Five moves Cowboys should make in 2025 NFL offseason: Extend Micah Parsons ASAP, add legit No. 2 WR and more

The Dallas Cowboys’  need their 2025 offseason to go completely differently than their “all in” 2024 offseason .

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones initially promised big moves and spending a year ago, but the Cowboys ended up paying an NFL-low $20.47 million in free agency, according to OverTheCap.com. The team also delayed extending both All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and All-Pro quarterback Dak Prescott, which is why Jones’ offseason transformed to “get it done with less.”  Less experienced depth and just less depth overall typically does not net positive results in the NFL. That’s why the Cowboys streak of three consecutive 12-win seasons from 2021 to 2023 ended after a 7-10 2024 season went off the rails amid an injury-plagued campaign.

Cowboys executive vice president and COO Stephen Jones gave a sliver of hope that things might be different this year at head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s introductory press conference, saying the front office needed to “take a long hard look” at their free agency strategy. Following some reflection, the younger Jones announced Dallas will be “selectively aggressive” in the 2025 offseason. 

The good news for Dallas fans is that the Jones family has already been more active prior to free agency than they were a year ago. They re-signed defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa to a four-year, $80 million contract hours before the franchise tag window, and they restructured Lamb’s contract to free up more room to work in free agency. Expect Prescott’s deal to also be restructured to give them more cap space in free agency. He told CBS Sports in December that he would be happy to restructure to help the team. 

Just five days away from the unofficial kickoff to free agency with the legal tampering window opening up on March 10, here’s five key items on the Cowboys offseason to-do list that they need to complete to have a turnaround in 2025. 

Re-sign All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons ASAP

Extending three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons needs to be the first order of business for the Cowboys this offseason. He is historically great at getting after the quarterback, which might be the second-most valuable ability in the league besides actually being a productive quarterback. Parsons is the only player since sacks began being tracked as an individual statistic in 1982 to have 12 or more sacks in each of his first four seasons in the NFL. That also means Parsons wants to be paid like the “best in the business.” He aimed to get his contract talks started early with Jerry Jones early by arranging a meeting with Jones in his suite at the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game in January.

What would being paid like the best look like? It would equate to him signing a contract with an average per year salary around 2022 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa’s $34 million on his five-year, $170 million deal. Stephen Jones conceded large deals in the wide receiver market lengthened negotiations prior to their re-signing of Lamb, which didn’t happen until after the bulk of their training camp had concluded. Prescott wasn’t extended until literally hours prior to kickoff in Week 1 at the Cleveland Browns last season. 

“There’s always extenuating circumstances to these things. Every contract negotiation is different,” Stephen Jones said on Monday. “[With Lamb], there were other receivers trying to get their deals done, and some of them still haven’t gotten those deals done. … The CeeDee deal was just different. We’ll just see how Micah’s deal goes. I don’t necessarily know that there’s a lot of extenuating situations out there that would [prevent] us from being able to get our hands around something with Micah, but we’ll see.” 

Extending Parsons could save Dallas around $18 million in cap space, a move that would greatly help out the Cowboys if executed before the start of free agency. 

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Jordan Dajani

Take a look at the Cowboys’ passing numbers divided by target among the team’s wide receivers and tight ends. What stands out? Dallas doesn’t have anybody scaring opposing defenses in the passing game outside of two-time All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. 

No. 2 wide receiver Brandin Cooks fought through a knee injury that caused him to miss seven games at the age of 31, tight end Jake Ferguson battled through a lingering knee injury and a concussion and then Jalen Tolbert and KaVontae Turpin — two guys who hadn’t been relied upon much in the passing game — were asked to step up. 

A diminished Ferguson was second on the team in catches with 59 while Tolbert was second on the team in receiving yards with 610. That’s not good enough if the goal is to give the quarterback multiple, dependable options to throw to that will make opposing defenses think for a split second if they really want to double team Lamb. 

This year’s free agency wide receiver market isn’t brimming with surefire stars, but there are some nice complementary pieces available. Grabbing at least one of them in free agency, perhaps someone like  Stefon Diggs, Amari Cooper or Darius Slayton at a lower rate could be extremely helpful. Dallas needs to add to the group whether via free agency or the draft — or maybe both– with Cooks set to become a free agent.  

Re-sign CB Jourdan Lewis, bolster cornerback depth in free agency

The Cowboys’ cornerback depth is lacking at the moment, which is why they need to re-sign Jourdan Lewis and then sign another veteran in free agency. Lewis is a do-it-all defenisve back despite mostly being a nickel. He played decent ball at outside corner when injuries to All-Pro Dallass corners Da’Ron Bland and Trevon Diggs forced him into the lineup out there. His football IQ also makes him an adept blitzer and instinctual defending against the run. He turns 30 just before the 2025 season begins (Aug. 31), but Lewis would be a wise re-signing given the late-season knee injury to Diggs in 2024. 

Dallas likely needs another vet at that spot too because 2024 fifth-round pick Caelen Carson looked out of his depth when starting early in the season this past year. 

The running back position is an area where Dallas will need help even if they re-sign Rico Dowdle. If he walks in free agency, the Cowboys will be barren at the position. 

Dowdle could be the most sought after running back free agent on the open market this offseason after factoring in his age at the start of the 2025 season (27) and his career carries number of 331. He sat behind Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, but once he became the lead back for Dallas in 2024, he shined. Dowdle became the first undrafted running back in Dallas history to rush for over 1,000 yards thanks to his efficiency. His 53.6% rushing success rate on 235 carries was the sixth-best in the NFL in 2024, minimum 200 carries. Re-signing to Dowdle would allow for the Cowboys to not feel like they have to reach for a running back in the 2025 NFL Draft.   

Truly draft the best player available in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft

This leads nicely into the last point: the Cowboys need to stop picking almost exclusively for need in the opening round and just draft the highest-graded player on their board.

Each of their last two first-round picks in defensive tackle Mazi Smith (26th overall in 2023) and offensive tackle Tyler Guyton (29th overall in 2024) were picked almost exclusively because of need. Smith has underwhelmed two through seasons, and Guyton had an uphill climb as a rookie in 2024. The Cowboys forced him to flip positions from right tackle, what he played predominantly in college at the University of Oklahoma, to left tackle because of Tyron Smith’s departure in free agency. Guyton’s transition to the left side was incredibly rocky: he committed 14 penalties in 2024, tied for the second-most in the league behind only Houston Texans offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil’s 17. 

Both players are still young and have a chance to make something of their careers, but with the Cowboys having as many needs as they do after punting on free agency a year ago, Jerry Jones needs to just roll with the highest-rated player on his board. No more drafting players in round one just because they play the position where there is a hole. Being active in free agency should help course correct this issue.