The 2025 NFL season did not go according to plan for the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas finished the regular season 7-9-1 and missed the playoffs yet again. The pressure will be on the Cowboys to fix what went wrong during the offseason. One controversial offseason move could be the key to Dallas' future success.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones declared that the team would have “zero chance” of extending George Pickens without the Micah Parsons trade, per beat reporter Joseph Hoyt.
Dallas traded for Pickens during the offseason, acquiring him at quite a discount. The trade worked out beautifully with Pickens having a career season. He hauled in 93 receptions for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns, all career bests.
Now he is eligible for a huge contract extension before the 2026 season.
Meanwhile, the Packers extended Parsons on a four-year deal worth $188 million after trading for him. He is now the highest-paid edge rusher in the NFL, which would certainly be a burden on Dallas' cap space if he had stayed.
Jones believes that the Parsons trade allowed Dallas to have more flexibility in the future.
“The very best part of that trade will come now [and in the future],” Jones added, per Hoyt.
Cowboys have a lot of work to do during 2026 offseason
The Cowboys have plenty of work to do this offseason.
Dallas is currently projected to be almost $40 million over the 2026 salary cap. That means the team will need to make multiple roster moves, likely including restructuring a few contracts, just to get cap compliant. They'll have further work to do from there to create space to actually add new players.
Fortunately, the Cowboys will have some extra ammunition in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Dallas currently has eight selections in this year's draft, including two first-round picks. That will give the Cowboys a pair of talented players on cost-controlled rookie contracts.
The Cowboys will likely want to keep Pickens in the building too, which itself will cost a pretty penny.
There are so many variables for the Cowboys to consider this offseason. That should make it pretty exciting for fans to watch over the next few months.
