Tim Heitman-Imagn Images It will be interesting to see if the Cowboys bring Cooper Rush back in 2025. The 2025 offseason is well underway for the Dallas Cowboys, who’ve just gone through a sweeping change in their coaching staff. But the moves that really get us excited, in good and bad ways, come when they start dealing with the players. Over the next two weeks, we’ll get you ready for this year’s potential roster changes with our position preview series. Today, we start at the top with the quarterbacks. While movement may be relatively slow here compared to other positions, its importance and spotlight will still command attention. Given that Cooper Rush started 13 games in the last three years, and with Prescott turning 32 this spring, how Dallas handles its backup spots will be a significant talking point. Under Contract Dak Prescott, Will Grier Potential Departures Cooper Rush, Trey Lance As far as Cowboys’ offseason topics go, the quarterback position is an odd one. While there’s no question who the starter will be, Dak Prescott is coming off a down year and still has the biggest contract in NFL history. It keeps him in constant conversation, whether on how his play will affect the team on the field or how his money will affect other offseason business. For better or worse, the Cowboys are still married to Prescott for at least a couple more seasons. 2027 is the first year that offers significant salary cap relief if Prescott is released, and that’s only if they don’t do any restructuring to the deal between now and then. So for all the debates about Prescott’s ability to win or which tier of NFL passers he falls on, it doesn’t change that he’s QB1 in Dallas for now. The more tangible uncertainty comes further down the depth chart. Cooper Rush and Trey Lance are both approaching unrestricted free agency, leaving Will Grier as the only other passer currently signed for 2025. We know Dallas is fond of Grier, but enough to make him the next man up should Prescott suffer another injury? That would seem brazen given how often they’ve had to turn to Rush in recent years. There’s also the question of when the Cowboys start planning for life after Prescott. The Lance trade was the first forward-thinking move we’ve seen at quarterback during his tenure, albeit without the desired results. Now that the organization appears disinterested in Lance, do they look to add a new prospect from this year’s draft class, or some other source, to the QB pipeline? Free Agency Other than potentially re-signing one of their own in Rush or Lance, the Cowboys aren’t likely to do much here. Top names on the market like Sam Darnold and Justin Fields will be looking for starting opportunities or at least competitions. Maybe you consider guys like Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota as upgrades for QB2, but will Dallas spend more for it? They both made nearly double what Rush did in 2024. Another thought; will Brian Schottenheimer, Klayton Adams, and Steve Shimko like a chance to work with Trey Lance for a year? Maybe Mike McCarthy was part of the problem as to why Lance didn’t find traction in Dallas. If the front office agrees, perhaps they give Lance a one-year deal to return and see what happens. You know they’d love to feel like they got more for that fourth-round pick, even if it was just a solid backup. 2025 NFL Draft Outside of trading for Lance two years ago, the only other investments Dallas had made at QB during Prescott’s run were drafting Mike White (fifth round) in 2018 and Ben DiNucci (seventh round) in 2020. These were at very different points in Prescott’s career with only the backup job in view. It would be perfectly reasonable for the Cowboys to take a different approach now. Prescott’s entering his 10th year and, more concerningly, has missed significant portions of three of the last five seasons. While it’s a little too early to compare him to Tony Romo in 2016, we’re far enough down that road that having a potential replacement in the wings is worth considering. This is a weak QB class overall in 2025, so maybe it’s not the year to strike. The Cowboys have so many other needs throughout the roster that they should probably focus on stronger position groups and save QB for a better class. But you never know how Will McClay’s crew might feel about a certain prospect, and if the value presents itself on Day 3 then it’s certainly possible that they’ll get them into the system. Final Thoughts As it should, your opinion of Dak Prescott drives most of your overall feelings regarding the QB position and even the team as a whole. For those who’ve given up on him, this isn’t going to be a fun offseason. And even if you still believe that he can be the starter for a contender, there’s no denying that the Cowboys will have to do some significant work to put sufficient talent around him. When it comes to those offseason tasks, figuring out QB2 is no small matter. Re-signing Rush seems the most likely move for both price and continuity, but he should have some suitors in free agency given his win-loss record. Whether Dallas looks to him or another seasoned veteran, or goes younger with Lance or a drafted rookie, may tell us something about their perceived shelf life for Prescott.

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports Jason Witten says he never spoke to Jerry Jones about a role on the Cowboys staff. The Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach for 2025 in Brian Schottenheimer, and while it was a few weeks ago that this officially became the case, the process the team took to ultimately land him felt long and arduous. A big reason for those feelings was that the Cowboys took forever to start the process to begin with given how they handled the Mike McCarthy situation. We aren’t here to re-litigate any of that, but to discuss one of the more interesting turns that the whole saga took. You will recall that during the McCarthy conversations, and as the compass ultimately found Schottenheimer, that the name Jason Witten kept being reported by various insiders as someone who could potentially be a candidate. To be fair, Witten’s name was thrown out in multiple capacities: as a reported heir apparent plan for Mike McCarthy and/or as an outright head coaching candidate. Jason Witten reportedly never spoke to Jerry Jones about a role on the Cowboys staff As it relates to Jason Witten, there were a lot of reports about his connection to the Cowboys staff in some sort of capacity. If you need a refresher then go look at the coaching tracker we had going on when Dallas was still looking for a main man. There are several mentions of Witten by the most noted NFL insiders in the business. It is possible that these reports were wrong? Sure. Information can get mishandled or whatever else can happen. Something apparently did happen, given that according to Jason Witten, he never spoke to Jerry Jones about a role on the Cowboys staff. “I did not talk to Jerry about it,” Witten said at the award ceremony for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year award. “I think they went through a thorough process for them and got to a place where they felt like Brian was the guy.” Eventually, coaching at the professional level is something that Witten wants to do, and doing it for the Cowboys would be something he’s interested in. “Of course that’s a long term goal of mine one day to get back there when the right opportunity comes…” Witten said. “When the right time and the right opportunity comes, I’m excited to embark on that next chapter.” Witten is certainly worth believing at his word. It is interesting though, given how much smoke was surrounding the situation that he didn’t talk to Jerry about it at all. It stands to reason that somebody was pushing Witten’s name through all of the reporting of the top insiders as noted. Maybe that was Jerry. Maybe it was somebody else with the Cowboys. Maybe the insiders went rogue. Obviously, again, anything is possible. For now, it appears that this story is closed, in this sense at least.

Photo by John Rivera/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Tashard Choice wound up leaving for the NFL… just not for the Dallas Cowboys staff. The Dallas Cowboys coaching staff is just about set and ready to charge in to 2025 and it goes without saying that the construction process of it was interesting. Brian Schottenheimer is leading the team, and with that being the case it has been heavily assumed that there will be a strong focus on the run game. Time will certainly tell if that is truly the case. If we assume this to be true, then whoever is coaching the running backs is obviously of of importance which is why Cowboys fans were tracking that rather closely. Former team running back Tashard Choice was among those who interviewed for the job that ultimately went to Derrick Foster. Choice chose, no pun intended, to return to the University of Texas to coach their running backs which was a logical decision on his part. The Longhorns are a great team to be connected to. Choice’s decision to remain in Austin happened on February 3rd and it appears that something changed over 10 days as it was reported on Thursday that he is leaving for the NFL to join Dan Campbell’s staff with the Detroit Lions. The Detroit #Lions are expected to hire Texas’ Tashard Choice as their new running backs coach, a source tells @CBSSports/@247Sports https://t.co/qOetA1jj8s pic.twitter.com/z9cD0K3Tv1 — Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) February 13, 2025 Not a great look for the Cowboys that they wouldn’t pay Tashard Choice what he wanted and more than he was making at Texas. Lions obviously were willing. https://t.co/ACXQhNNOyQ — Charean Williams (@NFLCharean) February 13, 2025 It had been reported that Choice would have had to take a pay cut to join the Cowboys given the high-profile nature of his position in Austin. As PFT’s Charean Williams notes, it appears the Cowboys were not willing to do that and that the Lions were. It is also worth mentioning that Choice coached Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs at Georgia Tech. There are dynamics at play with staffs and bringing someone in with a high salary could have complicated matters for the Cowboys, but coaching staffs are not subject to any sort of salary cap and if the team wanted they could wield the power of being the most valuable professional sports franchise on the planet.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Poetic justice. This is not just the name of a song by Super Bowl LIX halftime performer Kendrick Lamar. It is also one way to describe the ending of the 2024 season from the perspective of a Dallas Cowboys fan. The team that reclaimed the NFC East division title over the Cowboys was hardly content with just their fourth straight playoff appearance, taking it all the way to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years, and hoisting the Lombardi trophy by toppling the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. The Philadelphia Eagles put a stamp on the season by being the absolute best team when it mattered the most, beating another division rival in the Washington Commanders to get there, and leaving the Cowboys’ “all in” effort that saw them on the couch for the entirety of the postseason at 7-10 as something of a new low for America’s Team. The cherry on top is that in a lot of ways, the Eagles won their second ever championship by being great at a lot of things the Cowboys have either prided themselves on in the past (without similar results of course), or are looking to be great at under Brian Schottenheimer, or both. This was the last game for former Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore in the same role for the Eagles. He leaves as a Super Bowl champion to pursue his first head coaching gig with the New Orleans Saints, after also interviewing for the Cowboys opening that went to Schottenheimer. Moore’s offense was a masterclass in being simple but executing at an elite level all season and trusting Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, and Saquon Barkley to win their individual matchups. This alone doesn’t guarantee the fact the Cowboys missed out on hiring their own homegrown talent as their next head coach, but the overall excellence from Nick Sirianni as head coach, Moore as OC, and Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator that steered the Eagles to a Super Bowl by being prepared between the lines, and playing to this advantage on gamedays, certainly leaves the Cowboys behind in yet another way. Let’s take a look at a few other ways the Eagles beat the Cowboys at their own game to knock off the two-time defending champion Chiefs in New Orleans. Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images Pressure without blitzing The Eagles defense sacked Patrick Mahomes six times and did not allow a play of more than 11 yards until the third quarter with a 34-0 lead already in hand. Kansas City only crossed midfield twice in this game, both in the second half while trailing big. Vic Fangio’s defense did all of this without blitzing a single time, a magnus opus performance for the 66-year old NFL-lifer to get his first Super Bowl ring. The Eagles were able to win the line of scrimmage with just four all night, allowing them to drop into coverage and frustrate the Chiefs passing offense. They intercepted two passes and ran one back for a score to turn a 10-0 game still in question into a 17-0 commanding lead in the blink of an eye. The Cowboys defense was as its best this past season under Mike Zimmer when blitzing, but that overall approach is expected to change under new DC Matt Eberflus. Like Fangio, Eberflus believes in winning with four up front and adding linebackers and safeties to coverage. Dallas may have the personnel to achieve this if they re-sign Osa Odighizuwa and/or Chauncey Golston, edge rusher Carl Lawson, and add to the position group in both free agency and the draft. Even still, it is hard to see almost any defense replicating what the Eagles achieved this season, with their turnaround on that side of the ball going a bit deeper than just executing a strong scheme. Philadelphia absolutely collapsed down the stretch of last season to squander a 10-1 start. One of the biggest culprits among many was a complete lack of cohesion on defense. Calls were not being executed, the front seven was not in sync with the backend, and they gave up a slew of big plays because of it all. Having the mindset to address this failure head on, admit it needed to be fixed, and bring in yet another former head coach as a coordinator to work with Sirianni as the solution is an impressive bit of football operations from GM Howie Roseman. Sirianni allowed both Fangio and Moore to be themselves and teach what they do best. The result was an Eagles defense that picked up more and more of the nuances of Fangio’s unique coverage-based scheme every single week, and by the time the playoffs came around, were ready for the final exam. The Eagles beat Jordan Love, Matt Stafford, Jayden Daniels, and Patrick Mahomes to win the Super Bowl. Fangio also beat the Cowboys twice in the regular season, extending his personal win streak against America’s Team to four games. Fangio was the head coach in Denver for a 30-16 win in Dallas in Week 9 of 2021, then the defensive coordinator for last year’s Miami win 22-20 at home over the Cowboys, and then beat them twice this past season allowing a combined 13 points in two games. There were things to like as a Cowboys fan in Zimmer’s one season as defensive coordinator, but in retrospect with the coach coming out of pro football retirement for just one shot at it, the hire felt more like a courtesy towards a familiar coach for the front office in an effort to pair Mike McCarthy with a strong DC following Dan Quinn. Even having a new DC in Eberflus who shares some philosophies with Fangio is not enough to fully bridge the gap, as the Eagles also drafted well, and gave Fangio tools to work with in ways the Cowboys haven’t proven capable of in the player acquisition process. Dominant Offensive Line Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images On the

Tim Heitman-Imagn Images The latest news surrounding the Dallas Cowboys. Dak Prescott provides first official update on injury, rehab as Cowboys build for 2025 – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com Dallas’ quarterback is ready to get back to work for 2025. A trying 2024 campaign became that much more so when Dak Prescott went down in early November with what turned out to be a season-ending injury. The three-time Pro Bowl quarterback tore his hamstring off of the bone in his attempt to take down the Falcons in Atlanta, and he’s been on the mend ever since. A lot has happened since then, including the Cowboys and Mike McCarthy parting ways and Brian Schottenheimer ushering in his era with an impressive staff surrounding him — he and Prescott looking forward to a revamped offense, and overall team, in Dallas. But first, Prescott has to return to the field and, speaking from the Children’s Cancer Fund event in Dallas in mid-February, he gave his first public update on his status. “What’s it been — 12 weeks or so after surgery now? I’m really looking to amp it up and gather all my confidence,” said the All-Pro quarterback. “We’ll be fine.” It goes without saying this is good news for all involved. It’s a 180-degree turn from the ominous tone that immediately followed the injury. “Didn’t think much of it, to be honest with you,” said Prescott at the time. “And then on the next play — throwing the stop route — pulled something. It was something I’d never felt.” Now preparing to turn up his rehabilitation with the hopes of doing some sort of work when the Cowboys’ offseason program gets underway, neither he nor the team will risk rushing the progress; but it’s also understood the sooner the better for an offense and an offensive playbook that will undergo a complete rebuild in 2025. NFL executive says Cowboys’ Brian Schottenheimer is ‘underrated’ – Randy Gurzi, Sports Illustrated Some people around the league feel Schottenheimer should get more respect. An unnamed NFL executive recently told Jeff Howe of The Athletic that Schottenheimer is an “underrated” coach and praised the vision he has for his team. “He has the ability to be a better head coach than coordinator,” the executive said via Howe. “He’s confident. He has a vision for who he wants to be and how he wants to play, and he’ll be able to communicate that across the team.” We’ll have to wait to see if Schottenheimer is indeed an underrated coach but it’s hard to argue he doesn’t have a vision. Schottenheimer was impressive during his introductory presser and shared his philosophies with conviction. He’s also put together a strong collection of assistants, where his plan to improve the ground game has been the focal point. Now he needs to attack the roster with the same aggressiveness as he aims to prove his anonymous supporter right. Chargers floated as trade destination for Cowboys’ projected $175 million superstar – Jackson Roberts, SportingNews.com It’s the offseason, so outlandish hypotheticals regarding Dallas are being discussed. The Dallas Cowboys and Micah Parsons aren’t publicly acknowledging the possibility of a blockbuster trade, but it’s not entirely off the table. It’s going to cost the Cowboys an arm and a leg to keep Parsons, which will be tough to fit in the payroll after extending Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb for nearly $400 million combined. ESPN’s Ben Solak projected a five-year, $175 million deal for the star edge-rusher in January. The Cowboys are likely to offer something in that ballpark, but there’s no telling for sure if the two sides can come to an agreement. So even if Parsons is much more likely to stay than he is to go, it’s certainly worth considering which teams might have the best shot to land him if the winds change course. One NFL writer recently speculated that he could be headed out west. On Tuesday, Last Word on Sports’ Anthony Palacios named the Los Angeles Chargers as a “possible trade destination” for Parsons in the event he gets moved this offseason. “Khalil Mack doesn’t look like he’ll be coming back and Joey Bosa is a cut candidate. Meanwhile, they have to find a contract that suits Poona Ford after the one season he had last year with the Chargers,” Palacios wrote. But that’s about where the positivity ends. Even if the future of their payroll looks bleak, Cowboys fans will be furious if owner/general manager Jerry Jones doesn’t move mountains to ensure Parsons stays in Dallas. Cowboys roundtable: Coaching staff, Darren Woodson, and draft options in the trenches – BloggingTheBoys.com Some BTB writers share their thoughts on Darren Woodson’s Hall of Fame snubbing. Will Darren Woodson ever get entered into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and what do you make of his denial yet again? Legendary safety and three time Super Bowl winner, Darren Woodson, was again snubbed from entering the Hall of Fame. Frustration among Cowboys fans and media personnel quickly hit to social media to vent their anger. The fact that Woodson is still somehow out of Canton is one of the biggest mysteries in football right now. Howman: I mean, he has to at some point, right? I really don’t understand the hold up to this point. Those 90’s Cowboys teams have so many Hall of Famers already, and rightfully so, but you can’t tell the story of that dynasty without Woodson. So how has he been snubbed this many times? Brian: I honestly don’t know why Darren Woodson hasn’t been voted into the Hall of Fame yet, but I do know it will happen eventually. Hopefully it is sooner rather than later. After all, his credentials speak for themselves and matchup with anyone else who already has a bust in Canton. Tom: It makes no sense to me. It’s the problem with subjective awards. Who knows what the voters are thinking. Jess: Woody was a three-time Super Bowl Champ and three-time First-team All-Pro.

Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images Our writers provide their opinions on the latest Dallas Cowboys news during our weekly review on the Roundtable Every week, we gather the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the roundtable. This week we have Tom Ryle, David Howman, Brian Martin, Sean Martin, and Jess Haynie. What do you think of Brian Schottenheimer’s coaching hires so far? There was a lot of apprehension when it came to Jerry Jones hiring Brian Schottenheimer and fans were very vocal on the fact. But what Schottenheimer has put together for his staff is really quite interesting. Matt Erberflus joins the ranks as the teams defensive coordinator, Nick Sorensen replaces John Fassel as special teams coordinator, and just recently the team found their new offensive coordinator in Klayton Adams. The other positional coaches have all been positive and so far have raised the bar and put some optimism in Cowboys fans. On offense, the hires really emphasize a shift to be run-heavy next season, on defense we should expect less stunts and blitzes and more of a shift to becoming a methodical, Tampa-2 defense looking to force mistakes in a bend-don’t-break scheme. Howman: I think he’s hit home run after home run. Matt Eberflus is probably the least exciting hire to me, only because his scheme is a bit too passive compared to Mike Zimmer or even Dan Quinn, but his track record is strong. I’ve loved every single offensive coaching hire, especially Klayton Adams and Conor Riley. Schottenheimer has done the opposite of what most coaches do, which is hire a bunch of his buddies, and instead looked for coaches that bring creativity and outside-the-box thinking. I love it. Brian: On paper I really like the way Brian Schottenheimer has filled out his coaching staff. He has a good mix of veteran NFL coaching experience as well as some highly-regarded coaches from the collegiate ranks. I think it’s going to be really interesting to see how this coaching staff gels together and what kind of changes they make. Tom: Sorry if I’m too predictable, but what has me excited is not seeing any Jerry fingerprints on these hires. It really feels like Schotty is calling the shots – so far. But this is a much better start than I expected. Jess: I agree with my colleagues here. It’s nice to see less nepotism and more creativity in the hires. The assumed run-game focus could be great for Dak Prescott, but will mean making sure the offensive line has what it needs to function consistently. The onus moves to the front office to to give these coaches what they need to succeed. Sean: The hires so far all point to a sense of cohesion in what they’ve talked about wanting to achieve. Already this is a step in the right direction compared to not backing up any of their talk – as incoherent as it was anyway – from last offseason’s disaster. The hires can be as good or bad as anyone thinks though, they give no indication at all to the job Schottenheimer will do at the head of it all, and without that I don’t see many fans buying back in fully anytime soon, even after the slight optimism generated by these hires so far. Will Darren Woodson ever get entered into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and what do you make of his denial yet again? Legendary safety and three time Super Bowl winner, Darren Woodson, was again snubbed from entering the Hall of Fame. Frustration among Cowboys fans and media personnel quickly hit to social media to vent their anger. The fact that Woodson is still somehow out of Canton is one of the biggest mysteries in football right now. Howman: I mean, he has to at some point, right? I really don’t understand the hold up to this point. Those 90’s Cowboys teams have so many Hall of Famers already, and rightfully so, but you can’t tell the story of that dynasty without Woodson. So how has he been snubbed this many times? Brian: I honestly don’t know why Darren Woodson hasn’t been voted into the Hall of Fame yet, but I do know it will happen eventually. Hopefully it is sooner rather than later. After all, his credentials speak for themselves and matchup with anyone else who already has a bust in Canton. Tom: It makes no sense to me. It’s the problem with subjective awards. Who knows what the voters are thinking. Jess: Woody was a three-time Super Bowl Champ and three-time First-team All-Pro. Eric Allen, who’s in the 2025 class, has no rings and only made First-team once. Not saying Allen didn’t deserve to make it, but it’s unfathomable that they’d also deny Woodson. My hope is that they already intend to put Woody in the 2026 class along with Jason Witten as a first-ballot guy, to make it a big Cowboys weekend. Sean: To be honest, most of Woodson’s career with the Cowboys was before my time getting into the team, so I’ve always been fascinated by this conversation when it comes to how adamant fans are about him getting into Canton. I will defer to Jess here, who makes a great point about pairing him with Jason Witten and creating a Cowboys weekend. Sign me up for that. Which is more important to address in this year’s draft, offensive line or defensive line? Both the offensive and defensive line is a huge need for Dallas, thankfully this year’s crop of both defensive tackles and offensive linemen is deep and has plenty of options s available to the new coaching staff. What they decide on prioritizing will begin to unveil itself as they interview players at the combine and who they bring in on private visits which will be reported here on Blogging The Boys. Howman: I’m of the opinion you should draft at least one guy

Photo by CFP/Getty Images Several former Oregon Ducks could interest the Cowboys in the 2025 NFL Draft. Sometimes figuring out who the Dallas Cowboys could target in the offseason to upgrade their roster is as simple as connecting the dots. With the coaching staff filling out under new head coach Brian Schottenheimer, that’s exactly what we’re going to attempt to do today. Junior Adams was recently hired to be the new Dallas Cowboys wide receiver coach, the same position he held recently with the Oregon Ducks. He is highly-regarded for the work he has done developing WRs during his time in Oregon and will hopefully do the same now with the Cowboys. Considering how talented Oregon was last year, and connecting the dots, we can only assume Junior Adams’ familiarity with several former Oregon players could lead the Cowboys to become interested in some of them in the 2025 NFL Draft. In fact, there almost a dozen with draftable grades according to the consensus big board who could be of interest to them. Consensus big board ranking for Oregon’s 2025 draft class OT Josh Conley Jr. (30) DT Derrick Harmon (32) QB Dillon Gabriel (84) WR Tez Johnson (86) EDGE/DL Jordan Burch (89) TE Terrance Ferguson (123) OT Ajani Cornelius (129) LB Jeffrey Bassa (135) DT Jamaree Caldwell (191) RB Jordan James (194) CB Jamar Muhammad (205) As you can see, there are a number former Oregon Ducks who could be of interest to the Cowboys in the 2025 NFL Draft now that Junior Adams has joined Brian Schottenheimer’s coaching staff. While Adam’s probably only worked directly with Tez Johnson as his position coach, he should know the rest of these prospects fairly well as well. A case could be made for just about any one of these prospects for Dallas. Of this group Josh Conley and Derek Harmon are first-round prospects who could be immediate impact players. Tez Johnson, Terrance Ferguson, and Jeffrey Bassa could potentially challenge for starting jobs and nearly everyone else could provide much-needed depth at positions of need. All in all, the Oregon Ducks 2025 draft class could be one the Cowboys keep a close eye on when the 2025 NFL Draft gets underway due to Adams’ familiarity with this group of players. Having that kind of inside knowledge could prove to be invaluable on draft day for the decision-making process in the war room.