Contract Year Cowboys: List of pending free agents boasts 9 Pro Bowl appearances
Contract Year Cowboys: List of pending free agents boasts 9 Pro Bowl appearances The Cowboys are always dealing with a laundry list of influential free agents and 2026 will be no different.
The Dallas Cowboys now have a storied tradition when it comes to how they build their roster. Focusing on their draft hauls, they tend not to invest in outsiders for the long haul. The club looks at big-value contracts as rewards for performance, while other teams take a more speculative approach to things, betting on the come. And because the club likes to wait until the last minute instead of getting ahead of things with pending free agents, each year it seems that they have a huge free agency class.
2026 appears to be no different. While there are still all of the summer months and the entire regular season still to play out, the list of pending free agents is once again ripe with talent. Here's a look at all of the players who are on expiring deals at the moment.
Defense
Edge Micah Parsons (3x All-Pro, 4x Pro Bowler)
CB DaRon Bland (1x All-Pro, 1x Pro Bowler)
LB Kenneth Murray
Safety Donovan Wilson
Safety Juanyeh Thomas (RFA)
Edge Sam Williams
Edge Dante Fowler, Jr.
LB Damone Clark
CB Kaiir Elam
Edge Payton Turner
DB Israel Mukuamu
LB Jack Sanborn
CB CJ Goodwin
Edge Tyrus Wheat (RFA)
LB Darius Harris
CB Kemon Hall
CB Andrew Booth
LB Buddy Johnson (RFA)
CB Josh Butler (ERFA)
Offense
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Jeudy also has a modest touchdown rate as a pro — receivers own most of that metric once you get deep into a career. Even at a bargain cost, Jeudy is not a proactive target for me in 2025." Stat to remember Here were the Browns' NFL ranks last season in expected points added (EPA) per play and success rate, first as an offense and then per dropback in the passing game: 32nd, 32nd, 32nd, 32nd. On top of that, Cleveland was 27th in EPA and 30th in success rate in the run game. It was an unwatchable offense. Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was fired, replaced by Tommy Rees. Cleveland's passer rating as a team was 71.4, which seems like a typo. It was 73.7 the year before. It's not all Deshaun Watson's fault, but plenty of it was. It's not like the Browns are completely devoid of pass catchers. Jerry Jeudy made a Pro Bowl after the Browns acquired him in a trade with the Broncos, David Njoku is a good tight end and Cedric Tillman was coming alive before a concussion ended his second NFL season early. The Browns need competent quarterback play. That's nothing new in Cleveland. Burning question What is the true level of the Browns defense? The hope for the Browns last season was that a fantastic defense would get some help from the offense and the team would take a step forward from 11 wins the season before. We know the offense failed miserably, and in hindsight that shouldn't have been a surprise. But the defense falling apart was shocking. Advertisement One of the problems was a secondary that was filled with big names made almost no plays. Cleveland had just four interceptions, which was the lowest total in the NFL. That's hard to believe from a secondary with Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome II, Martin Emerson Jr. and Grant Delpit. Those are all Day 1 or Day 2 draft picks with good reputations and they did almost nothing in 2024. The Browns got solid play from the front seven last season, and the secondary fell hard. That's a big reason the team had a -22 turnover margin. The second-worst team in the NFL last season was at -16. Defensive success is historically isn't guaranteed to carry over from year to year, but the Browns going from second in DVOA in 2023 to 25th last season despite returning most of the lineup is hard to explain. Getting no support at all from the offense couldn't have helped. The Browns defense seems much more likely to be in the top 10 of the NFL this season than the bottom 10. Myles Garrett should be a top contender for NFL Defensive Player of the Year again this season. (Photo by) (Jason Miller via Getty Images) Best case scenario Two seasons ago the Browns were 11-6 and in the playoffs. Many of the same reasons for optimism coming into last season still exist. Plenty of the defense that led the NFL in yards allowed in 2023 remains, including all-world defensive end Myles Garrett and coordinator Jim Schwartz. Defensive success can fluctuate from year to year; that cost the Browns last season but it also means the defense could bounce right back. The quarterback play is unlikely to be good this season but the Browns have two exciting rookie running backs and could be a team that wins by playing defense and running the ball. The Browns were terrible as a whole at quarterback two seasons ago but won a lot of games. If the defense is at a top-five level again, if Kevin Stefanski returning to calling plays boosts the offense to a passable level, and if there's better injury luck after they piled up last season, maybe Cleveland will be a surprise playoff contender. Nightmare scenario When Myles Garrett requested a trade, the underlying message was that he didn't think he could win a Super Bowl in Cleveland. That all got smoothed over with a four-year, $160 million extension, but it's not like Garrett's team-level concerns were fixed. The Browns are a bad franchise. We have more than 25 years of evidence to prove it. It seems like a team that could start four different quarterbacks this season and none of them are a good bet to be a long-term answer. It's a roster that's among the oldest in the NFL, because Cleveland expected its process to be in full bloom by now. The Deshaun Watson fiasco derailed everything. The only good news that would come from the Browns having an even worse season in 2025 would be that they're in position to draft a top quarterback prospect. But then ask yourself: Do you trust the Browns to not screw that up? The crystal ball says The Browns should be more competitive this season, especially on defense. Their outright collapse on that side of the ball made little sense. And if Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson both hit at running back, the offense will be better. Which isn't saying that much; it's hard to be worse than the 2024 Browns were on offense. So while the Browns shouldn't be ranked higher than 30th on this list, there is potential to win more games than expected. Just don't expect another playoff season, or anything close to it. The only time we're going to be truly interested in the Browns this season will come when and if Shedeur Sanders plays.
