The Dallas Cowboys have made room to keep moving.
According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, the team restructured the contracts of veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark, cornerback DaRon Bland and tight end Jake Ferguson, creating a little more than $19 million in salary cap space. The moves give Dallas flexibility as the 2026 season begins and could also let the club push any unused space into 2027.
Before the restructures, the Cowboys had roughly $14.2 million in cap space, according to the NFL Players Association website.
That financial breathing room comes at a time when Dallas is still making decisions across the roster. Joe Milton is back on the practice squad after clearing waivers, and Dak Prescott said the return mattered.
“It means a lot,” Prescott said of Milton’s return. “Obviously, me just personally, I thought he would’ve gotten picked up in the waivers.
Fortunate for us, we got a hell of a player back and a guy that makes our room better, a guy that makes our team better. His spirit, just the way that he approaches the day… he’s a hell of a dude, a hell of a competitor.”
Prescott also noted the team is heading into a league-mandated break, saying he planned to spend time with his daughters and still find a way to get his heart rate going.
On Thursday, Brian Schottenheimer also announced the Cowboys’ four captains for 2026: Prescott, Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark and kicker Brandon Aubrey. Prescott was the only offensive captain. Dallas has an 11-person leadership council this season, but the captain group is smaller and looks very different from what the team has used in recent years.
The defense, meanwhile, is drawing strong internal praise. Williams, who joined Dallas for seven games in 2025 after a trade deadline deal, said the unit has changed dramatically under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
“The growth, it’s like night and day,” Williams said of the strides made by the Cowboys on defense, via the team’s official website. “Starting in OTAs, and starting the first week of training camp, getting a chance to go against one of the best offenses in battle every single day has helped us tremendously.
The mindset coming from the coaches, top down to the players and to the leadership, has been drastically changed. It’s just fun, man.
“I just can’t wait to see the process and the results from all the hard work, but we’re not done yet.”
There’s also optimism around Tyler Guyton, another player who came into camp with questions and appears to have answered them. Brian Schottenheimer pointed to the second week of training camp as the moment the Cowboys really started to believe in the left tackle, saying Guyton showed better confidence in his sets and his ability to handle counters from edge rushers. Schottenheimer also said Guyton’s work against different defenders helped reveal his growth in understanding matchups.
As camp winds down, the roster picture is still taking shape. One Week 1 inactive projection has defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard and rookie offensive lineman Drew Shelton among the players who might not suit up against the New York Giants. Bullard has not practiced since Aug. 4 because of a groin/core injury, and Shelton’s preseason struggles have made him a likely healthy scratch early on.
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That matters in Dallas because left tackle has been one of the bigger offensive concerns hovering over the roster, and the tone around Guyton now sounds far more certain than it did earlier in his career. The Cowboys have also made it clear they view Broderick Jones as something other than direct competition for the starting job, which only strengthens the sense that Guyton is being trusted to settle the position down. [Read more 🡒]