With more than three months still to go before the 2026 NFL regular season begins, those in our business naturally have a lot of time to opine on effectively every aspect of every team between now and then.
For example, our friend Austen Bundy at FanSided recently spent some time putting together a little list of one veteran from each team in the NFC East who he feels is facing a "make-or-break" season in 2026.
The Dallas Cowboys certainly had plenty of options to choose from in that regard, but Bundy ultimately went with defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who famously came to Dallas last August as part of the trade that sent Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. Here was Bundy's reasoning on why he chose the 10-year veteran:
"After being acquired in the now-infamous Micah Parsons trade with the Green Bay Packers, Clark severely underwhelmed in his Cowboys debut. He logged just three sacks and 17 solo tackles in 2025, and he very well could be the victim of overbearing expectations in Parsons' absence. He has large shoes to fill thanks to Jerry Jones' nonsense, and it looks like Dallas now has to employ multiple sets of feet to fill them.
"The Cowboys brought in another Packer, Rashan Gary, to assist Clark on the defensive line, as well as drafting pass rusher Malachi Lawrence out of Central Florida. That's going to spread out the responsibility some, but as Clark enters the final year of his $64 million contract, he needs to approach if not surpass the 10-sack threshold to warrant an extension of any kind in Dallas."
For those wondering, Bundy's selections for the other three teams in the division were wideout Hollywood Brown for the Philadelphia Eagles, running back Rachaad White for the Washington Commanders, and offensive guard Jon Runyan Jr. for the New York Giants.
But let's get back to Clark.
Kenny Clark needs to improve against the run for the Dallas Cowboys in 2026
There was always going to be a ton of pressure on Clark to perform for the Cowboys, as Jerry Jones insisted the three-time Pro Bowler be included in the Parsons trade, pressure that, let's get real, he was never going to be able to live up to in the eyes of fans of America's Team.
Now, I'm in agreement that Clark could be in "make-or-break" mode for Dallas in 2026, but I'm going to respectfully disagree with Bundy that the "make" aspect will be his sack total.
Even in his best season in that regard in 2023, a campaign in which the UCLA alum earned his third and most recent Pro Bowl selection, he tallied 7.5 sacks, besting his personal mark of 6.0 that he'd recorded in both 2018 and 2019. So, the "10-sack threshold" Bundy mentions seems somewhat unreasonable.
That said, however, if Clark doesn't improve against the run, that's going to be a problem, as Jones infamously said the reason he wanted Clark in the first place was that he wanted the Dallas defense to be better in that particular area.
And from a technical standpoint, the Cowboys were better this past year than the season before, though not by much. In 2024, they ranked 29th against the run, allowing 137.1 yards per game. And in 2025, they ranked 23rd, giving up 125.5 yards per game. So, there was at least a little improvement.
Individually, however, Clark struggled at times, and his 53.7 PFF run-defense grade ultimately ranked just 71st among interior defensive linemen. It also served as the second-worst mark of his 10-year career. So, improvements are undoubtedly expected.
Now, as far as Clark's future in Dallas is concerned, he currently has two years remaining on his contract, and if he indeed fails to improve in 2026, he could conceivably be a prime cut candidate next offseason. The Cowboys would take an $8.8 million dead-cap hit if they opt to move on, but they'd also pick up an extra $13.4 million in salary cap space for 2027.
So, we now just have to wait and see how things play out with Clark in 2026.
Add us as a preferred source on Google