With the 2025 regular season now in the rearview mirror, teams without playoff games in their future have moved to the offseason phase of the calendar. Many like to call it the business season, because the NFL doesn’t truly have an offseason. Following the current coaching frenzy that runs through the end of the playoffs, teams are digging deep into the college tape and all-star game circuit, leading to the scouting combine, pro days and workouts. That overlaps with the beginning of the league year and free agency, and then soon after OTAs and minicamps. There’s really only about five or six weeks where people get away from the sport before training camp rolls around in late July.

The Dallas Cowboys are one of those teams ready to dive into the business season for 2026. Yes, they too have some coaching decisions to make for both their defense and special teams, and that will influence the moves they make when it comes to their roster and their veteran players. Those decisions happen dynamically, but the foundation of those decisions, though, center around the 2026 salary cap, and that part of the equation is relatively static at this point.

The NFL’s salary cap grows by leaps and bounds at this point. For a few years after the 2011 lockout (remember when the Cowboys were docked cap space for not colluding?) there was only minor growth. But the league’s cap blossomed from 2022 through 2025, going from $208.2 million to $279.2 million. That’s $71 million in growth over just four seasons, and Over the Cap is predicting the 2026 cap to jump another $16 million and come in around $295.5 million.

Dallas Cowboys 2026 Projection

The Cowboys are not currently over the cap, because it doesn’t matter what they have on the books until the start of the league year. That isn’t until March 11, so teams have more than two months to make moves that bring them below the threshold that won’t even be officially announced until earlier that month.

Currently, the Cowboys are $33 million above the projected, unofficial cap ceiling. That shouldn’t scare anyone, because Dallas has the capacity to shave over $100 million off their cap; $138.5 million to be exact.

There are several ways the Cowboys can work to reduce their cap number. Releasing a player is the most common way, though this isn’t usually a dollar-for-dollar move. Teams can also restructure a player’s base salary into a bonus that gets spread evenly across the cap for multiple seasons, up to five. Teams can also extend a player’s contract, which tears up the current deal and starts a new one.

Now, some of these moves have long-term impact. Restructures and extensions add money to future year’s caps, and that’s not always a good idea if that player isn’t a strong bet to see the end of said contract. Previously we’ve weighed in on the moves the Cowboys should make to reduce their cap. But here’s every move they could make to create space.

Potential Restructures: Up to $92.4 million in cap savings

• TE Jake Ferguson
  • Convert $7.25M into vet min $1.2M with $6M bonus, save $4.8 million cap space
• CB DaRon Bland
  • Convert $12M into vet min $1.2M with $10.8M bonus, save $8.6 million cap space
• DT Osa Odighizuwa
  • Convert $16.25M into vet min $1.2M with $15M bonus, save $12 million cap space
• OL Tyler Smith
  • Convert $23.2M into vet min $1.2M with $22M bonus, save $17.6 million cap space
• WR CeeDee Lamb
  • Convert $25M into vet min $1.2M with $23.8M bonus, save $18.4 million cap space
• QB Dak Prescott
  • Convert $40M into vet min $1.3M with $38.7M bonus, save $31 million cap space

Savvy readers will notice that this is already very close to the $110 million – $111 million that’s been bandied about for the last several months. If you’ve seen that in other places, know they copied our work in our November recommendation article (even if after being called out, they edited their articles to pretend like they credited us from the beginning). We didn’t max out the dollars in that exercise like we are here. Gotcha.

Potential Extensions: Up to $28.5 in cap savings

• DT Kenny Clark– $14.8 million in savings
  • $19.8M due: $8.8M base salary, $11M bonus due March 14
  • $1.7M in other bonuses
  • Signed through 2027
  • Add 1 real year (2028) at $22M, three voids, turn $19.8M due into $18.5M bonus + $1.3M vet min
    • Reduces $21.5M cap hit down to $6.7M
• DT Quinnen Williams – $13.75M savings
  • $20.75M due ($5M guaranteed)
  • Signed through 2027 for $47.25M total
  • Add three real years (2028, 2029, 2030), $96 million in new money: 5 year, $142.25M deal
    • His average new money puts him above the Chief’s Chris Jones’ $31.75 million.
    • Base salary $2M, $30M signing bonus
    • Reduces $21.75M cap hit to $8M

Potential Outright Releases: Up to $17.6M in cap savings

• Safety Malik Hooker
  • $6.5M base, $500k bonus: Total $7M savings on $9M cap hit
• LB Logan Wilson
  • $6M base, $550k bonus: Total $6.5M savings on $6.5M cap hit
• P Bryan Anger
  • $3.1M base: Total $3.1M savings on $4.1M cap hit

2026 Cap Savings Possible: $138.5 million across 11 moves

Of course, the Cowboys don’t have to make all of these moves, but this exercise is simply to show what is available to them. Instead of extending their DTs Clark and Williams, they could restructure them. That would change the picture. The extensions given to Bland and Ferguson this past summer were structured to both allow outs after two years, and restructures. Based on their 2025 seasons, the advice here would be not to restructure, but the option is there.

Smith’s, Lamb’s and Prescott deals were meant to be restructured when built, and those players didn’t disappoint in 2025. However Dallas doesn’t have to restructure all of them down to the minimum vet salary; they could make smaller adjustments. Plus, restructures can be done in pieces, and triggers pulled only after they agree to terms with a free agent.

Would the Cowboys be willing to start two new safeties in 2026? Would the front office allow Wilson to walk after the midseason trade and him getting shafted for snaps in favor of Matt Eberflus fave Kenneth Murray? Again, this exercise is just to lay the foundation of what the team can do with their larger contracts.

This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys can maximize cap space, clear $138.5M out with these 11 moves