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The first week of the Dallas Cowboys‘ 2025 offseason has been focused on internal talent, much to the chagrin of a lot of fans. The front office appears set to try and run things back with head coach Mike McCarthy in 2025. entering into negotiations after a 7-10 season that wasn’t going anywhere before a myriad of injury issues reigned down on their roster.
In a situation where the coach is no longer under contract, but with an exclusive negotiating window keeping McCarthy from talking to other teams until January 14, Dallas could be reaching out to perspective coaching candidates, but has yet to do so. Eventually, once the coaching situation is resolved, the next step will be to focus on another faction of internal talent, their pending free agents.
Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence is set to hit free agency come March, and it’s a real possibility he will not be returning to America’s Team. If Lawrence walks, it’s expected for him to have heavy interest despite missing the three-fourths of the season with a foot injury. Lawrence started the season in strong fashion after appearing in back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2022 and 2023.
There hasn’t been any apparent slippage in his play, so he could command a hefty salary as a hired gun, and that could be for his former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn who is now the head coach in Washington.
Pro Football Focus recently suggested Lawrence should be the top free agent target for the Commanders.
Even as the Commanders surged past all expectations to a playoff berth this season, their defense needs legitimate upgrades across the board. That rings true along the defensive front, where Dante Fowler Jr. will be a free agent and only Dorance Armstrong produced a pass-rush win rate above 11%.
Lawrence was sidelined for most of 2024 due to a foot injury, but the 32-year-old was sensational in 2023. A season ago, Lawrence’s 91.0 PFF overall grade was tied for ninth among defensive players with 500 or more snaps. To illustrate how well-rounded Lawrence’s game is, he was one of three players with a 91.0-plus pass-rushing grade and a 79.0-plus run-defense grade. Reuniting with Dan Quinn to beef up the Commanders’ pass rush and run defense would be a perfect fit.
Quinn’s Commanders were a surprise this season thanks to rookie QB Jayden Daniels, but the defense also rounded into shape. Their pass rush is anchored by two of Lawrence’s understudies the last few years in Texas, Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler, with the latter finishing 12th in the NFL in sacks in a reserve role.
Lawrence has been with the Cowboys since being drafted in the second round of the 2014 class. He’s completed thee contracts with the club, most recently signing a three-year deal in 2022 for a total of $40 million. The structure of the deal currently has over $8.5 million in dead money on Dallas’ books for the 2025 season.