but when on the field he has impressed. The Cowboys need size and physicality with their inside linebackers, and Chenal brings that to the table. Both Williams and Chenal’s market values seem to be in the $5-7 APY range, fitting the typical Cowboys free agent budget.
CB
The cornerback class in free agency is one area the Cowboys could make some drastic improvements on defense. Former Buffalo Bills nickel Taron Johnson was released earlier in the week and is available to sign whenever. Johnson has been one of the best slot defenders in the league over the course of his career, but with Buffalo needing to free up a lot of room before the start of the new league year, Johnson was released. Johnson is approaching 30, and it’s safe to say he’s not quite the All-Pro player he was back in 2023, but he would still be big upgrade for the Cowboys at the nickel spot, and give Parker the exact type of player he’s looking for to man the slot position in Dallas. It does not hurt either that given he was released by the Bills, he does not count against the compensatory pick formula to impact picks for the 2027 draft.
One of the better players entering free agency is Alontae Taylor, but for some reason there is not a ton of buzz around him. Taylor has been one of the better coverage corners in the slot since entering the league in 2022. Taylor is a bigger “slot” cornerback, which is something Parker values in his nickel. Due to his age and how well he’s played over the last few years, Taylor is likely to demand a relatively large contract this week, with Spotrac.com having his market value around $15 million APY. If the Cowboys do not feel like hunting the big fish at the edge position, targeting Taylor may be the “busting the budget” signing Cowboy fans are hoping for.
S
One of the deeper positions in this free agent class is the safety group. One of the deeper positions in the 2026 NFL draft is also the safety position. Normally that does not bode well for the market value of the free agent group, and that is excellent news for the Cowboys.
With the Cowboys looking to play more shell coverage in 2026, they will want their safeties to be versatile, athletic, and intelligent. A few names that come to mind that fit that description are Bryan Cook ($10-12m APY), Kevin Byard ($8-9m APY), Jalen Thompson ($8-10m APY, familiarity with Ryan Smith), Coby Bryant ($8-10m APY), Reed Blankenship ($7-9m APY), Jaquan Brisker ($7-9m APY), and Ahloi Gilman ($5-7m APY). With need at the safety position and just how deep the draft and free agency is, the Cowboys should be able to add multiple new faces to their safety room in 2026.
With the deep draft likely to hurt the free agent group, the average per year values provided by PFF.com could change when free agency kicks off on Monday, but this gives a rough idea of where some of the players market stands entering the week.
