Dallas Cowboys running back Javonte Williams reportedly signed a lucrative three-year, $24 million contract extension Saturday after posting career highs in yards (1,201) and touchdowns (11) last season. The 25-year-old was a pleasantly surprising follow up to the departures of Rico Dowdle and Tony Pollard, and the multi-year extension will provide Dallas with much needed continuity in the backfield.
However, Williams now comes with an $8 million average salary and likely a significant salary cap hit for the upcoming season. The Cowboys are already nearly $29 million over the cap and have begun to relieve pressure by waiving linebacker Logan Wilson ($6.5 million in cap savings). More players are expected to depart in the coming weeks, so let's examine who could become a cap casualty for the Cowboys.
RB Miles Sanders
We're sort of cheating with this one. Sanders is set to become a free agent after his one-year deal expires next week, but he is technically departing because Dallas can't afford to bring him back. The 28-year-old was listed as RB4 on the Cowboys depth chart and missed 13 games with an ankle injury.
At his age, Sanders can still be a viable option for what will be the fourth NFL team in his seven-year career. However, he's far from the 100+ carry workload that earned him a Pro Bowl selection in 2022. Dallas has other depth options at running back like Malik Davis and Jadon Blue it can turn to for change-of-pace carries behind Williams.
DT Kenny Clark
Acquired as part of the infamous Micah Parsons trade last year, Clark only recorded three sacks and 17 solo tackles. That kind of effort is hardly filling the void left by Parsons, especially considering Dallas gave up the most points in the league (511).
Instead, owner and general manager Jerry Jones would be much more inclined to use the Green Bay Packers' first-round selection to find a younger pass rusher. At 30 years old, Clark is expendable and his avoided $21.5 million cap hit (if released before March 13) would essentially wipe the Cowboys' slate mostly clean.
RT Terence Steele
There's some competitive strategy that could go into this release. Steele's departure would open up the right tackle position for Tyler Guyton to move into, a spot he's naturally been prior. Steele would also offer Dallas some of its biggest potential savings.
The 28-year-old comes with an $18 million cap hit in 2026, which would relieve roughly 70 percent of the team's cap constraints. Dallas can easily replenish its offensive line depth through the upcoming draft, where it owns the 12th and 20th overall selections.
S Malik Hooker
After the 2025 season, Hooker has no guaranteed money left on his deal that expires after this upcoming campaign. He only recorded a single pass defended and four stuffs in 12 appearances last year.
At 29 years old, Hooker may have to give way to upcoming free safeties Juanyeh Thomas and Alijah Clark. He'd be, what's called in the industry, a "cap conscious" release by Dallas, which would save $7 million that could be put towards a newly drafted safety with greater upside.
TE Luke Schoonmaker
This cut is more along the 50-50 line with Dallas' offensive depth already iffy to begin with. Schoonmaker sits at TE3 on the depth chart behind starter Jake Ferguson and backup Brevyn Spann-Ford but he caught 14 balls for 132 yards in 2025. In comparison, Spann-Ford only caught nine balls for 90 yards, but he found the end zone once.
Schoonmaker was drafted 58th overall in 2023 by then-head coach Mike McCarthy. After a year under new head coach Brian Schottenheimer, the 27-year-old may become a casualty of the new regime wanting to bring in its own guys to eventually succeed the 27-year-old Ferguson. Schoonmaker would save Dallas nearly $2 million if cut before March 13.