George Pickens' uncertain future with the Dallas Cowboys is already making waves. The entire NFL will be watching closely to see if Jerry Jones plays games with the All-Pro wide receiver, but Pickens' contract is far from the only important item on the agenda this offseason.
The Cowboys are sitting at $29 million over the salary cap. While they could create over $90 million in cap room by just pushing a few buttons, many have pondered if Dallas will cut defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who was the marquee return in the Micah Parsons trade.
However, in a recent article detailing what drew the Cowboys to new defensive coordinator Christian Parker, ESPN reporter Todd Archer left a clear hint about where Clark stands.
“The Cowboys have two first-round picks that could be used as building blocks to reform the defense. They can also make investments in free agency to help with returnees such as defensive tackles Quinnen Williams (Pro Bowler), Kenny Clark, and Osa Odighizuwa," Archer wrote.
It sure sounds like the Dallas Cowboys plan on keeping Kenny Clark
Archer is as plugged in as anyone on the Cowboys beat. Would he really label Clark a “returnee” if there were serious doubt about his future?
While any player under contract for the 2026 season could technically fit that description, Archer's writing isn't surprising if you've paid attention to how highly the team's foremost decision-makers, Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones, have spoken about Clark. They clearly want him back.
"Kenny has just been more than advertised for us," Stephen Jones said about Clark in December. "He's a leader. He's great on the field. He's great off the field. He's a guy we want to have around here."
The logic for keeping Clark is simple: the Cowboys don’t have many good defensive players, and Clark is definitively one of them after ranking 15th among interior defenders with 44 pressures last season, per PFF.
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Clark's counting stats weren't as good as those of Osa Odighizuwa, but Clark was arguably more impactful down-to-down. Whether it's maintaining gap discipline that leads to a run stop from a teammate or helping collapse the pocket on a passing down, he makes a lot of positive contributions that don't show up in the box score.
What makes the decision tricky is that cutting Clark would free up $21.5 million in cap space, per to Over The Cap. He has no guaranteed money left on his deal, meaning Dallas wouldn’t absorb any dead money.
However, the Cowboys could unlock roughly $15.3 million by extending Clark. A two-year extension would make sense if Dallas truly wants to keep the three-time Pro Bowler in the fold. He'll turn 31 in October, but he's still a good player, and he hasn't missed a game since 2020.
Cutting Clark would weaken the undisputed strength of the Cowboys' defense. Where's the logic in that? Clark, Williams, and Odighizuwa headline arguably the best DT room in football.
Nothing is official until it's official, but it sounds increasingly likely that Clark will be back. Given the makeup of Dallas' personnel, that feels like a no-brainer.