Look Ahead: 24 Cowboys are entering contract seasons in 2023
Contract years are always an interesting thing. There’s a ton of evidence out there that many players have their best seasons when they are fighting for that new deal. In a fairy tale land, every player works to the utmost potential and gives 100% effort on every single play in every single year. This is stupid; there are very few people in the world capable of doing this at any profession.
However there are also some people who rarely give this effort, and sometimes being in a walk contract year is the impetus for them finally going all out. These are dangerous investments, because while sometimes that turns into repeated effort, often times the player reverts after they secure the bag.
Regardless of what version their pending free agents eventually become, the Dallas Cowboys would reap the rewards of a contract-year bump. Here’s a look at each of their current 2024 pending free agents; 25 in total including nine projected starters.
RB Tony Pollard | 2023 Cap Hit: $10.09 million
Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports
CB Stephon Gilmore | 2023 Cap Hit: $9.9 million
OT Tyron Smith | 2023 Cap Hit: $8 million
Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports
*DE Dorance Armstrong Jr. | 2023 Cap Hit: $7.25 million
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Armstrong has a $1.5 million dead hit from a 2024 void year.
Safety Jayron Kearse | 2023 Cap Hit: $6.2 million
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
CB Jourdan Lewis | 2023 Cap Hit: $5.9 million
(Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
CB Trevon Diggs | 2023 Cap Hit: $4.8 million
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
* WR CeeDee Lamb | 2023 Cap Hit: $4.5 million
(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
Lamb is eligible to receive the fifth-year option in May and would lose his ability to test the market until after 2024.
RT Terence Steele | 2023 Cap Hit: $4.3 million
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Safety Malik Hooker | 2023 Cap Hit: $4.3 million
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Edge Dante Fowler, Jr. | 2023 Cap Hit: $3 million
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
DT Neville Gallimore | 2023 Cap Hit: $3 million
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Center Tyler Biadasz | 2023 Cap Hit: $2.9 million
(Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
ST C.J. Goodwin | 2023 Cap Hit: $1.1 million
Dallas Cowboys defensive back C.J. Goodwin (29) warms up before playing against the New York Giants in an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
OT Chuma Edoga | 2023 Cap Hit: $1.1 million
Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Edge Takk McKinley | 2023 Cap Hit: $1.1 million
Curtis Compton/Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports
RB Ronald Jones II | 2023 Cap Hit: $1.1 million
Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports
LS Trent Sieg | 2023 Cap Hit: $1.1 million
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
RB Rico Dowdle | 2023 Cap Hit: $1 million
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
QB Will Grier | 2023 Cap Hit: $1.1 million
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
LB Devante Bond | 2023 Cap Hit: $1 million
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
TE Sean McKeon | 2023 Cap Hit: $1 million
(AP Photo/Ron Jenkins)
RB Malik Davis | 2023 Cap Hit: $870k
(Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
TE Ian Bunting | 2023 Cap Hit: $750k
Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports
