The Dallas Cowboys will enter the 2026 season with a new-look defense, thanks to the addition of new coordinator Christian Parker. But what remains to be seen is what will happen with the personnel on the field, which is as much in need of an upgrade as the coaching and strategy was. As things stand, the Cowboys need to create space, with their payroll currently $31 million over the projected cap.
The Cowboys are in an odd position, with the bulk of their defensive resources now aimed at the defensive front. When Dallas traded away star pass-rusher Micah Parsons before the season, they got back two first-rounders and Kenny Clark from Green Bay, with Clark joining Osa Odighizuwa up front. That was a solid duo until the Cowboys added All-Pro lineman Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline, sending out a 2027 first-rounder and a second-rounder this year.
Each of the three has a cap hit north of $20 million next season and combined, they will make $63 million. As the Cowboys work to remake their defense, it’s fair to wonder whether they can truly afford to keep all three linemen, or whether some of that money would be better off allocated elsewhere.
Cutting Kenny Clark Could Save the Cowboys Money
At the Cowboys site “Blogging the Boys,” the prediction is that it will be Clark who gets the axe, which makes sense because the Cowboys are planning on building the defense around Williams and Odighizuwa just got a new contract last summer.
Clark signed a three-year extension in 2024 worth $64 million, but as is so often the case with contracts in Green Bay, the deal is essentially a year-to-year contract, meaning the Cowboys can get out of the remainder of the deal without dead money. Only $17.5 million was guaranteed.
The Cowboys could seek to trade Clark, but they’d need to move quickly, because $11 million of Clark’s guarantee kicks in on March 14, three days after the league year resets.
Writes BtB: “While Dallas would hate to release an integral part of their return from the Parsons trade and a solid veteran for nothing, his cost makes it too much to not at least consider it. Clark would not carry a dead salary cost against the cap if the Cowboys let him go, and $21M in savings, making him a possibility if they decide to shed some contracts.”
‘It Was Not Successful’
Indeed, Clark as a cut candidate has been floated before, though owner Jerry Jones has insisted Dallas can make things work with all three players on the books. It’s possible the Cowboys can trade Clark, too, but if teams get the sense Dallas will release him, there would be no need to make a trade and take on Clark’s money.
At the contract-expert website Spotrac, the possibility of the Cowboys jettisoning a defensive lineman is presented as good business–and Clark certainly has trade value, considering how many teams are in the market for a quality interior presence.
The folks at Spotrac floated the idea last month.
“I don’t think those players all need to remain going forward,” the site’s managing editor, Mike Ginnitti said on “The Spotrac Podcast.” “It’s nice to have the surplus, you certainly want the interior pressure, you certainly want to be able to stop the run. But they went big at it this year, and it was not successful. It got better, it improved them. But I think they can draft and develop … quickly within that interior line and get themselves into a situation where they’re stable and they’re cost-controlled at the same time.
“So what happens to Kenny Clark? There’s not a guarantee. So you can just move on and free up $21.5 million—there’s a huge roster bonus in March, $11 million. This is going to be a March situation.”
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