{"id":261623,"date":"2026-01-04T16:30:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T21:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=261623"},"modified":"2026-01-03T18:49:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T23:49:07","slug":"top-4-dallas-cowboys-free-agents-ranked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/01\/04\/top-4-dallas-cowboys-free-agents-ranked\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 4 Dallas Cowboys Free Agents, Ranked"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Cowboys will enter the 2026 offseason for the second consecutive year after having huge hopes of sneaking into the NFC Wild-card, which means they have several pending free agents. Despite making improvements on defense, trading for Quinnen Williams and Logan Wilson, it wasn’t enough for defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus to get much out of them, who is rumored to be fired<\/a>. While the Cowboys need to figure out the state of their defense, they have plenty of offensive free agents who are set to enter a competitive market and have to re-sign at least half of them.<\/p>\n

Top 4 Dallas Cowboys Free Agents, Ranked<\/h2>\n

After releasing Trevon Diggs shockingly<\/a>, the Dallas Cowboys have some breathing room regarding the salary cap. Dallas will still need to clear some room to make moves, but the front office mentioned that they’ll approach free agency similarly to last offseason. It’s not a surprise at all unless the Cowboys decide to restructure the contract of star quarterback Dak Prescott or CeeDee Lamb in 2026.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

4. Jalen Tolbert<\/h3>\n

Unfortunately, the former undrafted rookie hasn’t been the same since the arrival of George Pickens in a trade this past offseason. Ryan Flournoy has emerged as somewhat of a capable No. 3 receiver ahead of Jonathan Mingo and Tolbert. However, the wide receiver did have himself a breakout 2024 campaign, so he should have some type of market.<\/p>\n

It’s not expected for Dallas to re-sign him, but Jalen Tolbert<\/a> will need to take a one-year contract at minimum wherever he lands next. The Cowboys bringing Tolbert on at least a low-stakes might be efficient for KaVonte Turpin for some familiarity as far as chemistry, but don’t be surprised if he ends up somewhere else.<\/p>\n

\"jalen
Main Photo: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

3. Brandon Aubrey<\/h3>\n

Brandon Aubrey is arguably one of the best kickers in this generation. It’s hard to find elite kicking status in this league, so this is someone they can’t afford to test the market. While he has had his few shortcomings<\/a> during the 2025 season, the Cowboys must find a way to retain him on at least a three-year deal before another team offers him a lucrative blockbuster contract.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Sep 14, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys place kicker Brandon Aubrey (17) kicks the game-winning field goal against the New York Giants during overtime at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

2. Javonte Williams<\/h3>\n

Javonte Williams<\/a> is another recognizable player they can’t afford to leave. After blossoming into one of the better ball-carriers this season, the Cowboys should at least offer him a two-year contract that is lucrative enough to stay. Despite his injury issues, Williams has proven to be effective on the ground, and they can’t let him have a “Rico Dowdle” moment with a new team in 2026.<\/p>\n

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Sep 28, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Javonte Williams (33) runs against Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons (1) and safety Evan Williams (33) in the second quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

1. George Pickens<\/h3>\n

The ultimate prize<\/a> for the Dallas Cowboys in this free agency is star wide receiver George Pickens<\/a>. After trading for him and becoming one of Prescott’s favorite pass-catchers, most of the offseason attention will be on him. Jerry Jones loves offseason drama, and if Micah Parsons has taught anyone anything is that Pickens isn’t going to stay on a bargain. The Cowboys want to keep Pickens, so are they willing to meet him at his asking price?<\/p>\n

\"nfl
Main Photo: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Cowboys will face difficult decisions regarding these free agents as the team is set for the 2026 offseason. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4795,"featured_media":261624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,19,6431],"tags":[10291,302,7422,9146,9139,7580],"class_list":["post-261623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-cowboys","category-nfl-teams","tag-brandon-aubrey","tag-dak-prescott","tag-dallas-cowboys-news","tag-george-pickens","tag-jalen-tolbert","tag-javonte-williams"],"modified_by":"Anthony Palacios","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4795"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261623"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":261628,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261623\/revisions\/261628"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}