Cowboys' Last-Minute Guide to 2023 NFL Free Agency

With the legal tampering period just one day away, the Dallas Cowboys can really begin the work of improving on a team that went 12-5 but still lost in the wildcard round.

As frustrating as the early loss in the playoffs may have been, the Cowboys were impressive when you look through the lens of all they lost in last year's free-agency period. Not only did they trade away Amari Cooper, but they let Randy Gregory, Connor Williams, Cedrick Wilson and La'el Collins walk.

It was an impressive group of players to lose in one offseason and still match their win total from the season before.

This year, they'll still have to walk the tightrope of retaining key veterans and finding ways to upgrade.

Here's a last-minute look at their cap situation, free-agent class and top needs before Monday's legal-tampering period gets underway.

Cap Situation

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Ezekiel Elliott

Cap Space: $12.4 million, per Spotrac.

One thing that hasn't changed from last year is that Dallas has had to make some moves just to get in the black before free agency starts. Fortunately, that hasn't meant trading away a quality player like Cooper yet.

Instead, the Cowboys have created the space they need through restructures. Specifically, they reworked Dak Prescott and Zack Martin's deals to free up roughly $30 million.

There's likely more work to be done. The running back situation will be particularly interesting to keep an eye on.

The team utilized the franchise tag to keep Tony Pollard on the roster for at least one more, but it cost $10.1 million. Ezekiel Elliott remains on the roster and is set to make $16.7 million. It's not feasible or good roster management to have $26.8 million invested in two running backs for the season.

Coming to a long-term deal with Pollard would alleviate some of the cap issue. However, getting Elliott to take a paycut to remain on the roster could also create more room.

Notable Free Agents

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Safety Donovan Wilson

• TE Dalton Schultz
• OT Terence Steele
• WR Noah Brown
• OG Connor McGovern
• S Donovan Wilson
• LB Leighton Vander Esch
• Edge Dante Fowler Jr.
• CB Anthony Brown

As previously mentioned, this is another class of free agents that's going to force the Cowboys into some tough decisions. It isn't quite as good as last year's group, but there's a decent amount of production with this group.

The good news is that Terence Steele—who could be the most valuable of all of them—is not going anywhere. He's a restricted free agent, so he's under franchise control.

Dalton Schultz is likely the biggest offensive name that is out the door. After playing on the franchise tag, the Cowboys seem to be fine with letting him hit the market. He failed to even clear 600 yards receiving last year, and they've already brought in Jake Ferguson, who could help to replace his production in the 2022 draft.

Defensively, it will be interesting to see what happens with Leighton Vander Esch. The linebacker came back on a one-year deal, and he brought great value to the defense with 14 starts and 90 total tackles.

Donovan Wilson could be the most underrated safety in a deep free-agent class. He led all Cowboys defensive backs last year with a 69.0 quarterback rating allowed.

Brown has been the starter on the outside across from Trevon Diggs. It would make some sense to bring him back, but it's also a position where it might be time to either find competition through free agency or spend a premium pick in the draft to find a long-term replacement.

Dante Fowler Jr. helped ease the sting of losing Randy Gregory with six sacks. He might wind up being too expensive to keep around.

Biggest Needs and Top Targets

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Green Bay wide receiver Allen Lazard

Wide Receiver

The front office might not want to admit it, but this team missed Amari Cooper last year. They watched Cooper go off to Cleveland and put up 1,160 yards and a career-high nine touchdowns while CeeDee Lamb was forced to carry the receiving corps by himself.

Injuries carry some of the blame. James Washington suffered a foot injury that kept him out of the lineup. Michael Gallup wasn't the same coming back from his torn ACL. But this is an offense that needs a true No. 2 receiver who can take some of the pressure off Lamb and give Prescott another weapon to work with.

Top Targets: Odell Bekcham Jr., Allen Lazard, DJ Chark

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Defensive Tackle

The Cowboys have tried to "just get by" at the defensive tackle position for too long. Osa Odighizuwa is a solid starter who can play the 3-technique and offer some interior pass-rusher. Outside of him, there really isn't anyone to get too excited about.

The Cowboys already have a great bevy of outside pass-rushers including one of the best defensive talents in the game in Micah Parsons. However, they could look to beef up the interior. Some run-stuffers with proven production could help elevate this defense.

Top Targets: A'Shawn Robinson, David Onyemata, Larry Ogunjobi

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Cornerback

If the Cowboys are going to make a splash that isn't a receiver to pair with CeeDee Lamb it should be a shutdown corner to pair with Trevon Diggs. After watching what the Eagles did with Darius Slay and James Bradberry on defense, the Cowboys should be thinking about how good their defense could be with another asset playing across from Diggs.

Dan Quinn has done a tremendous job of building a good defense together with Diggs and a combination of corners who aren't impressive on paper. Giving him a dynamic duo would make a lot of sense.

Top Targets: Patrick Peterson, Jamel Dean, James Bradberry