2024 offseason primer: Cash-strapped Cowboys feeling the heat after playoff dud

With the way the Dallas Cowboys (12-5) 2023 season ended, many were surprised to see head coach Mike McCarthy not lose his job following the team’s 48-32 loss to the Green Bay Packers during Super Wild Card Weekend.

With three straight 12-win seasons, all McCarthy has to show for his efforts is a wild-card win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers two seasons ago and three straight embarrassing losses to conference rivals the San Francisco 49ers and Packers.

On top of trying to smooth things over with a very disgruntled fan base that did not want a lame-duck year with McCarthy, owner Jerry Jones also has to decide what to do about quarterback Dak Prescott and his $59.45M cap hit given the fact that the team is actually over the 2024 cap ceiling.

The Cowboys can create approximately $20M in cap space by giving Prescott an extension in the $50M to $60M per year range or they can free up close to $23M by restructuring his deal, but they pay for it in 2025 when Prescott would have a $54M dead cap hit.

Dallas can also create more cap space by restructuring the contracts of guard Zak Martin or cornerback Trevon Diggs, or it can sign receiver CeeDee Lamb to an extension, which would lower his $17.99M 2024 cap hit.

Here’s what you need to know about Dallas’ offseason:

PROJECTED 2024 CAP SPACE:  -$3.22M (seventh-worst in NFL)

FREE AGENTS | Offense: RBs Tony Pollard and Rico Dowdle; OTs Tyron Smith and Chuma Edoga; Center Tyler Biadasz; Long snapper Trent Sieg

Defense: DEs Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler Jr.; DTs Johnathan Hankins and Neville Gallimore; CBs Stephon Gilmore, Jourdan Lewis and Noah Igbinoghene; Safety Jayron Kearse

Outlook: Simply put: Dallas has too many free agents it needs to keep and not enough cap space to make it happen. Pollard won’t be franchise-tagged and will likely hit the market in March, and both Smith and Biadasz will presumably be too expensive to retain as well, though Biadasz has a better chance of coming back. Armstrong, Hankins, Gilmore and Kearse were all key pieces of the Cowboy defense in 2023, but it’s likely only one or two will be brought back. Armstrong will be the team’s top priority after finishing second on the team in sacks (7.5) with an additional seven tackles for loss.

2024 DRAFT PICKS: Round 1 (No. 24 overall) | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 7 (via Las Vegas) | Round 7

TOP DRAFT NEEDS (in order): OT, RB, C, LB, DT — Given the Cowboys’ cap situation, the draft is the perfect place for them to replenish some of their roster with younger, cheaper players. Arizona tackle Jordan Morgan or BYU’s Kingsley Suamataia could be potential replacements for Smith, and either Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson or West Virginia’s Zack Frazier could replace Biadasz.

If Dallas goes defense first, Texas DT T’Vondre Sweat or Michigan DT Kris Jenkins could slide right in as a Day 1 starter. Should linebacker be the call, Texas A&M’s Edgerrin Cooper or N.C. State’s Payton Wilson might make more sense. There are plenty of avenues the Cowboys could go to fill a major area of need.

DRAFT PROSPECTS TO WATCH: Jordan Morgan, OT, Arizona; Graham Barton, OT/G, Duke; Kingsley Suamataia, OT, BYU; Jonathon Brooks, RB, Texas; Jaylen Wright, RB, Tennessee; Blake Corum, RB, Michigan; Jackson Powers-Johnson, C, Oregon; Zack Frazier, C, West Virginia; Payton Wilson, LB, N.C. State; Edgerrin Cooper, LB, Texas A&M; Junior Colson, LB, Michigan; Kris Jenkins, DT, Michigan; T’Vondre Sweat, DT, Texas; Braden Fiske, DT, Florida State

THREE 2024 STORYLINES TO WATCH:

• How short is McCarthy’s leash?
• What happens with Prescott’s contract?
• Does Dallas find a way to keep Pollard, and if not, who replaces him?