Jerry Jones will have to be aggressive in the offseason to help Dak Prescott and his Dallas Cowboys to return to competitiveness.
Jerry Jones restructures Dak Prescott’s contract to improve Dallas Cowboys’ cap space (Image via Imago)
After last season’s offseason debacle, the Dallas Cowboys had to repair their reputation heading into this season. Most importantly, Jerry Jones had a target on his back after not building a contending roster despite handing out monster deals to Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.
The owner-cum-GM was defiant all season and continued to believe he had done enough. But their season turned out to be a disaster as they lost to playoff teams. This season, he has so far kept quiet as he looks to fix those problems.
His son, Stephen Jones, revealed they are taking a ‘selectively aggressive’ approach to free agency. But even then, the $17.5 million cap space was going to be a limiting factor. With the likes of Micah Parsons and other players awaiting extensions, the situation was not going to be easy.
Yesterday, they made their first move to rectify that problem by restructuring CeeDee Lamb’s contract. They created $20 million just with that move, which meant, they now had a lot more than what they started with. But even then, it was not enough, and now Jones has moved on to solution no. 2.
The Cowboys have restructured Dak Prescott’s contract, opening up $36.6 million in cap space, per source. That’s $56.6 million created in the last two days with the CeeDee Lamb move, too.
Todd Archer wrote
This news from ESPN’s Todd Archer shows that the Dallas Cowboys now have $56.6 million in cap space. That is significantly better than what they had and now Jerry Jones can go about strengthening his roster.
Jerry Jones will now have to focus on Micah Parsons
Restructuring Dak Prescott’s contract is not the last option they have to eke out more cap space. Micah Parsons has a cap hit of $24 million this season. However, to reduce that massive hit, there are only two options.
One option is to trade him. They will lose a perennial All-Pro pass rusher but will likely get good draft compensation. In a draft that has good prospects, Jerry Jones can go down that road. However, it will be unpopular with the fans.
The second option is to give him a new contract. He will command in excess of $30 million annually. But Jones can structure that in a way that his net cap hit for this season and next are lower than the $24 million he is due in 2025.
The Dallas Cowboys need help all across the board. They need a stud running back, a receiver opposite Lamb and a guard to replace the retired Zack Martin on offense. On the defensive side, they need linebacker(s), a safety and a run stuffing interior lineman.
