The Dallas Cowboys have no money to spend right now. The key words there being right now because they’re currently projected to be approximately $36.5 million over the salary cap in 2026.
There’s little doubt once the offseason hits, the Cowboys are going to start shedding salaries in rapid fashion to get back to even ground.
With a defense that should be much improved in 2026 thanks to some late-season additions in 2025 — and hopefully with a new defensive coordinator — the Cowboys could still give their offense a boost with one key signing.
That signing should be New York Jets running back Breece Hall, who could be a dynamic playmaker and help make up for the absence of wide receiver George Pickens if he leaves in free agency.
Hall has a projected market value of a 4-year, $41 million contract, according to Spotrac, which seems a bit high. The Cowboys could very well get Hall on a deal closer to a 3-year, $24 million contract which pays him $8 million per year.
“Breece Hall is one of the handful of gems set to hit the open market when the 2026 NFL offseason gets underway,” Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay wrote on December 16. “He has the potential to carry an offense, potentially transforming any team that lands him into a top-tier unit.”
Cowboys Have Been Loathe to Pay Running Backs
The Cowboys have subsisted the last few years with putting cut-rate running backs behind an elite offensive line and watching them run for over 1,000 yards.
In 2024, Rico Dowdle ran for 1,079 yards and 2 touchdowns on a 1-year, $1.255 million contract. The Cowboys let him leave in free agency to the Carolina Panthers on a 1-year, $2.75 million contract.
In 2025, Javonte Williams has run for 1,113 yards and 10 touchdowns on a 1-year, $3 million contract through 14 games. His fate will undoubtedly be the same as Dowdle’s once the season ends.
For the Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones, the prevailing sentiment has been to put any old running back behind the offensive line and they will do great. The results would tell us otherwise. Dallas went 7-10 in 2024 and missed the playoffs and they’re 6-7-1 in 2025 with just a 1 percent chance of making the playoffs with 3 regular season games remaining, according to NFL.com.
Maybe paying a running back more than slightly above the NFL minimum might be a good idea.
Hall: One of NFL’s Best on Terrible Teams
Hall, a Wichita, Kansas, native, was a 2-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and 2-time All-American at Iowa State before the Jets selected him in the second round (No. 36 overall) of the 2022 NFL draft.
He’s spent the last 4 years toiling away as one of he NFL’s best running backs on arguably its worst team — the Jets have the longest playoff drought out of the 4 major professional sports leagues.
In 4 seasons, Hall has 17-game averages of 1,586 yards of total offense and 8 touchdowns and done so despite missing 10 games his rookie season with a torn ACL suffered in Week 7. Through 14 games in 2025, Hall has 1,223 yards of total offense and 4 touchdowns and is on pace for the first 1,000-yard rushing season of his career.
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