Cowboys' Updated Salary-Cap Space After Ezekiel Elliott, La'el Collins Contracts

The Dallas Cowboys have had a busy offseason in terms of contract extensions, as linebacker Jaylon Smith, offensive lineman La'el Collins and running back Ezekiel Elliott all locked into new deals.

Smith signed a five-year, $64 million extension last month, per Jori Epstein of USA Today. Collins inked a five-year deal Tuesday with $50 million in new money, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. Elliott finally came to terms Wednesday.

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Elliott signed a six-year, $90 million extension with nearly half of that money being guaranteed. Overall, Elliott is under contract for eight more years and can earn as much as $103 million.

According to Spotrac, the Smith, Collins and Elliott deals give the Cowboys a salary-cap number of $179,859,695 in 2019, meaning they still have $20,867,897 in cap space.

That number is significant since quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver Amari Cooper are in line for new deals. Both Prescott and Cooper are set to enter the final year of their respective contracts in 2019.

NFL Network's Jane Slater reported that Prescott turned down a contract offer that would have paid him $30 million per year and is instead seeking a deal that will net him $40 million per year.

Cooper will make $13.9 million in 2019, the 12th-most deal for a WR, per Spotrac.

The fact that Dallas' regular season starts Sunday against the New York Giants means it may wait until after the season is over to negotiate deals with Prescott and Cooper, but they may have to get creative in order to sign both players if Prescott is indeed seeking such a massive payday.

Using the franchise tag at the conclusion of the season on either Prescott or Cooper is a possibility, but a deal must still be worked out with the other.

If the Cowboys do decide to wait on new deals for Prescott and Cooper, they have enough flexibility to pull off another big in-season trade, much like they did last season when they acquired Cooper from the Oakland Raiders.

After trading for Cooper, Dallas went 7-2 and won a playoff game. If Dallas needs to make a significant move to keep pace in the competitive NFC, there is nothing preventing owner Jerry Jones from doing so financially.

All of the new, hefty contracts the Cowboys are handing out could become an issue and force them to make some tough decisions, but as far as 2019 is concerned, they are in good shape financially.