It feels like a big change any time you switch head coaches. But, following the departure of Mike McCarthy, the Cowboys opted to hire in-house with the promotion of Brian Schottenheimer. That should help keep some continuity with the offense. And, hopefully, bringing former Cardinals offensive line coach Klayton Adams in as offensive coordinator will help sure up a shaky line.

Coaching changes are only part of the NFL offseason equation for the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones says he plans to compete right now, which means making some improvements to Dak Prescott’s weapons. CeeDee Lamb is a superstar, of course, but you’re going to need more than that in a brutal NFC East.

Let’s take a moment here to break down the depth chart, contracts, cap space, and free agents for the Dallas Cowboys. With that we can make some predictions on what might happen this offseason. And maybe that can even help the folks get a head start on things if they play dynasty fantasy football or early best ball. So, let’s dig in!

*The salary cap numbers referenced in this article come courtesy of our friends over at Spotrac.com*

 

 

 

Dallas Cowboys Depth Chart 2025 (Fantasy Football Relevant)

QB

Dak Prescott

Cooper Rush

Trey Lance

Will Greier

RB

Rico Dowdle

Zeke Elliott

Deuce Vaughn

 

WR

CeeDee Lamb

Kavonte Turpin

Ryan Flournoy

 

WR

Brandin Cooks

Jalen Brooks

  

WR

Jalen Tolbert

Jonathan Mingo

  

TE

Jake Ferguson

Luke Schoonmaker

Brevyn Spann-Ford

Princeton Fant

  • White = unrestricted free agent
  • Green = role is safe
  • Yellow = role in flux
  • Orange = likely a depth piece
  • Red = roster spot not guaranteed

Dallas Cowboys Free Agency 2025

  • PROJECTED 2025 SALARIES: ~$296M
  • ESTIMATED 2025 CAP SPACE: ~-$2.4M

 

 

 

Cowboys Quarterback Depth Chart

Dak Prescott: Dak Prescott was made one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL. So the Cowboys are committed through at least 2027, there’s no doubt about that. There’s also no doubt that Dak is capable of big statistical performances. Injuries have been the main issues as he’s now had multiple years that have ended with serious injury. Dak to me is a fairly “safe” fantasy asset. 

He’s on a team that always wants to compete and he’s tied to CeeDee Lamb. If he’s one of my quarterbacks in a superflex league, I feel good about it. If he’s on my dynasty team in a single QB league, I want to make sure I have some other path to upside on the roster, even if he’s my starter. He’s 31 now and he’s never really been one to take off and run a bunch anyway, which is crucial to upside in such a top-heavy format as dynasty. 

Cooper Rush: Rush has quietly been with the Cowboys for 7 years now which has led him to start 14 games with the injuries to Dak Prescott. And he actually has a 9-5 record in those games. If he were to be back, it would be to serve as the clear QB2 behind Prescott.

You would think with the push towards continuity that they would want him around. But he did make an Instagram post this offseason that made it seem like his time in Dallas was done. We’ll have to see what direction they go in but the conservative play is to bring Rush back. 

Trey Lance: The Cowboys took a stab on Trey Lance by trading a fourth round pick for him. But it’s pretty damning that, despite being with the Cowboys for two years, he couldn’t surpass Cooper Rush to play once Dak Prescott went down. He’s now an unrestricted free agent so we’ll have to see whether the Cowboys continue trying to develop him. But I would bet that they let him walk.

Will Grier: The Cowboys do have a contingency plan in place as they did extend the contract of Will Grier for 2025. The details of his contract have not yet been made public but I imagine that they have some sort of way to release him if they do go in a different direction. But they have someone who is familiar with the program ready to be in the building if need be.      

  • Reserves/Futures: N/A

COWBOYS QB FREE AGENCY TAKE: I like Cooper Rush as a backup quarterback. Obviously you don’t want him leading the team and trying to take you to the Super Bowl. But there are very few teams where the backup QB can do that. What he can do is step in and keep the team afloat if you need him for a few games - we’ve seen him do it. So the easiest solution here is to bring him back.

If they don’t, they should focus on someone that can step in and actually win games. They’ve committed to Dak Prescott so bringing in a young project doesn’t make as much sense as trying to win now. Here are some guys that can realistically win games if called upon.

 

 

 

Cowboys Running Back Depth Chart

Rico Dowdle: Rico Dowdle proved to be a bright spot this year despite the turmoil in Dallas. He put together over 1,000 yards rushing with another ~250 in the air for over 1,300 yards from scrimmage. They took a bit of a risk going into the year with just him and Ezekiel Elliott at the top and it worked out just fine.

Now Dowdle is set to hit the free agent market, and the Cowboys have a decision to make. Creative accounting should help them with the cap but they don’t have a lot of money to spend. They can play it safe and try to bring him back on a reasonable deal. Or go the risky route with a running back in the draft. It can be one of the easier positions to replace production with right away with a rookie.

Ezekiel Elliott: We’re going to list Zeke here even though he technically asked for his release and briefly signed with the Chargers to end the season. If he does sign with the Cowboys, it will be a one-day contract to retire. He had every opportunity to be the guy in Dallas again, but it just wasn’t happening.

Deuce Vaughn: There is an interesting wrinkle this offseason for Deuce Vaughn. The Cowboys hired offensive line coach Conor Riley from Kansas State, who just so happened to be the O-line coach for Deuce when he was there. 

I wouldn’t be much on Deuce being an every down player given his stature but perhaps this bodes well for him remaining on the roster, even if it’s to help teach any new scheme/concepts to the other backs. He’s on a cheap rookie deal for two more years but it would need to be a deep dynasty league to roster him.

COWBOYS RB FREE AGENCY TAKE: The Cowboys have to do something this offseason. Even if they bring back Rico Dowdle, you can’t just have Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn, and Malik Davis. If they don’t bring back Rico Dowdle, the draft is almost certainly the best option given their cap situation.

Let’s say hypothetically they let Dowdle walk and they are planning to compete now. Maybe they can convince an older veteran to come on a cheap deal to try to win, like an Aaron Jones. Or maybe they can convince a younger player to sign a one year “prove it” deal to try to get a bigger payday after, like a Javonte Williams. Here are the guys that might consider that. 

 

 

 

Cowboys Wide Receiver Depth Chart

CeeDee Lamb: There’s really not much to say here about CeeDee Lamb. He’s a 25 year old superstar receiver and one of the most coveted assets in both real life and fantasy football. Obviously, if you can acquire him you do that. 

Brandin Cooks: Brandin Cooks is a free agent and, believe it or not, might end up being too expensive for the Cowboys to bring back. They need a true WR2, and Cooks is better served as a field stretching WR3 at this stage. 

Cooks isn’t going to play for the vet minimum or anything here and the Cowboys probably can’t even afford to pay a WR3 in the $5 to $10 million a year range. Maybe Jerry can get creative and make it happen but, in this weak WR free agent market, I expect someone else to pay Cooks.

Jalen Tolbert: Tolbert was effectively the WR2 for this team. And he did fine with 49 catches for 610 yards and 7 TDs. But he’s more of a WR3 in this league or, better yet, the WR4 who is the “next man up”. 

He’s on a cheap rookie deal so I expect him to hang around. And he could be fantasy relevant if the Cowboys offseason looks anything like it did last year. They don’t have much money so Tolbert could be at the forefront again if they whiff in the draft.

Jonathan Mingo: The Cowboys made a simple bet with this trade. They are betting on the incompetence of the Carolina Panthers. They liked Mingo before he was drafted and they are hoping that their coaches can fix him. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. He certainly didn’t do much in his short stint with the Cowboys with only 5 catches on 16 targets. 

There is no cap savings by cutting Mingo - in fact, that would actually hurt them to the tune of -$800K this year. A trade is the only way to move him and that would save $1.5M. So, I expect him to be a Cowboy. 

Kavontae Turpin: Turpin is a free agent but a restricted free agent which means they can potentially bring him back easily by making him a qualifying offer in the $3 million range. For most teams, this would seem like a no-brainer for an All-Pro caliber return man, but the Cowboys have to be selective with their money. I still expect him to be back. 

 

 

 

Jalen Brooks: I had some optimism for Jalen Brook after he made a couple of decent catches in the preseason. But he never really was able to carve out a major role in this offense. Which is especially damning since the Brandin Cooks injury presented the opportunity he needed. 

He is on a cheap rookie deal but he can also be released with only $40,000 in dead cap and over $1 million in savings. His roster spot is not safe but they might have to just stick with the cheap deals they have in place.

Ryan Flournoy: Another guy who got some steam but never really managed to make anything happen. Which, given the thin depth chart, makes it hard to predict big things for them. I know he’s a rookie and is on a cheap deal but, like Jalen Brooks, there are only so many roster spots. They could save $890K with only $100K in dead cap by releasing him so he’ll need to earn this roster spot in camp once again.  

COWBOYS WR FREE AGENCY TAKE: Signing a guy like Tee Higgins is simply out of the question here. They have three options. Draft someone. Sign someone at a discount. Or trade high-end draft capital for a guy that comes at a discounted contract based on the trade. The rumors are flying about guys like Cooper Kupp or reuniting Brian Schottenheimer with DK Metcalf but you’d need to find a way for that to actually be reasonable on the cap.

CeeDee Lamb’s natural role is to play slot in three WR sets and flanker in two WR sets. So either a true split end or a field-stretching flanker (or some combo of the two) would make a lot of sense. You can draft one and sign the other. Here are some options that are reasonably priced. Maybe you could get an Amari Cooper reunion at a discount?

 

 

 

Cowboys Tight End Depth Chart

Jake Ferguson: Jake Ferguson is exactly fine. He’s not exceptional blocking or pass-catching but it’s rare enough to find a guy who can do both. He’s under contract for 2025 and should be the starting tight end.

The interesting thing for fantasy football is that, although he doesn’t necessarily COMMAND targets, he might end up backdooring his way into a big target share again if they can’t find WRs. If he’s a top two target with CeeDee Lamb again, he could have top 10 or even top 5 upside in fantasy. If he’s the third target on the team, I have no interest. 

That’s the bet you are making but, personally, this is a guy I’d be looking to sell now before the offseason. He’s gotten lucky in that regard a couple of times now, but Jerry could put the trigger on another high-end WR in the draft. 

Luke Schoonmaker: Schoonmaker didn’t put anything crazy on tape at Michigan but, under Jim Harbaugh, no one really did. The bet you are making in fantasy is that Jake Ferguson walks, just like Dalton Schultz did before him, and Schoonmaker inherits the role. The market for him won’t be particularly robust to trade him so, if you are in a deep enough league where he is rostered, you might as well hold. 

Brevyn Spann-Ford: In the two games without Jake Ferguson, Spann-Ford and Schoonmaker did split the snaps. Which, on one hand, is good news for Spann-Ford as a rookie. But Schoonmaker played more snaps and ran more routes. I expect both to stick in Dallas which means the window for Spann-Ford to be relevant, if it ever happens, wouldn’t likely be until 2027 at the earliest. He does not need to be held.

Princeton Fant: Princeton Fant only appeared in one game and it was a pretty pure blocking capacity when he did. If he does hang around the team, it will likely be on the practice squad. 

COWBOYS TE FREE AGENCY TAKE: The Cowboys actually have everything they need with just Jake Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker, and Brevyn Spann-Ford. 

If they were to sign a tight end in free agency, it would be a pure pass-catching tight end as part of some plan to use a second TE in a WR role in two TE sets to perhaps save on cap space. I don’t expect that to happen but here are the guys that would fit that bill. More than likely though, they don’t sign any free agent tight end.