FRISCO, Texas — There is much to do and, despite what you might believe, the Dallas Cowboys don't have much time to do it. Their offseason has officially arrived and their first order of business is for the team and head coach Mike McCarthy to make a decision on their future — be it renewed vows or a divorce — and the same is true of defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and a list of assistant coaches.
As of January 14, McCarthy (and others) can officially negotiate with other teams.
The roster will also be under siege from NFL free agency, many of the names set to hit the open market being devastatingly important to what Cowboys' success might look like in 2025 and beyond. Feel free to take a look at that deep dive here, to get a complete understanding of what Dallas is up against with each of the looming free agents.
Below is the complete calendar of deadlines to help serve as your roadmap for the Cowboys' offseason.
Bookmark and revisit frequently.
January
- January 6: Teams can begin signing existing free agents and futures deals
- January 6: Teams can begin negotiating extensions for 2022 draft pick(s)
- January 6: Fifth-year option available on 2022 first-round pick(s)
- January 30: East-West Shrine Bowl (Arlington, TX)
February
- February 1: Reese's Senior Bowl (Mobile, AL)
- February 2: 2024 NFL Pro Bowl Event(s)
- February 9: Super Bowl LIX (New Orleans, LA)
- February 18: Teams can designate players for Franchise Tag/Transition Tag
- February 24-March 3: NFL Scouting Combine (Indianapolis, IN)
March
- March 4: Teams must designate Franchise/Transition players prior to 4 p.m. ET
- March 10-12: Legal tampering permitted for pending free agents
- March 12: First day of new league year, official free agency period at 4 p.m. ET
- March 30-April 2: Annual League Meeting (Palm Beach, FL)
April
- April 7: Start of offseason workouts for teams with new head coaches
- April 16: Deadline for club visits with draft prospects at team facility
- April 18: Deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets
- April 21: Start of offseason workouts for teams with no head coaching change
- April 23: Deadline for teams to exercise Right of First Refusal on RFAs
- April 23: Deadline for visits with draft prospects at any location (including digitally)
- April 24-26: 2025 NFL Draft (Green Bay, WI)
May
- May 1: Deadline for 5th-year option on players chosen in 1st round of 2022 NFL Draft
- May 2-5/May 9-12: Rookie minicamps (clubs must pick one of the two weekends)
- May 14: NFLPA Rookie Premiere (Los Angeles, CA)
- May 20: Spring League Meeting (Minneapolis, MN)
June
- Mid-June (TBD): Mandatory OTAs, minicamp
July
- July 15: Deadline for franchise tagged players to sign multi-year extension
- Late-July (TBD): Training Camp Begins
August
- Early August (TBD): Hall of Fame Game, Preseason begins
There you have it.
It's time to batten down the hatches and make decisions on all of that far more, including what will be blockbuster negotiations with all-world pass rusher Micah Parsons and, on the much simpler front, simply pulling the trigger to exercise the fifth-year option on All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowl left guard Tyler Smith.
Both are no-brainers, though one is wildly simpler of a task than the other.
This will be an offseason dominated by headlines of all types in Dallas, from coaches to players and potentially a high-level exec as well, and time waits for no man; and for no NFL team.
