Cowboys waive LB Logan Wilson, save $6.5M in salary cap space – Todd Archer, ESPN
The veteran linebacker is out after only playing in seven games.
FRISCO, Texas — Acquired at the trade deadline with the hope of shoring up the linebacker spot, veteran Logan Wilson was waived by the Cowboys on Friday.
The move saves the Cowboys $6.5 million in salary cap space.
In seven games, Williams was credited with 28 tackles and a forced fumble, but he started just once. Despite the struggles at the position and the defense in general, the Cowboys kept Kenneth Murray Jr. as the starter over Wilson.
In the Christmas Day win against the Washington Commanders, he did not play a snap, which was called a coaches’ error in the days after the game.
Cowboys’ combine to-do list: Begin talks with George Pickens, free agent shopping and more – Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News
The Cowboys have plenty of business to tend to over the next week.
The Cowboys head to the NFL Scouting Combine with the coaching staff finalized and business to take care of. Over the next week, the franchise will visit Indianapolis to speak with agents and college prospects. There’s much to accomplish:
Begin George Pickens talks
The Cowboys normally start a majority of their contract talks with player agents while on the team bus parked near downtown Indianapolis. This is where the team can present a formal contract offer to wide receiver George Pickens. Of course, the team plans to keep Pickens for the 2026 season by placing the franchise tag on him. The club has until March 3 to do this. Getting off to a strong start in contract talks, regardless of whether the franchise tag is applied, is key to making sure Pickens reports on time for the offseason program and training camp in July. Pickens seeks a contract of at least $30 million per season, which isn’t out of line considering the franchise tag is projected at $28 million.
Finish Javonte Williams talks
The Cowboys front office has taken criticism for not finishing deals with its star players in a timely manner. Well, the Cowboys have tried to take care of business with running back Javonte Williams, but he switched agents and currently doesn’t have one. When the season ended, Cowboys officials started talks with Williams’ agent at the time, then had to halt discussions with the agent change. The question is what to pay Williams? Williams made $3 million last season. After producing a career year with 1,201 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, Williams is looking for a raise. No problem. At least nine running backs average $10 million per season. Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty, now entering year 2, is averaging $8.9 million. The Rams’ Kyren Williams signed a contract extension last year worth $33 million with $23 million guaranteed over three years. Is that a good baseline for Williams?
Spagnola: Welcome voice of reason to the defense – Mickey Spagnola, DallasCowboys.com
New defensive coordinator Christian Parker is a breath of fresh air for the Cowboys.
Far too many times, this Cowboys’ talent-deprived defense was given excuses. Playing too much zone defense, a scheme used when trying to protect talent-challenged defensive backs from getting burned in man coverage. Then there’s not blitzing enough, though too many times the blitzes weren’t getting there. There also was this defense’s inability to stop the run. Well, they must have been playing the wrong linebackers.
On and on.
Naturally, the first question Parker faced, nothing about thoughts on taking the job. Nothing about becoming an NFL defensive coordinator at jut 34 years old. Nothing about his analysis of the Cowboys’ deplorable defense he’s inheriting. Oh, no. Wanted to know what kind of defense he will install, the inference being are you 4-3 or 3-4?
As pointed out on Wednesday after the press conference, Parker seems a wise man, one step ahead of the posse, as if already anticipating the questions he was about to face.
“The first thing is, we’re going to be multiple,” Parker began. “Whenever you form a defensive structure, it’s about the players you have. The core front we’ll have will be 3-4 by nature. You know, 4-3 spacing will be appropriate, 4-2-5 in nickel. Different front structures and coverages behind it. But I would say being multiple behind it is the most important thing about it.”
Good answer. No use giving Baltimore or Green Bay or Seattle a heads up on what sort of front the Cowboys might be installing. No sense telling the world what’s on his mind before explaining to his players, the vast majority of them he’s yet to meet.
You decide what “multiple” means.
If The Dallas Cowboys Want Cap Space, It Starts With Dak Prescott – Cody Warren, Inside The Star
Dallas can create a significant chunk of cap space by pulling the Dak Prescott trigger.
The Dallas Cowboys are staring at a supposed salary cap problem, but I don’t see it that way. They’re projected to be more than $30 million over the cap.
That may sound alarming to some, but to me, it sounds like a math problem with a crystal clear solution: a Dak Prescott contract restructure.
Dak signed a 4-year, $240 million extension that included an $80 million signing bonus. His cap hit sits north of $50.5 million, and when you’re over the cap, that number becomes the obvious place to look.
Let’s all be on the same page here: a Dak Prescott restructure is not a pay cut.
Why a Dak Contract Restructure Is Not a Pay Cut
A Dak Prescott contract restructure would not mean he’s taking less money.
Most NFL contracts allow teams to convert base salary into a signing bonus at their discretion. That signing bonus is then prorated over the remaining years of the contract for cap purposes.
Dak gets his cash, but the accounting changes.
I want this to be a point of emphasis because some fans think the quarterback has to agree to sacrifice money. In a standard restructure, that’s not the case. The mechanism is built into the contract language.
Dallas controls the decision, and that is why I think this move is realistic.
Christian Parker introduction was early insight into where Cowboys will be focusing defensive rebuild – Sean Martin, Blogging The Boys
The vision is clear for the Cowboys defensively going forward.
The Dallas Cowboys held a somewhat unusual press conference on Wednesday afternoon, doing so to introduce their newest defensive coordinator Christian Parker. Joined at the podium by head coach Brian Schottenheimer, the presser did not feature either Jerry or Stephen Jones. Although this dynamic led to some direct lines of questioning about what it meant about the process of hiring Parker and Schottenheimer’s overall influence on the organization, the overall tone with having two play-calling coaches fielding questions together was heavy on the nuts of bolts of how the Cowboys will actually work to field a better defense in 2026.
With defense being the story of this year’s playoffs all the way through the Super Bowl where the Seahawks defense shut the door on the Patriots, the barrier that has kept the Cowboys out of the playoffs the last two seasons has been their lack of a defense close to this caliber. Without the slightly-tempered expectations that come with having a first-year head coach or quarterback coming off a major injury going into year two, every step of the Cowboys defensive rebuild is going to be put under the microscope now. The pressure to get this right as a way to finally complement a top-scoring and highly-talented offense with a defense that can create a complete team is palpable.
Wednesday’s introduction for Parker was a good step here, as he and Schottenheimer came off as being on the same page for how they build a winning infrastructure around their respective sides of the ball. Where Schottenheimer will have the benefit of continuity from the majority of coaches he’s trusted to run their own position rooms along with a core of steady playmakers on offense, Parker faces the challenge of being a first-time coordinator in charge of both players and a slew of new coaches for the first time. All for a defense that still desperately needs more of these cornerstone playmakers to build around.
The Cowboys defense has needs everywhere, and anybody that watched either one game or all of this team’s games in 2025 with Matt Eberflus’ defense already knows this well. So far in this offseason process, Cowboys fans have been quite split on where the ideal starting point is to improve the personnel for Parker’s defense – particularly in regards to Dallas holding two first-round picks in April’s draft.
Was the Cowboys injury hobbled, inexperienced secondary littered with players that didn’t fit the latest scheme their biggest issue in 2025, and the area that needs the most attention for next season? Or could this unit have been better with a pass rusher like Micah Parsons on the field? Was the pass rush really that bad solely because of Parsons’ absence and a lack of other proven defensive end depth, or because the secondary and linebackers could not stick to anyone in coverage?
Some significant hints about the answers to these philosophical questions the Cowboys defense must answer were dropped at Wednesday’s presser. Let’s get into a few of the insights from Parker that will help shape projections for the Cowboys upcoming free agency and draft decisions.
