Dallas Cowboys restructure contract for newly acquired wide receiver Brandin Cooks

The Dallas Cowboys could be preparing to make even further waves this week. Front office personnel worked out another contract restructure, this time on newly acquired wideout Brandin Cooks. The trade with the Houston Texans for Cooks stipulated that his former team would pick up $6 million of his $18 million contract for 2023.

Now, Dallas is converting $8 million of the remaining $12 million into a signing bonus. The leftover $4 million will be Cooks’ 2023 salary and he will count $6 million against the cap, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer. They saved $6 million in cap space with the move.

On top of the $12 million the Cowboys took on for Cooks, they also traded a 2023 fifth-round pick and a 2024 sixth-round pick. That leaves them with just one fifth-round pick this year after trading another in the Stephon Gilmore deal.

Dallas has already restructured the contracts of the players with the biggest 2023 cap hits, clearing up to $55 million even before the Cooks restructure. They cleared $20 million on Dak Prescott, $8.8 million on Zack Martin, $9.6 million on Tyron Smith, $8.89 million on DeMarcus Lawrence and $7 million on Michael Gallup.

The cap space the Cowboys have cleared could go toward a possible free-agent pickup or even another trade. Dan Quinn’s defense could use another run-stopper or a linebacker. Meanwhile, Dallas still needs to replace Ezekiel Elliott on the depth chart.

The Cowboys hosted three free agents at the Star on Monday. Running back Ronald Jones, linebacker Travin Howard and offensive lineman Chuma Edoga were the visitors, according to the Dallas Morning News.

More on the 2023 NFL offseason, free agency

The NFL 2023 calendar year began at 4 p.m. ET on March 15. At that time, contracts running through 2022 officially ran out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams had a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 7. The Cowboys used their franchise tag this year on Tony Pollard.

The legal negotiation period spanned from March 13 through March 15. The new year marked the beginning of all trades going official per the league office. April 21 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets. On April 26, the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets hits.

There were 722 players due to hit free agency in 2023, including 20 unrestricted free agents for Dallas. Follow all the Cowboys free agency news with the offseason tracker.