Dallas Cowboys

Dallas is squeezed tight today at $14.0M in cap room (rank 27 of 32) and faces a projected -$10.6M next season, so every cut and restructure counts.

24 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Three starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

Five picks this cycle with three first-rounders gives Dallas real ammunition to address roster holes, though the absence of fourth and fifth round selections this year limits mid-round depth building.

• Acquired: Round 1 from Packers, this draft
• Acquired: Round 6 from Saints, next draft
• Acquired: Round 6 from Steelers, this draft
• Traded away: Round 7 to Saints, next draft
• Traded away: Round 1 to Jets, this draft
• Traded away: Round 5 to Steelers, this draft
• Traded away: Round 7 to Eagles, this draft
• Traded away: Round 4 to Packers, this draft

The roster's top strength is its receiving corps and interior offensive line, while the linebacker unit, headlined by a 28th-ranked MIKE starter, is the clearest weakness.

• MIKEhigh

  The starting MIKE linebacker DeMarvion Overshown ranks 28th at the position, making this the most urgent upgrade on the roster.

• LTmedium

  Tyler Guyton starts at left tackle but grades 24th at the position, and the depth behind him, Broderick Jones at 71 overall, offers little security.

• FSlow

  Malik Hooker starts at free safety and ranks 20th at the position, a serviceable but below-average situation the Cowboys should monitor.

• RTlow

  Terence Steele holds down the right tackle spot but ranks 23rd at the position, leaving the right side of the line as a quiet concern.

• 70T.J. BassLGT.J. Bass sits third on the LG depth chart behind Tyler Smith and Matt Hennessy, making his roster spot redundant; releasing him frees $5.8M with zero dead money.Frees $5.8M · $0 dead
• 78Von MillerLEDGEVon Miller is listed as the LEDGE backup behind Rashan Gary at 37 years old and entering the twilight of his career; cutting him frees $3.1M with no dead money attached.Frees $3.1M · $0 dead
• 61Princeton FantTEPrinceton Fant checks in at 61 overall and sits third on the TE depth chart behind Ferguson and Schoonmaker; releasing him recovers $1.0M with no dead money penalty.Frees $1.0M · $0 dead
• 65Sam HowellQBSam Howell is the backup quarterback at 65 overall with a Normal dev trait; cutting him frees $2.0M against only $500K in dead money, a net savings that helps address the tight cap situation.Frees $2.0M · $500.0K dead
• 73Jonathan BullardDTJonathan Bullard is the third DT behind Williams and Clark at 73 overall and 32 years old; releasing him frees $1.5M against $440K in dead money, a reasonable net savings given his depth role.Frees $1.5M · $440.0K dead

Dallas enters this window with legitimate offensive firepower built around Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and George Pickens, backed by a stout interior defensive line anchored by Quinnen Williams. The offensive line has a budding star in Tyler Smith and a rising RG in Tyler Booker, but the tackle positions, particularly on the left side, need attention. The linebacker corps is the roster's most glaring hole, with DeMarvion Overshown starting despite ranking 28th at MIKE. Cap flexibility is constrained by $34.4M in dead money and a projected -$10.6M in cap room next season, so roster management will require discipline. The young core of Booker and Caleb Downs provides a growth engine, and Downs in particular at 21 years old with a Superstar dev trait could develop into a cornerstone safety. Prescott remains a top-tier starter, but given where he is in his career, the Cowboys need to maximize the contention window now while also identifying a succession path at quarterback before those later seasons arrive.

The Dallas Cowboys were founded in 1960 as an NFL expansion team in Dallas, Texas, originally to be called the 'Steers' and then 'Rangers' before settling on 'Cowboys.' Owned by Clint Murchison Jr. and run by GM Tex Schramm, personnel chief Gil Brandt, and head coach Tom Landry, the team went 0-11-1 in its first season. Beginning in 1966 the Cowboys reeled off an NFL-record 20 consecutive winning seasons (through 1985), and Landry, the only head coach for the franchise's first 29 seasons, built the 'Flex' Doomsday Defense and won Super Bowl VI and Super Bowl XII behind Hall of Fame QB Roger Staubach. After the 1978 season NFL Films editor Bob Ryan dubbed Dallas 'America's Team.' The modern era began in 1989 when Jerry Jones bought the team and replaced Landry with Jimmy Johnson; shrewd drafting (Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith) and the Herschel Walker trade fueled a 1990s dynasty led by 'The Triplets' (Aikman, Smith, Michael Irvin) that won Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII under Johnson and XXX under Barry Switzer. Those five Lombardi Trophies tie Dallas for third-most all-time, and its eight Super Bowl appearances are tied for second-most. Since Super Bowl XXX (January 1996), however, the Cowboys have not returned to a conference championship game, the recent Jones era defined by regular-season competitiveness paired with chronic playoff disappointment.