5 Dallas Cowboys who won’t be back in 2024 after playoff embarrassment

3. Dante Fowler Jr., EDGE

We know that Dallas has one of the fiercest duos on the edge of any team in the league. Micah Parsons has become a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate (and a player who should be among the top priorities to sign to an extension this offseason) while Demarcus Lawrence has been a top-tier defensive end like clockwork whenever he's been healthy in his career.

Finding consistent depth on the edge to back up and spell Parsons and Lawrence, however, has sometimes been a roll of the dice for the Cowboys. That's why the team inked former first-round pick Dante Fowler Jr. for the first time in 2022 on a one-year deal before then bringing him back for the 2023 season on another one-year contract.

Fowler wasn't necessarily bad for the Cowboys in the 2023 campaign, but he certainly wasn't an impact depth player by any stretch. Playing in all 17 games, he managed only 4.0 sacks and just 5.0 tackles for loss on the year with seven QB hits. That is about as replacement-level as a player can get when it comes to a defensive end playing in a backup role.

Because of that, Dallas should look to give more opportunities to the likes of young former second-round pick Sam Williams in hopes of finding more upside while signing another, cheaper veteran than Fowler for the 2024 season. He served his purpose the last two seasons, but this is a spot where the Cowboys can afford to move on and turn the page.