{"id":267593,"date":"2026-03-01T09:51:57","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T14:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=267593"},"modified":"2026-03-01T09:51:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T14:51:57","slug":"jerry-jones-vows-to-bust-the-budget-the-cowboys-2026-free-agency-shopping-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/03\/01\/jerry-jones-vows-to-bust-the-budget-the-cowboys-2026-free-agency-shopping-list\/","title":{"rendered":"Jerry Jones Vows to ‘Bust the Budget’– The Cowboys’ 2026 Free Agency Shopping List"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dallas Cowboys president Jerry Jones is now swinging for the fences in free agency. For his team to see a chance of at least the NFC Championship Game, he has to take risks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Budget and Roster Management<\/h4>\n
\"George
Dec 25, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens (3) celebrates after a play against the Washington Commanders during the first half at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the 2026 offseason, Jones has vowed to \u2018bust the budget\u2019 and be more forceful in free agency than in previous seasons. Following two years without a postseason appearance, the Cowboys\u2019 primary focus is to get the team back in the hunt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wide receiver George Pickens has already received the franchise tag<\/a>, which is approximately worth $28 million. Safety Donovan Wilson has been a long-time starter in the league, but he is expected to test the open market. Kicker Brandon Aubrey is expected to return to the team in 2026 following another decent season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Salary Cap Analysis<\/h4>\n

Dallas is currently projected to be $56-$58 million over the salary cap. In order to afford his shopping spree, Jones has to plan to reconstruct the contracts of several offensive and defensive players. Once he can do that, then they can afford to spend more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jones is looking to spend big on the defensive side of the ball. The 2025 Dallas Cowboys struggled mightily on defense. They ranked 30th in total defense and 32nd in passing defense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So what is his shopping list consisting of?<\/p>\n

Edge Rushers<\/h4>\n

The Cowboys\u2019 rotation is thin at the pass-rushing position because of the trading of Micah Parsons. Although they have players like Kenny Clark, the organization is looking for either younger legs or primetime edge rushers who are looking to make a mark early. Key external targets mentioned include Trey Hendrickson, Odafe Oweh, and Boye Mafe.<\/span><\/p>\n

Linebackers<\/h4>\n

Dallas has also struggled with missed tackles and depth at the linebacker position in 2025. Linebacker\/edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney appears to be out the door. With that, many experts see that other players like Devin Lloyd and Quay Walker can be strong free agent fits.<\/span><\/p>\n

Defensive Backs<\/h4>\n

With Trevon Diggs released and DaRon Bland recovering from injury, the secondary has had coverage issues all season long. In multiple games, defensive backs have been torched all over the field by opposing receivers. Rumors of players like Jamel Dean and Rig Woolen are highlighted as potential veteran additions that can help out in the secondary.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Running Back<\/h4>\n

While the team recently re-signed<\/a> Javonte Williams, they may look for additional veteran depth. That will depend on whether or not backup Miles Sanders comes back for 2026.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h4>\n

If the Cowboys can address most of their list (or all), they can see an improvement under head coach Brian Schottenheimer. The team was projected to be in the NFC East cellar, but turned some heads. Now they have to build on that as the 2026 NFL season draws closer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Main Image: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dallas Cowboys president Jerry Jones is now swinging for the fences in free agency. For his team to see a chance of at least the NFC Championship Game, he has to take risks. Budget and Roster Management For the 2026 offseason, Jones has vowed to \u2018bust the budget\u2019 and be more forceful in free agency […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5783,"featured_media":247535,"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":[6431,19],"tags":[10291,7422,9146,7580,889],"class_list":["post-267593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-teams","category-cowboys","tag-brandon-aubrey","tag-dallas-cowboys-news","tag-george-pickens","tag-javonte-williams","tag-jerry-jones"],"modified_by":"Mike Roberts","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267593","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\/5783"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267593"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":267656,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267593\/revisions\/267656"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}