The Dallas Cowboys have not been particularly active in free agency over the past several years. Last year, they were not even all that active in re-signing their own players, instead allowing starters Tyron Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Tony Pollard, Dorance Armstrong, Stephon Gilmore and more to leave and be replaced by (for then most part) mid-to-late round draft picks.
This offseason, they have another crop of important players hitting free agency — with the majority of them on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa is the most notable among those, but veterans like cornerback Jourdan Lewis and defensive end Demarcus Lawrence are also among the that group.
Lawrence, for his part, would like to stay in Dallas, but recognizes that it’s not only up to him.
“The ball is in their court. I’m not only going to play in Dallas,” Lawrence said, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I’m going to have other options, but I’d like to stay here. It would be a glorious thing.”
The Cowboys currently have just over $3.8 million in salary cap space, according to Over the Cap, but would create approximately $58 million more with simple restructures of Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb’s contracts. An extension for Micah Parsons would free up around $18.3 million and another for Daron Bland could create an additional $3.3 million.
In other words, if they get their work done early, the Cowboys could create plenty of space to retain their own — including Lawrence — and even add outside free agents. The question is whether they are actually willing to be aggressive in making the money work, and in doing things like “signing your most important players to contract extensions before free agency opens rather than waiting until the last week of training camp so you can get months of attention out of the process,” which is the kind of stuff the Cowboys of recent vintage have not been willing to do.
Lawrence has some injury issues (he missed almost all of last season), and he’s less of a pure pass rusher than some teams might like coming off the edge, but he remains an elite run defender and he’s good at rushing the passer, if not great. If Dallas doesn’t come with an agreeable deal, some other team will benefit from his services.
No NFL team will have more spending power this offseason than the New England Patriots. According to Over the Cap, the Pats are set to enter the new league year with over $127 million in cap space — the most in the league by over $30 million.
It’s a good thing they have all that cap room, too, because the Pats have an absolute ton of needs. That’s especially the case on the offensive side of the ball, where last season rookie quarterback Drake Maye was forced to overcome one of the worst supporting casts in the league.
It makes sense, then, that New England is expected to be aggressive in the free-agent market. One place the Patriots will look, according to ESPN, is the offensive line, where they are expected to pursue Baltimore Ravens tackle Ronnie Stanley.
At the NFL scouting combine, one rival NFL executive said some of the buzz going around was that the Patriots would aggressively pursue veteran Baltimore Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley should he make it to unrestricted free agency…
Sorting through what is legitimate and what is smoke is an evolving process, but the idea that the Patriots would be connected to Stanley hits at arguably the top theme head coach Mike Vrabel and executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf drilled home in on-the-record interviews last week.
The Patriots spent most of last season with Vederian Lowe and Demontrey Jacobs as their bookend tackles, and the pair struggled badly, to say the least. They yielded a combined 82 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, and were somehow even less effective as run blockers than they were in pass protection.
Stanley finally stayed healthy last season after three years of injury-plagued campaigns stemming from his 2021 torn ACL, and he got back to the Pro Bowl for the first time since 2019. He is considered the top tackle on the market, and if the Patriots want to protect their investment in Maye, it makes a lot of sense to pursue him.
The 2025 NFL Scouting Combine came and went this past week in Indianapolis. While on its surface the combine is a place for teams to get a look at — and talk to — draft prospects they’ll spend the next two months poring over, it is in truth one big NFL convention and where a whole lot of league business gets done.
That means we learn some valuable information about each and every team throughout the week — and not just as it related to the draft. In the space below, we’re going to examine one thing we learned about each NFC team. (Jordan Dajani already covered the AFC.)
NFC East Dallas Cowboys: Jerry Jones is being un-Jerry Jones-like New York Giants: They really, really want a quarterback Philadelphia Eagles: Free agency might look strange at first Washington Commanders: They got their No. 2 wideout Have you ever heard of Jerry Jones passing up an opportunity to talk to reporters? Well, it happened this week. Jones didn’t hold his traditional media availability during combine week, and also declined to talk when leaving the team hotel ahead of the weekend. VERY curious stuff.
We know the Giants tried to get in on the Matthew Stafford sweepstakes. There are already rumors that they could be interested in someone like Aaron Rodgers or Sam Darnold. And recently, reports have indicated that they are perhaps the most interested team in moving up to the No. 1 overall pick to land their choice of Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders.
Howie Roseman asked Eagles fans to show patience (good luck with that, Howie) when it comes to the team’s moves this offseason, which he said might not look like how the conventional wisdom expects them to.
Washington landed Deebo Samuel from the 49ers in a trade, surrendering only a fifth-round pick in the process. Our own Tyler Sullivan graded the trade here.
Aaron Rodgers to Giants? QB made multiple calls to team; New York now interested with Stafford back with Rams Garrett Podell Aaron Rodgers to Giants? QB made multiple calls to team; New York now interested with Stafford back with Rams NFC North Chicago Bears: Looking to upgrade the offensive line Detroit Lions: Confidence high in new coaching staff Green Bay Packers: Jaire Alexander could be on the block Minnesota Vikings: Vikes won’t break the bank to re-unite with Sam Darnold Head coach Ben Johnson said the Bears are confident they’ll be able to reshape the line in free agency and the draft: “There are a number of teams that did that last year,” he said, via the team’s official website. “The Panthers come to mind; when they went out in free agency and got a couple of top guards (Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis), [it] really changed the dynamic of their offense. You saw them clicking there in the second half of the season once they really started to gel.
“I made the statement in my opening press conference, that’s an area we have to get better. That doesn’t necessary mean we need five new starters because all it takes is one individual to blow up a play. So we’re just identifying where we can get a little bit better and we’re going to continue to raise that floor and we’ll find the right mix of five to eight, nine, 10 guys.”
Dan Campbell told the Lions’ official website that he did interviews with 24 different coaches before landing on the new additions to his staff. He expressed confidence in new coordinators John Morton and Kelvin Sheppard, as well as running backs coach Tashard Choice and defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers.
The Packers star cornerback is reportedly on the trade block. Cody Benjamin broke things down and highlighted some potential landing spots for Alexander’s services.
According to ESPN, the Vikings are open to bringing Darnold back, but at the right price. Otherwise, they might come into next season with a quarterback room of J.J. McCarthy and Daniel Jones, whom the team signed down the stretch of last season.
NFC South Atlanta Falcons: Kirk Cousins isn’t long for Atlanta Carolina Panthers: Expected to pursue high-level free agents New Orleans Saints: Expect to be “active” in free agency Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Chris Godwin is a priority All the buzz coming out of the combine is that the Falcons (unsurprisingly) won’t be able to find a taker for Cousins via trade and he’ll be released, at which point he would be free to sign with the team of his choice.
ESPN reports that the Panthers want to complete an extension with Jaycee Horn before players like Derek Stingley Jr. and Sauce Gardner get their deals, while the Panthers could also be in the mix for safeties Jevon Holland and Camryn Bynum, defensive tackle Milton Williams and edge rusher Chase Young.
I’m not entirely sure how it’s even possible considering their salary-cap situation ($47 million over the cap as of this writing), but NOLA.com reports that the Saints expect to be more active after having a quiet offseason a year ago.
The Buccaneers got their quarterback and No. 1 receiver re-signed last offseason, and now want to make sure their No. 2 wideout is locked in as well. Godwin is coming off a dislocated ankle suffered late last season, but according to ESPN, Tampa is hoping to get a deal done with the slot receiver before he hits the open market.
NFC West Arizona Cardinals: High hopes for 2024 rookies Los Angeles Rams: Matthew Stafford isn’t going anywhere San Francisco 49ers: The Deebo Samuel era is over Seattle Seahawks: There could be some changes at wide receiver Arizona didn’t get all that much out of its first- and third-round picks during their 2024 rookie seasons. Darius Robinson only played six games due to injury, and he finished with just one sack. Trey Benson worked way behind James Conner in the backfield. But Jonathan Gannon talked up both players to the team’s official website, saying he has “no doubt” that Robinson will be an impact player and that Benson should “light it up” and become the team’s second RB1.
Stafford agreed to a new contract and will remain in Los Angeles, despite weeks of trade rumors.
Samuel, as mentioned, was traded to Washington. Brandon Aiyuk is also supposedly available for trade. That means things are going to change in a big way in San Francisco. Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall will presumably be heavily involved in the receiver room, but still more changes could be on the way.
General manager John Schneider simply said “I don’t know” when asked if Tyler Lockett will be on the Seahawks next season. And there have been rampant trade rumors surrounding DK Metcalf. We know Jaxon Smith-Njigba will still be around next year, but we don’t know all that much more than that.
