Inside The Star
It’s a daunting task ahead for the Dallas Cowboys beyond the 2025 season. And it’s a position they are in that is no one’s fault but their own.
In trading a third round pick (2026) and a fifth round pick (2027) to the Pittsburgh Steelers to land wide receiver George Pickens, Dallas addressed a serious need at WR2.
This followed signing free agent running back Javonte Williams to address an opening at RB1 on the roster. Both moves have paid off in 2025.
Williams was projected to have 690 yards and seven touchdowns on 150 carries this season.
He already has 633 yards and eight touchdowns on just 124 carries. And we’re only halfway through the season.
Pickens has 43 catches for 685 yards and six scores so far.
He did a lot of his damage as WR1 when CeeDee Lamb went down for three games with an ankle injury.
Pickens is already well ahead of his 2023 pace, when he set career highs at 63 catches, 1,140 yards, and five scores. His trade has already paid off.
But both Pickens and Williams will be free agents in March.
And that’s where the Cowboys’ woes begin.
Is there a path forward where Dallas can retain both Pickens and Williams and still address the numerous holes on defense in 2026?
As things stand now, the Cowboys will have roughly $33 million in cap space in 2026.
If they try and tag either Pickens and Williams and sign the other, a large portion of that cap space is gone. Especially as a franchise tag on Pickens would set the team back $28 million alone in 2026.
One option would be to restructure Dak Prescott’s $74 million cap hit in 2026 to free up the money to retain Williams and Pickens.
Keeping both would almost ensure a strong offense for 2026 and beyond. But at what cost?
Dallas can wriggle out of Kenny Clark’s deal after this year without a dead cap hit. The same cannot be said of other players on the roster today that should not be at camp next year.
Yeah, we’re looking right at you, Mazi Smith.
Other players, like Sam Williams, Kaiir Elam, Ken Murray, and Jack Sanborn are free agents after this season and should not be resigned.
Those roster spots will need to be filled. Some can be via the draft.
But the Cowboys must go shopping for at least two solid free agents on defense next spring.
And they can’t be bargain bin signings either. Otherwise, we’re looking at 2025 all over again.
