Disappointing is the only word to describe the Dallas Cowboys’ season. “Unfortunate” is another good one, but you get the point.

In what could be Mike McCarthy’s last game as the team’s head coach, Dallas one again came out and competed against the Washington Commanders.

While Trey Lance was up and down in the pocket, Mike Zimmer’s defense had Jayden Daniels in a blender before Dan Quinn turned to backup Marcus Mariota for the second half.

It was great to see the team fight tooth and nail in another meaningless game. However, several players who took the field on Sunday might not be back in 2025.

The Cowboys’ list of free agents is substantial and the front office needs to set aside money for in-house extensions. That will lead to some cutthroat decisions. We’ll know the fates of every player soon enough, but right now it is safe to say these players definitely won’t be back.

These Cowboys players definitely won’t be back next season

6. Linval Joseph, DT

Desperate for some depth in the defensive trenches, the Cowboys signed Linval Joseph in August to rotate with Mazi Smith at nose tackle. While Smith came on strong in the second half of the season, Joseph outplayed the 2023 first-round pick for large stretches. Pretty impressive for a 36-year-old, don’t you think?

Signed to fortify the run defense, Joseph flashed most as a pass rusher. He posted the second-highest pass-rush grade of his career, per Pro Football Focus.

There might be room for Joseph on the 2025 roster if Mike Zimmer is back as defensive coordinator and Dallas ignores the DT position until August again, but he turns 37 in October. In a perfect world, the Cowboys will sign a (younger) vet in free agency and draft a day one contributor in April.

Furthermore, the team recently signed 2024 seventh-round pick Justin Rogers back to the active roster after he shockingly failed to make the 53-man roster out of preseason.

While Smith and Rogers are the only DTs under contract in 2025, the Cowboys will move on from Joseph. Who knows?

The two-time Pro Bowler could even retire. He exceeded admittedly low expectations, but the front office needs to find a more impactful rotation piece next to Smith.

5. C.J. Goodwin, CB

The Cowboys made Goodwin one of their three captains for Sunday’s finale against the Commanders. That could be a hint that they will move on after the season. Regardless, Goodwin should not be back in 2025.

Widely regarded as one of the NFL’s most valuable special teams gunners, Goodwin was a detriment to John “Bones” Fassel’s unit this year. He committed five penalties and missed half of his tackle attempts (made 10, missed five), per PFF. He finished with a special teams grade lower than 60.0.

Does that scream value to you? While Goodwin was the second-leading tackler on special teams, Dallas can find someone better in free agency or through the draft. Ideally, his replacement will have the versatility to play defense.

In seven seasons with America’s Team, Goodwin played a total of 67 defensive snaps. That averages out to less than 10 per season. While the league’s best special teams players typically don’t play much defense, Goodwin’s one-dimensional tendencies make him replaceable.

4. Andrew Booth, CB

Fun fact: Andrew Booth is the only non-free agent in this article. That really says it all about his performance this season.

The Cowboys acquired Booth in a preseason trade with the Vikings. While they didn’t trade a fourth-round pick for him (too soon?), it was still a lose-lose for both sides. He actually made a positive impression in preseason, but that was short-lived.

Booth’s 28.7 coverage grade this season ranked dead-last among 269 (!) qualified cornerbacks, per PFF. His 17.4 yards per catch allowed was second-worst and his 157.1 passer rating allowed when targeted was fourth-worst at the position.

He somehow allowed only two touchdowns. That his coverage grade was that low tells you how inept he was.

We don’t fault Dallas for making the trade, but Booth cannot be on the 2025 roster. He didn’t belong on the field and with Trevon Diggs and Josh Butler unlikely to be ready for the start of next season, the team will need to trust its depth at the position.

3. Chuma Edoga, OT

Re-signing Edoga was among the Cowboys’ handful of moves in 2024 free agency. It was viewed as a safe signing, but Edoga’s season was derailed by a toe injury suffered in training camp.

A former third-round pick of the Jets, Edoga didn’t make his season debut until Week 10. Much to the chagrin of Cowboys fans, Tyler Guyton was in and out of the starting lineup over the final two months of the year, so Edoga wound up starting four games.

Much like last season, Edoga’s play left a lot to be desired. His 52.5 PFF player grade ranked 106th out of 138 qualified offensive tackles, per PFF, while his 50.5 pass-blocking grade ranked 105th. He allowed two sacks, seven pressures and three quarterback hits.

Not terrible numbers by any stretch, but it would behoove Dallas to promote 2023 fifth-round pick Asim Richards to the swing tackle role. Richards flashed some good stuff in year two playing almost exclusively left tackle, but a high-ankle sprain put him on injured reserve just as Edoga made his way back.

2. Dalvin Cook, RB

This spot was reserved for Ezekiel Elliott, but the Cowboys granted Elliott his release last week after he requested it hoping to sign with a contender before the playoffs. While there is still time for Elliott to find a new home, he went unclaimed on waivers so he’s free to sign with any team.

Cook, though, is a fitting replacement.

Cowboys fans were so desperate once upon a time to inject life into the rushing attack that they clamored for Cook’s promotion from the practice squad. That finally happened in Week 9, which is ironically when Elliott was effectively suspended one game for missing a team meeting.

The Cook experiment went as many thought it would. He was active for two games and tallied 20 rushing yards on eight carries (2.5 yards per carry). He posted a lowly 49.5 rushing grade and didn’t force a single missed tackle, which is exactly why Cowboys fans were against the signing in the first place.

All eight of Cook’s carries should have went to Rico Dowdle. The experiment was a complete waste of time. Of course, we told you that in the offseason when it was first reported that Dallas had interest in Cook.

1. Brandin Cooks, WR

The Cowboys need to get more explosive at wide receiver this offseason. Entering his age-32 season, Cooks obviously does not fit that bill.

While Dallas didn’t trade for Cooks until he was 31, Cowboys fans probably expected a little more from the former first-round pick when he was acquired from Houston two years ago. For someone who couldn’t help but post 1,000 yards a season regardless of his team and quarterback, Cooks failed to eclipse 1,000 yards combined in two seasons with Dallas.

In fairness, a knee infection cost Cooks a chunk of the 2024 season. However, he played 16 games last year and only finished with 657 receiving yards.

Granted, he caught eight touchdowns and CeeDee Lamb dominated the target share, but less than 700 yards is far from the standard Cooks set for himself in his career.

The front office needs to upgrade the WR2 and WR3 spots this offseason. The presence of Jalen Tolbert and Jonathan Mingo (sigh) will make that difficult, but drafting a wideout with one of their first three picks has to be the play assuming the Joneses don’t want to spend on the position in free agency.

With all of that said, the Cooks trade is something Dallas needs to do more often.

Cheap, low-risk moves for established veterans is exactly how you want to round out a playoff-caliber roster. It didn’t translate to any success in January, but that was an all-around organizational failure.

We’ll be rooting for Cooks in 2025 as long as he doesn’t land in the NFC East.