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The Cowboys keep saying that they intend to bring back defensive lineman Kenny Clark, the 6-foot-3, 314-pound behemoth the team acquired from the Packers with two first-round draft picks in the Micah Parsons trade just before the start of the season. But the numbers, and the cold, hard business of the NFL, keep suggesting otherwise.
Clark signed a three-year extension in 2024 worth $64 million, but as is so often the case with contracts in Green Bay, the deal is essentially a year-to-year contract, meaning the Cowboys can get out of the remainder. Only $17.5 million was guaranteed. And because the Cowboys have two other expensive defensive linemen to consider–another trade acquisition, Quinnen Williams, is due $21.8 million next year, and Osa Odighizuwa is on the books at $24.5 million–keeping Clark would be difficult.
The Cowboys could restructure some money, of course, but keeping Clark would still mean an enormous investment into the middle of the defensive line at a time when so many other defensive positions need addressing, too.
Cowboys Would Have a ‘Surplus’ With Kenny Clark
At the contract-expert website Spotrac, the possibility of the Cowboys jettisoning a defensive lineman is presented as good business–and Clark certainly has trade value, considering how many teams are in the market for a quality interior presence.
“I don’t think those players all need to remain going forward,” the site’s managing editor, Mike Ginnitti said on “The Spotrac Podcast.” “It’s nice to have the surplus, you certainly want the interior pressure, you certainly want to be able to stop the run. But they went big at it this year, and it was not successful. It got better, it improved them. But I think they can draft and develop … quickly within that interior line and get themselves into a situation where they’re stable and they’re cost-controlled at the same time.
“So what happens to Kenny Clark? There’s not a guarantee. So you can just move on and free up $21.5 million—there’s a huge roster bonus in March, $11 million. This is going to be a March situation.”
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Cowboys Defense Sagged for Most of the Season
The idea that the Cowboys’ defensive front was not successful is probably what will determine Clark’s fate. The defense had an uptick, no doubt, in the three weeks after the Williams trade, but that unraveled as the season went on. If the Cowboys focus on the uptick, Clark might stay. But the whole body of work in 2025?
The Cowboys have still given up more points than any team in the NFL (477), and are 30th in yards allowed (6,029).
In the three most important games of the season, as the Cowboys were fighting for their playoff lives in Weeks 14-16, the team allowed an average of 37.3 points per game. It’s fair to wonder whether the remaking of the Cowboys defense really made the Cowboys defense that much better.
Kenny Clark Is ‘A Guy We Want to Have Around’
Still, the Cowboys have been adamant about wanting Clark back, even if it does not seem to make much sense. Team owner Jerry Jones was asked about the finances of keeping all three of the team’s top defensive linemen, and said they could work it out under the salary cap–despite the fact that the team needs linebackers, defensive backs and will have to pay George Pickens if he is to stick around.
Jones’ son, Stephen Jones, was on the airwaves in Dallas, on 105.3 the Fan, and reiterated the team wants to keep Clark. “Kenny Clark has just been more than advertised for us,” Stephen Jones said. “He’s a leader. He’s great on the field. And he’s great off the field. He’s a guy we want to have around here.”
They’d just need to figure out how to make the money work
