The Dallas Cowboys are currently 24th in salary cap space, which is better than they have been in the past. The Cowboys will look to free up some room in the upcoming months which could provide a big shakeup in terms of defensive assignments as well as depth.
The Cowboys will begin the 2016 offseason with $5-$9 million dollars however they could release plenty of people to help them get a high priced free agent. The Cowboys could possibly cut the following players, Brandon Carr (Cap Hit: $13,817,000), Morris Claiborne (Estimated: $5 million), Greg Hardy (Cap Hit Estimated: $3 million, and both Rolando McClain and Jeremy Mincey should save around $2 million each. In total the Cowboys could save around 25 million dollars plus the $5-$9 million already available.
This means the Cowboys could free up around $30-$34 million dollars in cap space. The first place they should look to fill some needs via free agency is at the backup quarterback position. Available free agents such as Drew Stanton, Chad Henne, Luke McCown, and of course the soon to be released Johnny Manziel and Robert Griffin III could be the players the Cowboys look to bring into camp as the backup. The Cowboys will likely bring multiple players in to compete for the backup quarterback position.
Next up is running back and the Cowboys may only look to bring in one player from free agency and that is Lamar Miller. Miller is young and an explosive playmaker, he also should cost the Cowboys how much it was to pay DeMarco, around $5-$6 million a year. Other than Miller the Cowboys would most likely utilize the draft to pick up a youthful running back. The last two positions the Cowboys should really focus on in free agency is safety and cornerback.
The Cowboys have a weak defensive backfield however after jettisoning some dead weight, drafting the best corner available in the draft, and picking up Eric Berry and/or Janoris Jenkins, Sean Smith, or Trumaine Johnson they could completely revitalize this defense. Even a second round corner and a top flight free agent would be an upgrade. The Cowboys will have a lot of decisions to make in the coming months and who to pick up in free agency will just be the tip of the iceberg.