The Dallas Cowboys allowed the most points per game in the league (30.1 PPG) last season and knew they needed to make some moves in the offseason to address those issues. That's why veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark's future in the Lone Star State was up in the air when the offseason began after just one season with America's Team.
As someone who was scheduled to have a $21.5 million cap hit for the 2026 season, it would have been understandable if the Cowboys elected to cut or trade Clark, especially with the mid-season trade for two-time Pro Bowler Quinnen Williams and Osa Odighizuwa already on the roster. However, with Odighizuwa, who had 44 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and six tackles for loss, traded to the San Francisco 49ers, Clark's future with America's Team is looking much brighter.
Kenny Clark Might Be Long for the Cowboys After All
As ESPN's Todd Archer noted, the Cowboys restructured Clark's contract earlier this month, turning the $11 million roster bonus that was due "into a signing bonus to open up roughly $8.8 million in salary cap space."
Not only does a starting spot open up for Clark following the Odighizuwa trade, but the restructured contract ensures that he can take advantage of an opportunity that did not appear likely when his Cowboys exit seemed destined leading up to free agency.
Dallas certainly had a lot of changes that needed to be made on its abysmal defense, so the fact that Clark was not impressive during his first season with the Cowboys should not entirely be blamed on him. With that said, he only had 17 solo tackles and three sacks, which was not exactly the most encouraging on a defense that could not get off the field.
When you look at the bigger picture, though, Clark put together a decent season. According to Pro Football Focus, his overall grade (67.6) was 37th out of 134 qualified interior defenders, while his pressures (44) ranked 15th. When you factor in those above-average grades, as well as his 17th-most snaps (746), those are solid numbers for a player who did not exactly meet expectations.
Clark's performance should not be based on that alone, but those grades at least show that he is capable of making plays and being a rare bright spot on this defense. His overall performance was not great when you consider what Parsons was able to do with the Packers before his ACL injury, but Clark immediately made an impact in his Cowboys debut and showed flashes along the way.
Perhaps a full offseason with new defensive coordinator Christian Parker will help bring the best out of Clark.
As someone with multiple sacks in eight of his 10 NFL seasons, as well as 452 total tackles, seven forced fumbles, and eight fumble recoveries, Clark has been a plamaker throughout his career. Even with Williams on one side of the front, the departure of Odighizuwa frees up an opening for Clark and boosts his stock tremendously as he looks to bounce back from an inconsistent 2025 season that nearly sent him on his way out of Dallas.
Now, it's only up from here.