5 Cowboys players who likely played their final game with the team

For the 27th season in a row, the Dallas Cowboys will not be a part of Conference Championship Weekend. While they lost to the superior team — maybe the best in the NFL — in the San Francisco 49ers, the Cowboys are the brunt of every joke on NFL Twitter, and there’s nothing fans can do about it.

After all, Sunday’s loss goes down on another missed opportunity to win a championship with this current core of players. Dallas’ window is still open, but the year-to-year trajectory is impossible to predict given the roster turnover that’s bound to happen each offseason.

The Cowboys have a lot of tough decisions to make with impending free agents and potential cuts to open up cap space. While more than five players will surely leave this offseason, these five, in particular, feel like locks to depart.

5 Cowboys who just played final game with the franchise

5. Anthony Brown, CB

Brown finally got his due respect after the Cowboys secondary struggled following his season-ending injury, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be back in Arlington. The injury marked the third time in four seasons he missed at least five games through injury, and he’s missed a combined 19 games during that span.

Brown is a solid NFL cornerback, but the injury history is alarming and he’ll be on the wrong side of 30 by the middle of next season.

A former sixth-round pick in 2016, Brown allowed just a 55.4% completion rate this season when targeted, but he was victimized on explosive plays pretty consistently. His 12.4 yards per catch allowed is a testament to that, as was his nine missed tackles, and 561 yards and five touchdowns allowed in coverage.

With DaRon Bland becoming an instant playmaker as a rookie, and Jourdan Lewis under contract for 2023, it’s likely the Cowboys let Brown leave this offseason and pursue depth options either through the draft or in free agency.