With the 2025 NFL Draft officially on the books, teams around the league, including the Dallas Cowboys, are tackling their next orders of business. Among those are option decisions. Teams had until May 1 to pick up the fifth-year options of former first-round selections.
What the Dallas Cowboys were going to do with Kaiir Elam was a curiosity among the fans. While the former Bills defender hasn't lived up to his contract so far, the Cowboys gave up draft capital to acquire him this offseason. There was a scenario in which they would want to retain him for 2026 instead of having him play on an expiring deal next season and risk letting him walk.
However, the Cowboys decided not to exercise the option on their new acquisition, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
Cowboys Are Not Picking Up Kaiir Elam's Fifth-Year Option
The team option would have paid Elam around $12.7 million for the 2026 season. So far, Elam hasn't played at a level commensurate with that value, but he is coming off the best season of his career. Despite not being a starter, Elam played 35% of defensive snaps for his team in 13 games, recording two pass breakups, a fumble recovery, and 17 solo tackles, while receiving a 70.2 defensive grade on Pro Football Focus.
Elam will have to play above expectations to get anything close to that fifth-year option next offseason. The Cowboys drafted Shavon Revel in the second round, and despite coming off another knee injury, Trevon Diggs remains ahead of Elam in the pecking order. If Diggs misses some time early in the season, Elam needs to step up and prove himself worthy of a second contract with the Cowboys.
For now, it is clear that the Cowboys aren't convinced Elam is the long-term answer at cornerback. Whether he does enough next season to change that perception remains to be seen.