The Dallas Cowboys' offseason approach the past two years has been keen on re-signing players and filling needs with cost-effective veterans rather than spending big in free agency.
But following two playoff-less campaigns, Jerry Jones is looking to change that strategy and be aggressive in the market.
"I would bet that we will spend more money in free agency than we have," the Cowboys owner said Friday night from the NFL Scouting Combine, via . "I want you to know that the only way to push forward is for me to go borrow some of my future. Expect me to go borrow some of my future, OK?"
The Cowboys will first need to create salary cap room in order to be big spenders in the coming weeks. With Dallas roughly $56 million over the newly set $301.2 million salary cap for the 2026 season, Jones said he would restructure the contracts of Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Tyler Smith, Kenny Clark, Quinnen Williams and Osa Odighizuwa.
Reworking those deals would create upwards of $120 million in cap room but also leverage the Cowboys' long-term outlook, as Jones intimated.
"I look at where we are with Dak and I look at where he is in his career," Jones said. "And I look at some of the pluses that we have on our front and what we think we can do there. And what we can do with (George) Pickens and Lamb and what we can do with our running back (Javonte Williams) that we just signed. And so all of those things I want to do everything we possibly can to stop somebody and to basically win some third downs more than we did last year. And so I think that would be the area that you would see me bust the budget. Where you would see me do that is what we're doing defensively.
"And I would expect anybody that's a Cowboy fan or a critic of the Cowboys to say, 'Duh, that's not hard to see, Jerry, to do.' But I guess what I'm doing is saying, yes, I intend to do that if given the opportunity."
Dallas has already gone to work, first agreeing to terms with running back Javonte Williams on a three-year, $24 million extension. The Cowboys also prevented their top playmaker from hitting the market by placing the franchise tag on wide receiver George Pickens on Friday.
Along with free agency, the Cowboys have an opportunity to add talent in April with two first-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. Jones added that he won't rule out the possibility of making trades, something Dallas hasn't been wary of doing recently with the acquisitions of Clark and Quinnen Williams -- additions prompted by the the blockbuster trade of Micah Parsons.
"I don't know that I'd expect it but we have the ammunition to be good at it," Jones said. "And I wouldn't hesitate to be good at it if it will help our team and help the timeline that we're talking about."
In 2025, Dallas once again fell short of the postseason despite boasting one of the league's top offenses. The Cowboys defense finished 30th in yards allowed (377.0 yards per game) and last in points allowed per game (30.1).
Improving the defense will first begin with a whole new structure following the hiring of Christian Parker as the new defensive coordinator. Parker will bring a new 3-4 scheme to a unit that has a bolstered defensive front and several key pieces that are expected to be healthy in 2026, including linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and cornerback DaRon Bland.
With an offense already poised to compete, Dallas' potential free-agent spending figures to have a defensive focus. Trey Hendrickson, Devin Lloyd, Odafe Oweh, Boye Mafe, Jamel Dean are among defenders ranked in the top 20 of Gregg Rosenthal's Top 101 free agents list.
It remains to be seen how far exactly the Cowboys are willing to go in free agency this spring, but Jones is promising a change in approach in order to quell the underlying frustrations of a franchise that hasn't seen an NFC Championship Game since 1995.
"I really can't accept just the thought of winning one Super Bowl and then what?" Jones said. "I've got more time on my clock than that in my mind. And so I don't see it that way. I see a chance to put a team together and basically be knocking at the edge and get another one or get a chance at a another one.
"It runs that way in my view. ... Make no mistake about it now, if you told me I could, because I've done a lot of hitchhiking in my life. ... I'd start here with you right now and hitchhike back to Dallas to win a Super Bowl."
PROGRAMMING NOTE: NFL Network and 鶹 will have live coverage of the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine through March 1.
