The Cowboys will open the 2026 season against the New York Giants on Sunday, Sept. 13, and for a handful of players, that could be the last time they’re in Dallas for a season opener.
A busy offseason already changed plenty about this roster, especially on defense, and it also raised a bigger question: who is likely to be around when the Cowboys kick off again in 2027?
George Pickens looks like the clearest candidate. He’s playing 2026 on the franchise tag, but the long-term picture is shaky.
Dallas could tag him again, but the price would climb, and a multi-year deal would be just as tricky with CeeDee Lamb already taking up major cap space. Stephen Jones said the Cowboys have managed the pairing for this year, but the future sounds much tougher.
"The situation we have with George Pickens going alongside CeeDee," Jones said. "I don't know of any teams that really can pay two top receivers top of the market.
So, yeah. That's going to be a real difficult situation as we move forward.
We've managed to figure out how we can do it for this year."
A tag-and-trade remains the most likely path, unless Dallas thinks it can do better through the compensatory pick formula. Short of a major downturn in production, it would be a surprise to see Pickens still in Dallas in 2027.
Donovan Wilson is another name with an uncertain future. Many expected him to be on the chopping block this offseason, and the Cowboys’ safety overhaul only added fuel to that idea after they brought in P.J.
Locke, Jalen Thompson and Caleb Downs. Wilson hasn’t been at his best in recent years, and with his contract set to expire, it’s difficult to see him sticking around beyond this season.
Luke Schoonmaker has not lived up to being a second-round pick in 2023, and he’s now sitting third on the tight end depth chart behind Jake Ferguson and Brevyn Spann-Ford. Dallas did give him a bit more breathing room when highly-touted UDFA Michael Trigg failed to unseat him and ended up on the practice squad, but Schoonmaker still looks like a player who could be elsewhere by 2027, when he becomes a free agent.
DeMarvion Overshown may have the most talent of the group, but health has kept the story from fully coming together. He’s headed into what could be a defining season before free agency next offseason, and his new agent, David Mulugheta, adds another layer to the situation. Jerry Jones and Mulugheta have a known history from the Micah Parsons debacle, and that could matter if Overshown plays well enough to push for a big contract.
Even then, the Cowboys may still hesitate because his sample size remains small. He’ll need to stay on the field and put together a strong season to even get Dallas seriously considering a long-term deal.
Caelen Carson is in a different spot, but his future also looks fragile. Injuries and uneven play have dogged him over the past two seasons, though the Cowboys couldn’t really move on from him this offseason because of the way his contract is structured.
That changes next year. Dallas would have a post-June 1 out in 2027 that would bring $6.4 million in dead money but save $13 million, according to Over the Cap.
If Carson deals with more injuries or another rough year in 2026, that escape hatch could get used.
In Other News...
Cowboys Just Raised The Stakes On DaRon Bland And Jake Ferguson
The Cowboys have done some financial housekeeping, restructuring the contracts of Kenny Clark, DaRon Bland and Jake Ferguson to create a much cleaner path through the rest of the season. The moves opened up $19 million in cap space and pushed Dallas to $33 million in total room, giving the front office a lot more flexibility than it had just a short time ago.
Bland and Ferguson are the names that matter here beyond the bookkeeping, because the restructures also raised their dead cap hits and made an easy escape far less likely. In other words, Dallas has tied a little more of its future to both players while leaving itself with enough maneuvering room to chase a major addition if the right opportunity comes along, including a big-money defensive splash that would fit the kind of move this team has been eyeing. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Just Added A Risky New Twist To Their Tackle Battle
The Cowboys have been looking for ways to sharpen the edges of their offensive line battle, and the trade for Broderick Jones gives them another intriguing body in the mix at right tackle. Dallas sent draft picks to Pittsburgh to bring in a young player with real talent and a rsum that has already been complicated by early-career adversity, including a neck injury and stretches of uneven play. For a team trying to sort out its best five up front, Jones brings both upside and uncertainty.
What makes the move so interesting is that Jones has often looked more comfortable on the left side, even as the Cowboys are asking him to compete on the right. His technique and consistency have been part of the concern, and he is still working back strength after missing time, which makes his path to a starting job less straightforward than it might appear. For Dallas, it is another swing at finding the right answer at tackle, but it comes with the kind of risk that can reshape the whole competition. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Still Have One Roster Problem Jerry Jones Can't Ignore
With injuries and roster churn still shaping the back end of camp, the Cowboys are doing what every contending team does this time of year: scanning the league for useful pieces before the regular season locks the roster in place. The practice squad market has become part of that search, and Jabbar Muhammad stands out as one of the more intriguing names because Dallas can still use help at cornerback. The current depth chart has enough questions to keep the front office honest, especially with the team continuing to weigh how much stability it really has behind its top options.
It is also the kind of position where one move can quietly matter more than the splashier headlines around the team. Trade chatter has already followed Dallas in other areas, from the Maxx Crosby buzz to the ripple effects of the George Pickens deal and the Cowboys' own quarterback roster activity, but the cornerback conversation keeps circling back to need. For Jerry Jones, the unresolved issue is not whether there are interesting options out there. It is whether one of them is worth acting on before someone else does. [Read more 🡒]