FRISCO — Surprise has defined the early stages of the Dallas Cowboys' offseason. Perhaps the decision in moving on from Mike McCarthy itself was no shocker but the sequence of events involved presented some suspense.
The Cowboys blocked the Chicago Bears from interviewing their former head coach in January before deciding to part ways a few days later. Dallas' coaching search started with a few hot names before Brian Schottenheimer suddenly emerged as the frontrunner.
He now holds that post, his first ever head coaching position, and the Cowboys have reworked the staff around him. The next step will be the roster.
They certainly hope this theme of "surprise" continues into the free agency period and into the NFL Draft with the team acquiring talent that will reenergize a comatose fan base.
To do that, they do have some matters to work through in regard to their salary cap. Despite the league's projected increase in cap space, the Cowboys are still stretched thin as it stands now.
While Cowboys' brass will not openly confess, restructuring some deals would go a long way in helping the cause. But there are also some potential roster cut decisions the team could make for both financial and strategical reasons.
Matt Okada of NFL.com has suggested that linebacker Damone Clark could be on the chopping block for Dallas. His base salary is expected to jump from $985,000 to $3.2 million next season.
The Cowboys have a lot of work to do this offseason, starting $2.8 million in the red and not particularly flush with cuttable, cap-saving players," he wrote.
"Clark started just two games in 2024, totaled 28 tackles and logged more snaps on special teams (71 percent) than defense (just 18 percent). His release would net just $3.3 million in savings, but every dollar counts, and he’s simply not an impact player."
The LSU impressed in the 2022 season before suffering a torn ACL that sidelined him for the remainder of the year. He returned in 2023, putting together an effective campaign before turning into a non-factor in 2024.
There is some reason for the setback given that the linebacker group transformed from the 2023 season when Mike Zimmer took over. Eric Kendricks and DeMarvion Overshown shined in the middle of the defense while rookie Marist Liufau emerged down the stretch.
Even with the uncertainty around Overshown's return from injury, it appears a matter of poor timing here for Clark.
The Cowboys will also need to extend Micah Parsons at some point and have begun initial discussions with Osa Odighizuwa, making that a potential financial burden as well.
As the team sorts through these items, they will have to sacrifice some pieces lower on the depth chart. If that process carries out, Clark could be looking at an end to his time at The Star.
