{"id":28319,"date":"2025-02-24T03:16:55","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T03:16:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=28319"},"modified":"2025-02-24T03:16:55","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T03:16:55","slug":"breaking-cowboys-may-cut-ties-with-underperforming-24-year-old-says-analyst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=28319","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Cowboys May Cut Ties With Underperforming 24-Year-Old, Says Analyst.."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/GettyImages-1701651544-e1726673960541.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/GettyImages-1701651544-e1726673960541.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/GettyImages-1701651544-e1726673960541.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/GettyImages-1701651544-e1726673960541.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Cowboys owner Jerry Jones\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-img-load-time=\"125\" data-dom-ready-time=\"249\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Cowboys owner Jerry Jones<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0face plenty of difficult decisions this NFL offseason, and there are several current players who could be in danger of being released in the coming months.\u00a0Spotrac projects\u00a0the Cowboys are nearly $3 million over the cap heading into the offseason.<\/p>\n<p>This does not account for the team\u2019s future draft picks and additional moves the franchise will make. All this shows the Cowboys will need to move on from some veterans.<\/p>\n<p>NFL.com\u2019s Matt Okada\u00a0suggested Dallas starts with a small move and work its way up to potential higher ticketed cuts. The analyst floated 24-year-old linebacker\u00a0Damone Clark as a potential cut candidate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Cowboys have a lot of work to do this offseason, starting $2.8 million in the red and not particularly flush with cuttable, cap-saving players,\u201d Okada wrote in a February 17, 2025, article titled, \u201c2025 NFL free agency: Derek Carr, Tyler Lockett among 21 notable cut candidates on NFC teams.\u201d \u201cThere are a couple key starters who could be released (especially with post-June 1 designations) to save big money, but that might hurt more than it helps.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInstead, Dallas will likely need to restructure contracts, shift money and be (typically) inactive in free agency \u2026 and maybe penny-pinch on guys like Damone Clark. Clark started just two games in 2024, totaled 28 tackles and logged more snaps on special teams (71 percent) than defense (just 18 percent). His release would net just $3.3 million in savings, but every dollar counts, and he\u2019s simply not an impact player.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Cowboys Cut Candidate Damone Clark\u2019s Production Dropped Drastically in 2024<\/h2>\n<p>Clark\u2019s four-year,\u00a0$3.9 million contract\u00a0is far from the biggest problem the Cowboys have financially. Yet, Clark\u2019s salary is slated to jump up from $985,000 to $3.2 million in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>After starting all 17 games in 2023, Clark took a step back with just two starts in 2024. Clark\u2019s production also took a step back notching 28 tackles last season compared to 109 in 2024.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Micah Parsons\u2019 Projected Contract Value Is a 4-Year, $134.8 Million Deal<\/h2>\n<p>Keep in mind, star pass rusher Micah Parsons is heading for a massive contract extension.\u00a0Spotrac projects\u00a0Parsons\u2019 market value is a four-year, $134.8 million.<\/p>\n<p>This is quite a jump from the four-year,\u00a0$17 million\u00a0rookie deal Parsons just finished.\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s Jon Machota identified Parsons\u2019 future as well as potential free agency moves as the two biggest question marks heading into the Cowboys offseason.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo team owner Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones plan to be more aggressive in veteran free agency or with trades?\u201d Machota pondered in a February 23, story titled, \u201cWhat we\u2019re watching at 2025 NFL combine: Myles Garrett trade rumors, QB carousel and more.\u201d \u201cWhere things stand with Micah Parsons and his contract situation is important, but Parsons isn\u2019t going anywhere. Not being more aggressive in building around Parsons would be an issue. Both Joneses will be around most of the week in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026 Dallas clearly didn\u2019t do enough to add quality veterans to fill roster holes last year. The Philadelphia Eagles are probably the NFL\u2019s best in this area. For the Cowboys to close the gap, the roster-building strategy needs to change and be more aggressive. But will it?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Cowboys owner Jerry Jones The\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0face plenty of difficult decisions this NFL offseason, and there are several current players who could be in danger of being&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Cowboys May Cut Ties With Underperforming 24-Year-Old, Says Analyst.. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=28319\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Cowboys May Cut Ties With Underperforming 24-Year-Old, Says Analyst.. - 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