3 easy cuts Cowboys can make to save $18 million in cap space
By Jerry Trotta
2. Jourdan Lewis ($4.7 million)
The Cowboys can ill afford to lose more cornerbacks with Anthony Brown slated for free agency, and Kelvin Joseph and Nahshon Wright struggling to cement themselves as starters, let alone trustworthy backups.
That said, cutting Jourdan Lewis would create nearly $5 million in cap room. He has one year left on his three-year deal, and will only count $5.8 million against the cap in 2023, but the potential savings and minimal dead money charge (just $1.1 million) will be hard to ignore for the cap-constrained Cowboys.
Dallas could then pivot to a deep free agency class to replace Lewis, or simply capitalize on a loaded cornerback class in April. You could argue as many as seven CBs could go in Round 1 including Joey Porter Jr., Christian Gonzalez, Devon Witherspoon, Deonte Banks, Cam Smith, Kelee Ringo, and DJ Turner.
To say nothing of the potential gems who slip to the second round.
Finally, the Cowboys have rookie standout DaRon Bland and late-season star Israel Mukuamu to man the nickel in Lewis’ wake, making the former third-rounder, who’s coming off a season-ending foot injury, expendable.