Earlier this week, the Dallas Cowboys restructured the contracts of quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb which has freed up $56.6 million in cap space.
Prescott, who signed the richest per-year deal in NFL history last September, reworked his four-year, $240 million contract with the team to lessen the scheduled $89.6 million cap hit that was set to hit in 2025. With that money spread out over the course of his contract and into the four void years after his deal expires, his cap hit in 2025 is now $52.574 million.
Lamb, who signed the second-richest deal for a wide receiver in league history last August, reworked his four-year, $136 million contract with the team to lessen the scheduled over $35 million cap hit that was set to hit in 2025. His hit will now only count just over $15 million toward the cap this season.
Despite the common misconception that players take less money when a restructure is done, Lamb and Prescott will still earn the full values of their contracts. The restructure simply serves as a tool for teams to spread cap hits over the course of a contract while paying the players in the form of a signing bonus.
In total, the Cowboys now have over $54 million in cap space with less than a week before the opening of free agency. While a mega contract extension for Micah Parsons is in order, a deal being struck would actually open up even more cap space for the team to utilize in 2025.
The open space could be utilized by re-signing in-house free agents such as nickel cornerback Jourdan Lewis, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence and running back Rico Dowdle. Lewis and Dowdle are expected to earn more than the one-year deals they played under in 2024, while Lawrence’s price is expected to come down from the $13.3 million per year contract he played on from 2022 to 2024.
With a hole at receiver opposite of CeeDee Lamb, the team has the availability to be aggressive in the market for a second-option pass-catcher. Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp and Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf are on the trade market and former Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett, former Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin and former Bills (and Cowboys) wide receiver Amari Cooper are all expected to hit the free agent market on March 12.
While the cap space is there and holes are present, both Jerry and Stephen Jones indicated on Wednesday that the Cowboys won’t be looking at big outside names to use up that space.
“I’m not looking at free agency as a place to fill voids,” Jerry Jones said.
“We’re looking for what fits and what works for us,” Stephen Jones said. “Big names, in my mind, aren’t always the answer. Big names don’t always pan out as well.”
Jerry Jones mentioned that the team has “the bait” out on trade possibilities, but that the Cowboys will wait for another team to approach with an offer before being aggressive with one themselves.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.