The great Yogi Berra once said, “when you come to a fork in the road, take it.” This comically unhelpful advice is something Jerry Jones and his front office will have to consider in coming weeks and months as they make roster decisions that are sure to set the Dallas Cowboys down its path for the future.

Contracts are financial commitments and like most commitments, these decisions have lasting consequences. The Cowboys made such commitments last year when they signed Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb to massive extensions. The contracts have essentially tied those two cornerstone players in for the foreseeable future and put the rest of the team on a specific path as a result.

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The Cowboys have more upcoming decisions that will similarly lock the team onto a path. Players like Micah Parsons, DaRon Bland, George Pickens and Sam Williams all face free agency in 2026. Players like Terence Steele, Trevon Diggs and Malik Hooker all face uncertain futures as well since easily executable early releases would offer salary cap savings. With dead money hits from Michael Gallup, DeMarcus Lawrence and Brandin Cooks sliding off the ledger, the Cowboys get to make their big decisions with relatively clean books.

This situation offers a wide range of possibilities for Dallas. Aside from Parsons and Tyler Smith inevitably re-signing, it’s anyone’s guess which direction the Cowboys will go. They could swap a Bland contract for a Diggs contract at cornerback, or they could start over all together and let them both leave. A breakout season from Sam Williams may prompt them to re-sign this top draft pick, but with other young rushers waiting in the wings, that ship might have already sailed.

All of the proposed extensions would have ramifications throughout the roster and inevitably lock the Cowboys onto an ever-narrowing path into the future. Sometimes it’s not about the extensions you make but rather the extensions you don’t make that can help a franchise the most. It’s what made Ferguson’s early extension such a surprise.

Overall, it’s a special time in Dallas because the stars are aligned for a wide range of options. Every player is technically affordable, and all possibilities are options. But it’s important to keep in mind with each extension comes a narrowed path and with it less room to operate and fewer opportunities to pivot. The Cowboys aren’t a franchise to borrow from tomorrow in order to win now, they work within their financial parameters today. This means it’s safe to say they won’t keep everyone.

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It’s a fun time for the Cowboys because how 2025 unfolds will likely determine which path they take forward.

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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Clean books and big decisions: Cowboys at fork in the road with roster