3 Cowboys stars who could follow Dak Prescott out the door in 2025

1. Zack Martin

If the Cowboys hit the reset button, yes, Zack Martin could be gone in 2025. Martin's contract got reworked this month to clear $13 million in cap space this year, but it also altered the future years of his deal that would lessen the blow on the 2025 salary cap if this is his final year.

Due to multiple restructures of his contract over the years, the Cowboys would take a huge loss if Martin were released or traded. According to Over The Cap, they'd save $1.255 million and inherit $9.4 million in dead money if he was released with a post-June 1 designation. If traded before June 1, Dallas would save $15.8 million, but swallow over $26 million in dead money.

It's unclear what path the Cowboys would take (maybe Martin retires?), but they have seemingly prepared for 2025 to be a reset year as they absorb an ungodly amount of dead money. That way, they'd only be tied to three big-money deals beginning in 2026: Trevon Diggs and hopefully CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons.

Nevertheless, Martin's restructure last summer guaranteed him a $18 million salary in 2023 and 2024. He's owed just $9 million in 2025. That isn't going to cut it for one of the best guards in football and a future Hall of Famer. The fact Dallas wanted to lessen the blow on the 2025 cap is very notable.

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