The Dallas Cowboys more than double their salary cap space with three moves ahead of the start of their 2026 NFL season
Are the Dallas Cowboys gearing up for a move? Maybe, but not necessarily so. What to know about the front office more than doubling the available salary cap space.
Well, I’m sure this won’t get Dallas Cowboys fans speculating.
On Thursday, the Cowboys restructured the contracts of three players, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer. The Cowboys insider added the moves will create more than $19 million in cap space. That means the Cowboys more than doubled their salary cap, jumping from near $14 million to over $33 million.
The players in question? DT Kenny Clark, CB DaRon Bland, and TE Jake Ferguson. The latter two signed contract extensions last year and Clark is under contract through 2027.
*Quick note on restructures: These are more than anything accounting “conversions.” For the players, they mean nothing in terms of cash received. They’re not paycuts. They’re rather tools that allow NFL teams to spread out cap hits over multiple years.
Why did the Cowboys do these restructures now?
Naturally, creating cap space always creates questions in the minds of fans. Surely, this means a move is in the making, right? Well, not quite. Though it’s certainly possible the Cowboys made these knowing they intend to make a trade down the road (the front office has stated multiple times they’re willing to sacrifice future picks to help this year’s team), it’s not necessarily the reason why they did it.
Unused cap space can be carried from one year to another, so the Cowboys can benefit from having cap flexibility even if they don’t use it this season. In other words, this could very well be nothing but proactive cap management.
That being said, the Cowboys are certainly in a good financial spot to make something work if the opportunity arises. Whether that’s a free agency addition like signing LB Bobby Wagner, trading for superstar EDGE Maxx Crosby down the road, or anything in between remains to be seen.
But for now, this is my advice to Cowboys fans: don’t get too excited. The Cowboys were likely going to restructure these deals regardless of any trade possibilities.
