INDIANAPOLIS
The busiest week on the NFL calendar is officially in the rearview mirror, as the Dallas Cowboys have returned home from the NFL Scouting Combine after a bustling few days in downtown Indianapolis.
The Star-Telegram was on site as well tracking down the most important Dallas Cowboys-related headlines through various league and team sources. Whether it’s what awaits in the George Pickens saga, what is ahead in free agency or how the team feels about some of its young talent, we have you covered on all the buzz that came out of Indianapolis.
Let’s dive into it.
The George Pickens situation will be up to one person
On Thursday, the Cowboys met with the representation of wide receiver George Pickens in Indianapolis to notify them of the franchise tag being officially placed on Friday. Back in Dallas, owner Jerry Jones called Pickens personally to notify him of the same news. Both conversations were characterized as brief and neither entailed anything further, such as any preliminary negotiations on a long-term deal.
Pickens’ side obviously wants a deal to get done. As far as waiting out anything else around the league, there isn’t anything to watch. From his side, it’s about the Cowboys coming to them, but therein lies the question. When will they approach Pickens’ representation about a deal — if it all?
Comments from Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones indicate that they seem more than fine with a reality that sees Pickens play on the tag in 2026. It’s not far-fetched to think that’s the likeliest scenario. However, sources from the other side of the equation imply that a hold-out/hold-in is coming if the tag is even signed. If it’s not, Pickens has until the Tuesday following Week 10 of the 2026 season to put pen-to-paper or sit out for the rest of the year.
But ultimately, this situation boils down to one person: Pickens himself.
The Joneses and head coach Brian Schottenheimer echoed that conversations with Pickens almost always involve football, even when they’re not necessarily designed to. “He loves football” is a phrase that continues to come from the Cowboys’ side of things.
Does that desire to be on the field for offseason activities trump his financial motivations at the end of the day? He will have to answer that question when the Cowboys are scheduled to begin offseason workouts on April 20.
Brandon Aubrey’s deal will get done
If you had told me that the biggest Cowboys drama of combine week would involve kicker Brandon Aubrey, I would have directed you to the nearest exit, but that’s exactly what played out. Rumors and chatter fly around Indianapolis like a wildfire, and the nuances of the negotiation between Aubrey’s representation and the Cowboys were the latest victim.
Let’s take a look at the facts. Aubrey and his agent, Todd France who also represents quarterback Dak Prescott, have an offer on the table that would make him the highest-paid kicker in the NFL. It’s an increase from an already market-setting offer that the Cowboys made before the 2025 season began. (The current highest-paid kicker is Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs at $6.4 million per season.)
The negotiations have not been tense. There isn’t any bad blood that’s been sparked from the back-and-forth. Both sides are comfortable with the other, and both have been doing their respective jobs to find an agreed price point. Expect that deal to reach the finish line soon, so the Cowboys will not have to use a second-round tender (a one-year, $5.8 million deal) through the season — even if a tender is applied as a placeholder initially.
Get ready for Restructure Week
Happy Restructure Week, Cowboys fans! Yes, celebrations are ahead for one of the more monotonous roster moves a team can make, and the Cowboys are gearing up to make a large handful this week.
As of Monday morning, the Cowboys are over $56 million over the league’s salary cap for 2026 with free agency set to begin in less than 10 days. After Jerry Jones said to expect the team to be more aggressive in free agency (more on that in a bit), they will need to be sitting in the green to do so. As a result, expect the Cowboys to restructure the following contracts in the coming days:
QB Dak Prescott – $30,960,000 in savingsWR CeeDee Lamb – $19,028,000 in savingsOL Tyler Smith – $17,605,840 in savingsDT Quinnen Williams – $14,587,500 in savingsDT Osa Odighizuwa – $12,028,000 in savingsTotal savings: $94,209,340 which would put the team $38,075,436 in the green
Restructures allow teams to take hefty cap numbers (i.e. Prescott’s $74 million cap hit in 2026) and spread it throughout the rest of a contract and even into a few years after a contract expires. The player is given the money up front as a “signing bonus” and it allows more salary cap freedom in the current season while sacrificing cap space in future years. Prescott‘s cap hit will decrease to roughly $43.1 million as a result, for example.
The one thing that is undetermined that could free up even more cap space is the situation surrounding defensive tackle Kenny Clark. As of Monday morning, his 2026 salary cap hit is set to cost the Cowboys $21.5 million, but that money is not guaranteed until March 13. That means the Cowboys can work out an extension that will keep Clark in Dallas for the long haul while being able to spread that $21.5 million out down the line.
If they cannot come to an agreement, Dallas could release Clark with no strings attached. That’s not expected to happen, so expect an extension for Clark soon.
Free agents Dallas could pursue
The free agency tampering period is set to begin on March 9, and teams are permitted to start signing free agents on March 11. With the comments from the Joneses that an active free agency period is coming, this could be an exciting few weeks for the Cowboys for the first time in over a decade.
Dallas has routinely not spent a lot of money on external free agents in the past. In fact, over the last five offseasons, the team ranks last in the NFL in money spent on external free agents — spending $19.6 million less than any other franchise over that time period.
But this year, the Cowboys have a lot of defensive holes and a mindset that they want to spend more than they have to address those problems.
Now, I wouldn’t expect the Cowboys to go bananas in the open market, but I would expect them to drop quality money on at least two defensive starters. Who could they be?
Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean was a hot name being tied to the Cowboys this week because of his pre-existing relationship with defensive coordinator Christian Parker and because of the strong desire for the team to find a veteran signal-caller to lead the on-field communication.
Other names to monitor will be Packers linebacker Quay Walker, Texans outside linebacker E.J. Speed, Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton, Raiders cornerback Eric Stokes, Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson (interest first reported by ESPN), Eagles safety Reed Blankenship, Broncos cornerback P.J. Locke and Ravens defensive end Dre’Mont Jones. The ties from Parker’s staff stretch far around the league, and the Cowboys are expected to lean on those connections in free agency.
Combine insight
Here are some quick hitters on other notes picked up on in Indianapolis:
Cowboys defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku had surgery in January to repair a hip labrum injury and is expected to miss most of the spring offseason program.After re-signing Javonte Williams, the Cowboys feel like the running back room is ready to roll into the season. There is confidence that Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah can take big steps forward. With Blue specifically, there was a spark toward the end of the season behind the scenes that the Cowboys are hoping carries into 2026.There are a lot of names on the draft board heading into April that could make sense with one of the two first-round picks. One name that I’m crossing off based on information this week: Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy.As first reported by ESPN, expect the Cowboys to place a second-round tender on guard T.J. Bass. There’s a fear that Bass and/or Brock Hoffman will find starting jobs elsewhere in the league. It just so happens Mike McCarthy and the Steelers are going to be searching for a starting guard this offseason.Talk to anyone even remotely associated with the Cowboys, and the name Shavon Revel Jr. will be echoed as someone who the team is excited to see back on the field under Parker. He’s expected to be healthier than he’s ever been in his NFL career when the spring offseason program begins.Don’t expect any big veteran cuts such as safety Malik Hooker and offensive tackle Terence Steele.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.