Cowboys Reportedly Restructure Kenny Clark's Contract, Updated Salary Cap for NFL Free Agency

The Dallas Cowboys reportedly have cleared up some cap space as they look to put together a big free agency.

Per ESPN's Todd Archer, Dallas restructured defensive tackle Kenny Clark's contract, converting his $11 million roster bonus into a signing bonus. The move opened up about $8.8 million in salary cap space.

The Cowboys were $15.4 million over the cap before the move, per Spotrac.

Last month, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he "would bet that we will spend more money in free agency than we have," adding that Dallas would "bust the budget" to improve the defense.

"I look at where we are with Dak [Prescott], and I look at where he is in his career. And I look at some of the pluses that we have on our front, what we think we could do there, and what we could do with [George] Pickens and [CeeDee] Lamb, and what we could do with our running back that we just signed," Jones told reporters. "And so all of those things, I want to do everything we possibly can to stop somebody, and to basically win some third downs more than we did last year. So I think that would be the area that you would see me bust the budget."

Even after restructuring Clark's deal, the Cowboys still rank last in cap space, so Jones and the front office will have to get creative if they want to make significant improvements this offseason.

So far, Dallas has signed safety Jalen Thompson to a three-year, $33 million deal and defensive end Sam Williams to a one-year deal worth up to $3 million. The team also traded a 2027 late-round pick to the Green Bay Packers in return for edge rusher Rashan Gary.

The Cowboys reportedly were in the mix for free agent linebacker Nakobe Dean and offered him a similar deal to that which he ultimately signed with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Cowboys fans are still waiting for Jones and the front office to make a significant pickup, but there have been several indications that the team is at least trying to make things work with their current financial limitations.