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Donovan Ezeiruaku #41 and Kenny Clark #95 of the Dallas Cowboys
If there was a part of the Dallas Cowboys defense that could be called a bright spot in an otherwise miserable 2025 season for that unit, it was the defensive front, where the Cowboys had rising star Osa Odighizuwa–given a four-year, $80 million contract extension before the season–when they seemed to firm up the position with the acquisition of Kenny Clark from the Packers in the Micah Parsons deal just before the 2025 season.
Clark was on a three-year, $64 million contract, giving Dallas a significant investment in the two leaders of their front. But then in November, the Cowboys made a splashy move for a third defensive lineman, Quinnen Williams, from the Jets. Williams is entering the third year of a four-year, $96 million contract.
Certainly, there are enough snaps for all three players. But the question is whether there is enough money for all three–and whether the Cowboys would be better off investing more in a new safety, a new cornerback and a new linebacker, all of which are serious needs. With the George Pickens free-agent situation looming, as well as running back Javonte Williams, the Cowboys will need to be judicious in deciding where to spend.
Kenny Clark the Easiest Cowboys DL to Trade
The presumption has long been that it will be Clark who goes. He has value around the NFL, and the Cowboys could save significantly by moving him. He would need to be replaced, but the Cowboys have options on the roster and could look for cheaper options in free agency or the draft.
At ESPN, veteran analyst Bill Barnwell, in a column titled, “2026 NFL offseason: Trade proposals that fit for both teams,” pegs a Cowboys deal with the Bengals as one worth doing.
His deal: “Bengals get: DT Kenny Clark, 2027 seventh-round pick
“Cowboys get: 2027 sixth-round pick.”
Not much of a return for the Cowboys, of course, but it’s about the money, not the sixth-rounder. The Cowboys’ likely only other option would be to waive Clark outright.
GettyDallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones
Trade Proposal Would Dump 5th-Largest Cap Hit
Here’s how Barnwell sized up the deal for the Cowboys:
“The Kenny Clark era might not last long in Dallas. Acquired as part of the Micah Parsons deal, Clark’s contract was a relative bargain in 2025, given that the Cowboys were on the hook for only his $1.3 million base salary and another $1 million in per-game roster bonuses. Clark wasn’t single-handedly able to fix Dallas’ defense, but he also wasn’t the problem.
“In 2026, though, Clark is set to make $21.5 million — $11 million of which comes due in a mid-March roster bonus. He projects to have the fifth-largest cap hit of any Cowboys player.”
Cowboys Owner Says He Could Keep All 3 DLs
It should be noted that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has addressed the issue of keeping Clark with his other two linemen before, and said back in December that he did not see an issue with the money.
Said Jones: “When you line those three up in there, and you’ve got them either in rotation or you’ve got them in there together, you really create a dominant feature to our football team. The combination of all of them—someone asked, you’re not gonna be able to keep them, all three. That’s not right. We can, and we can build from that.”
Indeed, the Cowboys can create cap space by restructuring deals, but those moves tend to just push money forward, and there are a limited number of times the team can afford to do that. Jones also said that before it was clear that Pickens could command more than $30 million per season, and that Williams would be around $8 million per year.
It’s a financial crunch, and something has got to give. Clark could be the casualty.
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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