As Stephen Jones was leaving the annual league meetings in Las Colinas, Texas, in December, the Dallas Cowboys executive vice president made it sound like this offseason could be pretty similar to last offseason. A year ago, Dallas did very little in adding free agents from outside of the franchise. Few roster additions impacted what ended up being a disappointing 7-10 season.
“I think we knew we were going to have a challenge this year and next year,” Jones said. “It’s going to be really, really tight because we still have some money left over from some guys who aren’t here today. And you’re going to have some other guys that won’t be here in the future that you still have their cap count.”
But a month later at a news conference to announce Brian Schottenheimer as the team’s new head coach, Jones sounded more open to the idea of possibly being more aggressive in their roster building through free agency.
With a large portion of the NFL world in Indianapolis this week for the annual scouting combine, it’ll be interesting to learn more about the Cowboys’ offseason strategy with free agency beginning in two weeks.
Will the Cowboys find a way to be a little more aggressive? Their biggest rival, Philadelphia, is arguably the most aggressive in its roster building. With the Eagles fresh off their third Super Bowl appearance and second Super Bowl win in the last eight seasons, maybe Dallas’ feelings have changed about its roster-building strategy.
We should get some telling answers this week as Jerry Jones, Stephen Jones and Schottenheimer will be present and speaking with reporters.
Here are some other top Cowboys storylines to watch for this week.
What is the plan for improving the offensive line?
It wasn’t a huge surprise that Zack Martin decided to retire after 11 seasons as one of the NFL’s top offensive linemen. Since he was drafted in 2014, Dallas hasn’t had to worry about right guard. Martin was beginning to battle through injuries so the Cowboys had started getting opportunities for Brock Hoffman and T.J. Bass at the guard position. How confident are the Cowboys that one of those players is the answer? Could Dallas consider moving Cooper Beebe, who was the starting center last year as a rookie, over to right guard? Are the Cowboys locked into having Tyler Guyton at left tackle and Terence Steele at right tackle? Outside of Tyler Smith at left guard, every position is open for debate. Does Schottenheimer feel like they have the answers in the building or do they need to target a player or two in free agency or early in April’s draft?
Cooper Beebe was solid at center as a rookie last season. Would the Cowboys consider moving him to guard to replace Zack Martin? (Eric Hartline / Imagn Images)
Why did they go in the direction they did with their new coaching staff hires?
Several key members of the new staff were made available to reporters at The Star last week. While some questions were answered, we have not heard from the new head coach about some of those decisions, like going with former Arizona Cardinals offensive line coach Klayton Adams as offensive coordinator, hiring former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus as defensive coordinator, and why first-time NFL coaches were hired as wide receivers coach and offensive line coach. There are several members of the staff who have never worked with Schottenheimer. Why were those coaches picked for those spots?
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Where do things stand with Micah Parsons?
The Cowboys have made it clear for a while that Parsons has been in that group with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb as players they wanted to sign to long-term extensions. Prescott and Lamb got their deals done before the start of the 2024 season. Parsons is next. He has made it clear that he’d like a new contract done before the start of free agency. He’d like the Cowboys to be aggressive in adding talent and feels it would be best to get his deal done so they can be more flexible with the current salary cap, which is expected to increase more than $20 million from last season. But the Cowboys rarely have a smooth process when getting star players signed. Going off their recent track record, it seems more likely that Parsons doesn’t get that new deal until July, either right before the start of training camp or during training camp. But maybe there is momentum to do things differently. We should learn more this week.
Where do things stand with Osa Odighizuwa?
Odighizuwa is the most notable of the Cowboys’ free agents. He’s been their best defensive tackle. But what will he end up costing on the open market? The top 20 defensive tackles all make more than $15 million per season. The top 10 all make over $22 million per season. Dallas could also choose to use the franchise tag or transition tag on Odighizuwa. The franchise tag is around $23 million for a defensive tackle next season. The transition tag is around $19 million. Are the Cowboys that committed to keeping Odighizuwa or are they only interested if he’s willing to do a team-friendly deal? They’re in a tough spot because defensive tackle hasn’t been a team strength. For a franchise that needs to significantly improve at stopping the run, defensive tackle is an area that needs work with Odighizuwa. It’s a major area of concern without him.
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What are realistic expectations for the 2025 Cowboys?
Prescott recently said that Dallas is “very close” to being on the same level as the Super Bowl champion Eagles. It doesn’t seem that way when looking at the two rosters and then the Cowboys having a new coaching staff. But what do the front office and head coach think? Are they expecting some bumps in the road with a new staff and changes on offense and defense or do they envision the team immediately getting back to 12-win seasons and competing for an NFC East title?
Dak Prescott said he believes the Cowboys are “very close” when asked about how they stack up against the Philadelphia Eagles pic.twitter.com/dzZE8qLZdX
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) February 11, 2025
What are they saying about this year’s draft?
Running back, defensive tackle, offensive line, wide receiver, cornerback and linebacker are all areas of need. What does the team think are the strengths of this draft class? How many of those holes can Dallas realistically fill in one draft class? Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty has been a common mock draft pick for the Cowboys with No. 12 overall. Do the Cowboys like his fit with them as much as fans and experts are projecting? Who are some other top players they feel strongly about early in the first round? What kind of impact will Schottenheimer and his coaching staff have on who Dallas drafts?
There are several other Cowboys topics that will be discussed over the next week with their top decision-makers available. Let us know in the comments what you are most looking forward to finding out this week.
(Top photo of Brian Schottenheimer and Jerry Jones: Ron Jenkins / Getty Images)
