The Dallas Cowboys have always worked on contract situations right before the start of the season. The majority of the time, owner Jerry Jones draws things out so that when the networks talk about the upcoming campaign, the Cowboys are the ones making a big splash. Last season, he traded Micah Parsons less than a week before their TNF opener. Two years ago, they inked Dak Prescott to the largest contract in NFL history on opening day itself.
And though there isn't a move yet, the moves made on Thursday night, six calendar days before the season opens, reeks that Jones might be back on his bull-etin board material for 2026. The Cowboys created $19 million in cap space by restructuring the contracts of Kenny Clark, DaRon Bland and Jake Ferguson.
And though these moves are, on one hand, financial assurances given to three vets that the organization believes in what they showed during this year's offseason, one can't help but wonder.
Dallas started the day with $15.9 million in cap space, according to website Over the Cap. At just under $35 million, the Cowboys vault up to sixth most in the entire NFL.
Dallas' player most in need for an extension, WR George Pickens, can't get one because he's playing on the franchise tender. Everyone other already rostered player who needs a huge investment, already has it.
Unused salary cap space carries over into the following season; so there's some trade off there. Adding cap hit to next season, which happens when a team converts a player's salary into a restructure bonus, shrinks that space. All the money taken from salary is spread out evenly across all remaining seasons in the contract, real and void.
All thee have multiple void years on top of remaining real seasons, though. In other words, creating room just to let it sit doesn't move the needle.
But that doesn't mean the club is ready to pounce, just yet. This Cowboys move allows them to maximize the amount of salary that can be converted. If the team wants to make an acquisition at the deadline, which is the Tuesday after Week 9 this season, they'll have the Maxx, err max amount of room to work with whenever they go looking to raid another team's roster (among several possibilities).
If Dallas didn't make the moves early, eight weeks of all three players salaries would've already been paid out, and unable to be retroactively lowered through an in-season restructure.
And the more cap space they have, the more ability they have to make an acquisition and not be forced to rework the deal right away. That's what they did with Quinnen Williams; getting him for a hefty penalty, but waiting until the following training camp to extend his deal.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys $19M moves reek of Maxximizing cap space as trade precursor
