Nik Bonitto
Getty
Discover why Dallas Cowboys should consider Nik Bonitto as the ideal replacement for Micah Parsons after the trade.
The Dallas Cowboys just lived through the kind of seismic roster moment that forces a franchise to reimagine itself: Micah Parsons is gone, now a member of the Green Bay Packers after a bitter contract standoff and blockbuster trade.
Dallas can patch in 2025, but 2026 needs a real plan. One name that fits what Matt Eberflus wants on defense is Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto, who has blossomed from rotational piece to bona fide problem for offensive coordinators.
Cowboys Wire’s Reid D. Hanson thinks Bonitto would be an excellent way for the Cowboys to “replace Micah Parsons.”
“The Denver Broncos star pass rusher is likely the prize of the free agent class,” Hanson wrote on September 1. “The 6-foot-3, 240-pound edge rusher is coming off a 13.5 sack season and just entering the prime of his career. The Broncos will want to extend him as quickly as possible but if they can’t, and if Dallas wants to pay top dollar to fill Parsons’s position, Bonitto is tough to beat.”
A Look at the NFL Career of Bonitto
“Bonitto and Ezeiruaku would give the Cowboys a pair of undersized edge players so additional roster moves and scheme changes may be needed to support such a situation. But with a pass rushing duo like that, most teams would welcome such a headache.”
Before we talk fit, it’s worth laying out why Bonitto has become one of the league’s most interesting young pass rushers—and why he’s positioned to be one of 2026’s headline free agents if Denver doesn’t lock him up first.
Drafted 64th overall by Denver in 2022, Bonitto arrived with twitch and bend off the edge but understandably needed time to grow into NFL strength and run-fit demands. As a rookie, he logged limited snaps and finished with 1.5 sacks, a small first step in a crowded room. The tools were obvious; the workload wasn’t yet.
Year 2 is when the light really came on. Elevated into a larger role, Bonitto posted eight sacks in 15 games in 2023, tacking on a forced fumble and a pair of pass breakups as he started winning earlier in the down and closing more consistently. That spike in production coincided with Denver leaning into a speed-off-the-edge profile that let him hunt from wide alignments and stress tackles in space.
Then came the breakout: 13.5 sacks in 2024, plus a prime-time pick-six that put his range and instincts on tape. Voters noticed—Bonitto earned AP second-team All-Pro honors—and the grading backed it up, with PFF charting a significant year-over-year climb in his overall and coverage grades. Bottom line: he’s not just a straight-line rusher; he’s an every-down disruptor who can finish and affect throwing lanes.
Why the Dallas Cowboys Should Consider Signing Nik Bonitto in 2026
So why Bonitto for Dallas in 2026? Start with scheme. Eberflus has been clear: this defense will take the ball away. That means edges who can win the corner, retrace screens, and get hands on footballs—traits Bonitto’s 2024 film and metrics highlight. Dallas has scraped together pass-rush answers in the immediate aftermath of the Parsons deal, but even the optimists admit the room needs a new centerpiece. Bonitto’s burst and closing speed fit the “get it out” ethos Eberflus preaches.
There’s also availability and cost. As a 2022 second-rounder, Bonitto’s rookie contract ends after the 2025 season; there’s no fifth-year option. Unless Denver finalizes an extension, he hits unrestricted free agency in March 2026. League and market projections have floated a second-contract range in the low-to-mid-$20 millions per year—premium money, yes, but still shy of the rarefied tier Parsons reached. For Dallas, that’s the difference between “impossible” and “workable,” especially if the cap strategy emphasizes outside-in pressure over a single record-setting star.
Moving on from Parsons didn’t just create a football void; it reshaped the balance sheet and the long-term plan. The front office has already made moves to free cash and stay flexible, and 2026 lines up as a logical strike window for a prime-age edge who wins with speed and finish rather than bulk. s the Cowboys say they replaced a superstar’s impact without trying to duplicate his contract.