Despite flaming out early in the playoffs once again, the Dallas Cowboys have a Super Bowl-worthy roster with talent stacked up and down every position. Cowboys fans would be happy to see them bring back the same team as last year but this will not be possible. Dallas simply has too many impending free agents and too little financial flexibility.
So, tough decisions will need to be made. There will be some departures that will hurt and some not as much. Here are a few Cowboys who the fans shouldn't mind them leaving.
1. Tyler Biadasz, C
Biadasz had a solid 2023 campaign. According to Pro Football Focus, he had the best season of his four-year career. He was the 13th-best overall PFF grade among qualified centers.
Losing a decent starter in the offensive line would certainly hurt. Considering that Tyron Smith is also an unrestricted free agent who could leave, losing two would hurt even more. But, the Cowboys are in a delicate salary cap situation and might need to prioritize their more irreplaceable players.
As good as Biadasz has been, he is replaceable. Tyron Smith, on the other hand, is likely less replaceable. If Dallas can only re-sign one of them due to financial concerns, it should be Smith.
This obviously depends on what kind of market Biadasz will have in free agency. If he tests the market and gets a lucrative multi-year deal, it behooves the Cowboys to let him walk and replace him with the likes of Brock Hoffman, T.J. Bass, or a prospect they select in the Draft.
2. Tony Pollard, RB
There is a decent chance the Dallas Cowboys' running back rotation looks entirely different next season, with both Pollard and Rico Dowdle hitting free agency. And that wouldn't be the worst thing for Dallas.
Pollard's 2023 season is generally considered a disappointment, but he was still productive, ranking 12th in the NFL in rushing yards. However, he was playing on the franchise tag and the Cowboys had higher hopes for him after he took the torch from Ezekiel Elliott.
Pollard certainly had some flashes in the second half of the season, and he could go back to his pre-injury self. However, he certainly wasn't the explosive runner he was as a backup. Many rushers fail to maintain the same level of explosion and athleticism as their workload grows. It's possible it happened to Pollard as well.
Pollard should still have plenty of suitors in free agency due to his past production. Yet, running back isn't really a position the Cowboys should invest their resources in. A cheaper replacement could have a similar enough impact for Dallas. There are also a lot of big-name rushers on the market this offseason. Instead of paying Pollard, bringing in, say, Derrick Henry, could have significantly more upside.
3. Stephon Gilmore, CB
The veteran cornerback was thrust into a much larger role than anticipated last season following Trevon Diggs' season-ending injury. The 33-year-old stepped up admirably and provided consistent high-level play alongside second-year cornerback DaRon Bland. Gilmore was perhaps the main reason that kept the Cowboys' secondary afloat despite the injury to their best player.
This should draw plenty of interest for him in free agency, even though he is getting up there in age. Dallas would love to bring him back next year, but it's hard to justify given the embarrassment of riches in the position, and the contract Gilmore will likely demand. OverTheCap has his 2024 valuation at $7.6 million, which should be too pricey for the Cowboys' liking.
Diggs and Bland will have the primary roles opposite of each other and should be one of the best cornerback duos in the NFL. There is a chance Dallas would want to move Bland to the slot and keep Gilmore while parting ways with Jourdan Lewis, yet this seems unlikely.
Gilmore was exactly what the Cowboys were hoping for when they traded for him last offseason. He was the veteran presence the team needed for its depleted secondary. Ironically, Gilmore played himself out of a contract with the Cowboys, making him a one-year gun for hire until Dallas got their guys back.
4. Jayron Kearse, S
The Cowboys have done an excellent job developing safeties during Dan Quinn's tenure. Despite undervaluing the position for a long time, Dallas was able to get consistently high-level production from its secondary thanks to Quinn. The signing of Jayron Kearse, along with Malik Hooker and Damonae Kazee, helped build some of the strongest defensive backfields in the league.
However, Kearse's fate was sealed when the Cowboys decided to prioritize fellow safeties last offseason when they gave contract extensions to Hooker and Donovan Wilson. Even though Kearse played the best football of his career in Dallas, there are simply too many high-level safeties on the roster who can replace him next year.
Plus, Kearse is turning 30 years old and safety is a young man's game. He already showed a significant decline in 2023 as he blew more coverages and missed more tackles than he had in his previous two seasons combined.
His next contract will likely start looking bad as he continues to lose a step. As good as Kearse has been in the past for the Cowboys, they shouldn't find it too difficult to replicate his production with younger, more affordable players.
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