Cowboys Free $65M With Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb Salary Cap Gymnastics

The Dallas Cowboys are making room under the NFL salary cap, and have more options available to them.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott looks on during warmups before the game against the Washington Commanders. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Jerry Jones has said the Dallas Cowboys would be players this offseason, but they needed to free up cap space for that to happen. Entering the offseason, the Cowboys were estimated at $56 million above the limit, according to Over The Cap.

That's no longer the case as the Cowboys are under the cap following three moves.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Wednesday that the Cowboys restructured the contracts of quarterback Dak Prescott and left guard Tyler Smith. These two moves created $47 million in cap relief for the Cowboys.

Cowboys now have officially restructured the contracts of Dak Prescott and Tyler Smith, creating $47 million in cap room, per @FieldYates and me.

They still are expected to restructure CeeDee Lamb’s contract to help get cap compliant. pic.twitter.com/rXf71e6gox

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 4, 2026

Schefter said the Cowboys are expected to create more room by restructuring CeeDee Lamb's contract. Lamb, who signed a four-year, $160 million deal in 2024, currently carries a cap hit of $38.4 million.

It didn't take long for that to happen as Lamb's contract was restructured shortly after Prescott and Smith's. That brings the total cap relief to $66 million.

Cowboys created nearly $48 million in cap space by restructuring the contracts of Dak Prescott and Tyler Smith, per source, and as @AdamSchefter said.

A restructure for CeeDee Lamb is expected to happen too, creating ~ $66 million in cap space. More moves could be coming, too.

— Joseph Hoyt (@JoeJHoyt) March 4, 2026

Cowboys still have plenty of options to free up space

Dallas Cowboys defensive tackles Osa Odighizuwa and Clark celebrate after a play against the New York Giants. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Dallas has plenty of other options for freeing up space before NFL free agency. After restructuring these three deals, they could save $14 million by restructuring defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. Another $12 million could be created by restructuring fellow defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa.

On the offensive side of the ball, Terence Steele has a cap hit of $18 million and is a candidate for a restructure as well. They could also look to renegotiate his contract altogether, given his struggles in recent years.

In addition to these moves, the Cowboys hope to get something worked out with Kenny Clark. The big nose tackle was a solid run defender in 2025, after coming over as part of the Micah Parsons trade with the Green Bay Packers. While they have plans for him going forward, Clark's current cap hit of $21.5 million is on the excessive side.

Getting a new deal worked out for Clark would be good for both parties. Not only would that help Dallas by freeing up space, but Clark currently has no guaranteed money left on his contract. That leaves him without any long-term security, something he would love to change.

The good news out of all of this is that Jones is positioning the team to be active in free agency, which is what he promised fans he would do.

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