The Dallas Cowboys could see a steady stream of free agents leave the team this offseason. These are the top remaining former Cowboys on the market.
As with every offseason, the Dallas Cowboys had to make tough choices with its free agent pool in 2023. Who stays, and who goes?
The Cowboys made the hardest decisions already at the start of free agency, but that doesn't mean they won't be keeping an eye on where their ex-players end up this season.
Some spent their entire careers in Dallas and will be looking for a fresh start; others only played a handful of meaningful snaps and may believe their talents are better suited for a different scheme.
Regardless, the ex-Cowboys on this list are somehow still available. Other NFL teams would be wise to snatch them up now before the end of the offseason.
Here are the top former Cowboys players on the market.
Former Cowboys who remain free agents
4. Anthony Brown
Cornerback Anthony Brown spent his entire seven-year career in Dallas, and he turned into a trusted piece in the backfield toward the end of his tenure, starting 16 games and racking up three interceptions in 2021.
However, at age 29, Brown was considered an expendable piece after the 2022 season as younger, sprier Cowboys appear primed to step into his role in 2023.
That doesn't take away from Brown's own talents, though. He was the Cowboys' most experienced corner last year, and the team felt the painful blows of his absence when Brown went down due to a torn Achilles in Week 13.
Dallas can't justify paying him as much as they did in 2022 (roughly $5 million annual salary), yet Brown could feasibly join any team in need of defensive reinforcements on a cheaper, cap-friendly deal.
Given his age and injury history, he should be available at a marked discount and would immediately add proven leadership and expertise to any roster in the league.
3. Byron Jones
Safety Byron Jones spent the last three years on the Miami Dolphins, but prior to that, he played on the Cowboys for half a decade and started in nearly every game he played.
The 29-year-old was let go by the Dolphins three years into his five-year contract; he may have outstayed his welcome in Miami, yet many will remember the impact he left on the Cowboys all those years ago.
A former first-round pick by Dallas in 2015, Jones earned his first and only Pro Bowl three years later. From the beginning of his Cowboys tenure, Jones wasted no time becoming a reliable starter at the safety position, playing well enough to command a five-year, $82 million deal with the Dolphins in 2020.
After inking that contract, Jones started to decline due to injuries and ended up missing the entire 2022 season due to an Achilles injury.
He has since revealed something extremely alarming in a post on Twitter: he can no longer run or jump because of his past injuries. That drags his desirability down to the ground when it comes to potential suitors, yet it's curious that he didn't mention any plans for retirement.
The Dolphins cut him as a cap casualty this past offseason and Jones then shot himself in the foot with his latest truth-telling spiel. But just like with free agent Anthony Brown, if a team wants to boost its backfield depth, signing Jones to the veteran's minimum could be a prudent move.
2. Brett Maher
Let's address the elephant in the room: Ex-Cowboys kicker Brett Maher had an atrocious, god-awful postseason.
The 33-year-old missed a record-breaking four extra points in the first round of the playoffs last year. In the Divisional Round matchup against the 49ers, Maher missed another extra point. He had a terrible case of the yips. That's all anyone can really say about that.
Apart from his postseason performance, Maher was actually pretty dependable on field goals and extra points, going 29-of-32 on field goal tries and 50-of-53 on extra point tries.
His valiant efforts during the 2022 season has led some teams to already pick up a flyer on him. The Denver Broncos reportedly had him over for a tryout earlier this month, and he'll probably receive a few more calls by the offseason's end.
Brett Maher may have carved his name into the Cowboys' wall of infamy, yet it would be too early to call his career over. He has completed 95.5 percent of his extra points and 81.0 percent of his field goals all-time; in 2022, he completed a career-high 90.6 percent of his field goals.
Kickers are one of the positions with the highest turnover in the league, and just because Maher kicked his future away on the Cowboys last postseason doesn't mean he won't return to prime form on another team.
1. Ezekiel Elliott
The NFL world would be shocked to see Ezekiel Elliott remain on the market for the rest of the offseason.
The former Cowboys running back was released earlier this year to free up cap space, and at the time, the team had already extended his replacement in Tony Pollard with several backup options behind him.
Given the Dallas brass' obvious affinity for Zeke, no one's closing the door on an Elliott-Cowboys reunion this summer — unless another team picks him up first.
Elliott is the top free agent running back left in a withering market, though his numbers from 2022 don't do him any favors. He finished last in the NFL in yards per carry (3.8) and percentage of runs that went for 10-plus yards (7.4), and he averaged a career-low 58.4 rushing yards per game.
The 27-year-old ball-carrier has officially begun his decline. Such was to be expected for a player at his age and position.
Even if other teams don't necessarily want to take a chance on an aging, out-of-sorts ex-Cowboy, they might sign him to prevent him from returning to Dallas. NFC East teams like the Eagles or Giants have a well-established ground game heading into 2023, but wouldn't it just be the snarkiest idea to sign Elliott as a major bird-flipping move to Mike McCarthy and Co.? Set the tone early, and let the divisional rivalries rear their ugly heads.
There's little to no chance that Elliott doesn't find a home in 2023. Someone will grab him whether that's Dallas, a team that hates Dallas, or a team in search of last-minute running back depth.
