Ahead of this year’s free agency, it’s time for the Dallas Cowboys to consider cap casualties. That is, players to cut in an effort to free up salary cap space in order to spend elsewhere, be it outside signings or in-house re-signings.
Last year, it was Michael Gallup as a Post-June 1st cut. Two years ago, it was Ezekiel Elliott. Now, there are several candidates, most of which wouldn’t save a whole lot. However, there’s a cap casualty candidate that’s looking increasingly likely: Safety Donovan Wilson.
Releasing Wilson would free up $5.35 million in salary cap space for the Cowboys, which is the highest chunks of “cap savings” money the team could get by cutting a player this year, excluding Post-June 1st cuts. If designated as such, the Cowboys would save $7 million, though they’d push dead money into 2026. The Cowboys signed Wilson to a three-year, $21 million contract in 2023.
Though Wilson has had a solid career in Dallas, it might be a reasonable time for a divorce between he and Dallas.
Under Dan Quinn and Mike Zimmer, Wilson was used where he was best: A strong safety with a versatile role yet. Mostly, he played as a strong safety that would lurk into the box. Wilson’s top asset was always his versatility. Great at only a few things, but decent to good at most of them. However, he isn’t particularly great in coverage, which might hurt him on Eberflus’ scheme, which uses plenty of split field, two-high coverages.
Mostly, what could hurt Wilson is the fact the Cowboys have two younger, cheaper safeties to bet on. Both Markquese Bell and Juanyeh Thomas are both pending free agents, though neither is “unrestricted.”
Thomas is arguably the best option to take Wilson’s spot as he’s shown flashes of starter play. He is an exclusive rights free agent, which means Dallas can offer him a minimum deal he’d be forced to accept unless he wants to stop playing.
As for Bell, things are slightly trickier. He’s a “restricted free agent,” which means the Cowboys could sign him to a “right of first refusal” tender, which is projected to cost $3.27 million by Over the Cap. Though it’s a low figure, it’s far from nothing for a player that hasn’t started at safety for the Cowboys. Bell did start at linebacker in 2023 and was surprisingly good in coverage there, though.
If the Cowboys are looking for a position in which to save some coin, safety could very well be it.