The Dallas Cowboys made headlines for all the wrong reasons last offseason, failing to be any type of player in free agency, although those who knew about the "blow-it-up" plan knew better.
With Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb's contracts taking all of the attention, the Cowboys kept their powder (money) dry for the 2025 offseason, and so far, more moves have been made with a host of rotational players and potential starters signed.
However once again, the Cowboys haven't seen a big name come in, instead a host of cost-effective free agents, and this after the franchise restructured the contracts of Dak and CeeDee to free up roughly $70 million in cap space.
As things stand, the Cowboys still have roughly $40 million in cap space, so why aren't they using it? Several theories have been floated, with the most popular being that the franchise is gearing up to trade for a star receiver, say Courtland Sutton.
But we offer another "next move'' theory, and it isn't one that will be met with anything other than a collective groan.
What if Dallas still isn't being loose with the purse strings due to the contract extensions coming down the pipeline?
Similar to Prescott and Lamb 12 months ago, the Cowboys have stars who need new deals.
We could mention Micah Parsons, who will be a free agent in 2026 (extremely unlikely), but looking at others, it is about to get expensive for the Cowboys.
Tyler Smith could be a fifth-year option choice in 2026. If not, Spotrac.com has his market value at $19.1 million APY, and if he has another Pro Bowl-caliber season in 2025, that number will trend north.
Then there's All-Pro DaRon Bland, and in the wake of Derek Stingley Jr.'s $30 million APY contract signed this offseason, the Cowboys are again on the hook to potentially have yet another player paid top-of-the-market at their position.
So that is two players the Cowboys will likely have to pay top dollar to keep.
This will then make Dak, CeeDee, Micah (if it gets done), Bland, and Smith all make the top of the market or near enough to be on the roster, and we haven't even spoken about Brandon Aubrey, Jake Ferguson, or Sam Williams yet (all UFA's to be).
So, is it feasible that the Cowboys are once again keeping their powder dry for the second consecutive season due to Aubrey and Smith and Bland's impending contracts?
Three good players to move on. Three good reasons to move slowly?
We know that this "shouldn't" stop the front office from making moves, but it appears it does.
History, my friends, has a funny way of repeating itself.
