Jerry Jones once again found a way out. After the Dallas Cowboys used the franchise tag on George Pickens, the team suffered in available cap space, staring at a deficit of nearly $55 million. But Jones leaned on contract restructures and internal financial maneuvering, pulling Dallas back into workable territory ahead of free agency.

“Cowboys now have officially restructured the contracts of Dak Prescott and Tyler Smith, creating $47 million in cap room, per @FieldYates and me,” reported Adam Schefter on X.

Jones had mentioned he “will spend more money in free agency” than he had. Many questioned how the owner would achieve this with such a massive amount still needing to be restructured. The answer soon arrived as he restructured the contracts of two star players, QB Dak Prescott and WR CeeDee Lamb, along with a few others.

According to Prescott’s contract, his base salary in 2026 was around $40 million. But Jones made some changes to it, converting $38 million of his base salary into a signing bonus, clearing $30.4 million of cap space.

It is nothing new to see the quarterback’s base salary getting converted to a signing bonus. Exactly a year ago, he converted $45.75M of his 2025 base salary into a signing bonus as well.

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Coming back to the present, Prescott is not the only one who had his contract restructured. The franchise converted about $22.25 million of Lamb’s base salary into a signing bonus, clearing up $18 million in cap space.

Even OL Tyler Smith’s contract was tweaked, further opening up the cap space. Thanks to these changes, the Cowboys created almost $66 million in cap space, a fact confirmed on their website as well.

However, as per the official Dallas Cowboys site, there is still more action to follow. There are more restructures incoming, as Jones has big plans for free agency.

Jerry Jones could be ready to go all out in free agency

Jerry Jones is looking to tweak several other contracts, according to reports. The top of his list seems to contain three defensive tackles: Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, and Osa Odighizuwa. Restructuring their contracts will increase the Cowboys’ room to spend on experienced players. It is as Jones said. He is ready to splash the cash where it is required.

“The only way to push more is for me to go borrow some of my future. Expect me to go borrow some of my future…” said Jerry Jones, as per the Dallas Cowboys official site. “I want to do everything we possibly can to stop somebody and to basically win some third downs more than we did last year. So I think that would be the area that you would see me bust the budget.”

Last season, a far from ideal performance from the defense earned him major criticism. The franchise ranked 32nd in the league when it came to defense. They gave away an average of over 30 points per game, giving away more than 500 points during the regular season.

Jones was blamed, especially for letting go of All-Pro DE Micah Parsons. Without a stable defense, they can barely dream of the Super Bowl. While former Super Bowl winner Michael Irvin suggested that the franchise should go for edge rusher Maxx Crosby, Jones may be eyeing free agency to bring the necessary players to the defense.

“A defense that could support an offense the way that we played at the level last year, and get us into the playoffs, and give us a chance to get good after we get in the playoffs, I see that defense this year,” said Jones. “I do. We don’t have to do much to get better.”

Now, it remains to be seen whether Jones will have his wish fulfilled or not. As things stand, free agency may shape the Dallas Cowboys‘ 2026 season.