In an end-of-season news conference this week, Jerry Jones made it known that he wants to retire as the owner with the most Lombardi trophies. He would need at least four more trophies to make that happen. However, with a 7-9-1 season finish, the Dallas Cowboys are heading into the offseason with plenty to fix. And with 22 challenges awaiting the front office’s attention, Jones’ dream has become harder to achieve.

When the new league year opens in about three months, Dallas will have 22 contracts expiring, as per Dallas Cowboys staff writer Patrik Walker. That’s a lot of decisions for one offseason.

Not all of those players are free to just walk out the door, though. Some players fall into restricted or exclusive-rights categories, which makes the whole process a bit more complicated.

Here are the unrestricted free agents:

• Javonte Williams, RB
• Miles Sanders, RB
• George Pickens, WR
• Jalen Tolbert, WR
• Hakeem Adeniji, OL
• Rob Jones, OL
• Jadeveon Clowney, DE
• Dante Fowler, DE
• Payton Turner, DE
• Sam Williams, DE
• Kenneth Murray, LB
• Jack Sanborn, LB
• Donovan Wilson, S
• Corey Ballentine, CB
• C.J. Goodwin, CB

That’s the group that keeps general managers worried the most. An unrestricted free agent has at least four accrued NFL seasons and a contract that’s run its course. Once that happens, the player can talk to anyone, sign anywhere, and leave without a team having much control over it.

And then, Dallas also has a group of restricted free agents to sort through:

• T.J. Bass, OL
• Brock Hoffman, OL
• Juanyeh Thomas, S
• Brandon Aubrey, K

Restricted free agency applies to players with three accrued seasons whose contracts have expired. Sure, they can negotiate with other teams, but their current team holds leverage through a tender. That tender gives Dallas the right to match an offer. And in some cases, they collect draft-pick compensation if the player leaves.

Then there are the exclusive-rights free agents:

• Josh Butler, CB
• Reddy Steward, CB

If Dallas offers either player a one-year deal at the minimum, that’s it. They can’t negotiate elsewhere. It’s a take-it-or-leave-it situation, and most players take it.

So yes, Jerry Jones has a lot on his plate between now and early March. But there’s another layer to this. Every contract that expires comes off the books. That money disappears from the salary cap immediately. Until Dallas re-signs a player or commits that space to someone new, it doesn’t count against the cap. It’s certainly going to be an interesting offseason.

Jerry Jones promises a historic offseason

You could tell Jerry Jones means business when he admitted that he wants to win four more Super Bowls. And if he’s going to chase that kind of legacy, this offseason will be the starting line. Jones has already admitted what’s coming will be ‘dramatic.’

“We want to get out of here and do better than we did this year,” Jones said. “(There’s) the incentive to, dare I say it, bust the budget to try to get something done now? Yes. Yes,”

“We’ll do some dramatic things,” he added. “That was a dramatic thing we did (trading Micah Parsons). We didn’t do it not to win games. The point is, this calls for some pretty controversial decisions.”

Cowboys fans would naturally hope that ‘dramatic’ means adding talent. However, it’s yet to be seen whether the front office is willing to be more aggressive than it has been in recent years.

If you ask fans what would feel like a real win, re-signing Pickens would be high on the list. He’s proven himself as a reliable target, putting up 93 catches, 1,429 yards, and 9 touchdowns, and he’s become a steady presence in the offense.

After that, attention shifts back to the defense. The Cowboys already made a call on Maxx Crosby during the season, which tells you plenty about Jones’s mindset. But before any big-name addition makes sense, Dallas has to get the right defensive coordinator in the building. That process is already underway, with multiple interviews lined up.

No one knows yet whether this offseason will end up being a success or not. But if nothing else, Jones has been clear about one thing. It won’t be quiet.