The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will begin their three-day mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, annually the final step in their offseason workout program. While the focus now is on playbook installation and getting all 91 players on the same page so that competition can begin in earnest in training camp, attention soon will turn to the specific challenges the team will face during the 2026 season. As such, with the schedule now laid out, we are taking a closer look at each opponent on the Bucs' schedule, examining what they did last season, which players and coaches have come and gone in the offseason and some as-yet-unanswered questions. Today's focus is on a Dallas Cowboys team looking to return to playoff contention with a loaded offense and a defense that has been largely rebuilt this offseason.
2025 Results
The 2025 Cowboys were an extremely unbalanced team, with a high-powered offense that finished second in the league in yards and seventh in scoring but a defense that allowed a league-high 30.1 points per game and finished last in pass defense, last in third-down defense and 30th in total yards allowed. That led to four games in which Dallas did not notch a win despite scoring between 26 and 40 points, all part of an overall 7-9-1 record in the team's first season under Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer. That was nearly identical to the 7-10 mark the Cowboys posted in 2024, Mike McCarthy's final season at the helm.
Dallas got off to a shaky start in September with a 1-2-1 record, the lone win in that month coming in Week Two over the Giants by a narrow 40-37 margin. The game featured just under 1,000 yards of combined offense as the Dallas defense allowed Russell Wilson to throw for 450 yards and three touchdowns, only to have star kicker Brandon Aubrey bail out the home team with a 64-yard field goal at the end of regulation and a 46-yarder in overtime. Two weeks later, the Cowboys scored 40 points in an overtime game at home again, but this one incredibly ended in a tie with the Packers. Again, the offensive output of the two teams was massive, but in the extra period each team possessed the ball once and settled for a field goal.
Dallas then scored 37 and 44 points in wins over a pair of scuffling teams in the Jets and Commanders, sandwiched around a three-point loss at Carolina in which Dak Prescott and Bryce Young tossed three touchdown passes apiece. The Panthers swung the tide in the 30-27 final with 216 rushing yards, most of it by former Cowboy Rico Dowdle. After losses to the Broncos and Cardinals, the Cowboys enjoyed the most successful stretch of their season with consecutive wins over the Raiders, Eagles and Chiefs that improved their record to 6-5-1. The latter two victories were both three-point decisions, with Prescott rallying Dallas from a 21-7 halftime deficit with one rushing and one passing touchdown to prevail 24-21 over the rival Eagles. The Cowboys overcame four Patrick Mahomes touchdowns on Thanksgiving Day to beat Kansas City, 31-28.
Unfortunately for Cowboys faithful, Dallas closed out the season by dropping four of its last five, allowing at least 34 points in each of the losses. A 30-23 downing of Washington in Week 17 was sparked by KaVontae Turpin's 86-yard touchdown reception, but the season ended a week later in a 34-17 defeat at the hands of the Giants in which Prescott was replaced by Joe Milton in the third quarter.
After missing nine games due to injury in 2024, Prescott was able to start all 17 contests last season and the result was the fourth time in his career he has topped 4,400 passing yards. Overall, he led the NFL with 404 completions, which produced 4,552 yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Prescott formed a quick connection with trade acquisition George Pickens, hitting him 93 times for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns. That, combined with 82 receptions and nine touchdowns by tight end Jake Ferguson and another 1,000-yard campaign by CeeDee Lamb to give Dallas the second most passing yards in the league.
The Dallas defense, as noted, was not as successful in 2025. In his one season with the team, Jadeveon Clowney contributed 8.5 sacks but the defense as a whole ranked 25th in sack rate and produced only 12 takeaways, the third-lowest total in the league. Linebacker Kenneth Murray led the unit with 81 tackles and cornerback DaRon Bland added 73 stops, six passes defensed and an interception that he returned for a touchdown. Dallas gave up a league-high 251.5 passing yards per game and 7.69 yards per pass play.
2026 Arrivals
The first new arrival for Dallas this offseason was in the coaches' conference room, where former Eagles Passing Game Coordinator Christian Parker was brought in to replace Matt Eberflus, who was only on the job for one season. In fact, most of the defensive staff was replaced, with the Cowboys hiring nine new assistants on that side of the ball.
Given the team's results from 2025, it is unsurprising that most of the additions to the roster this offseason have been part of a massive defensive restructuring that is likely to lead to at least six new players in the starting lineup. The secondary, in particular, got a makeover with the free agency signings of former Arizona safety Jalen Thompson, former Rams cornerback Cobie Durant and former Broncos cornerback P.J. Locke. Dallas then followed that up in the draft by selecting ultra-versatile Ohio State safety Caleb Downs with the 11th overall pick and Florida cornerback Devin Moore in the fourth round. Dallas gave up two fifth-round picks to Miami to move up one spot in the draft to land Downs.
Bland and free safety Malik Hooker remain but Thompson, Durant and Downs all project to be starters in 2026, with Downs possibly working in at the slot position. Thompson started 87 games in seven years for the Cardinals, securing nine interceptions. Durant opened 29 games over the past two years in Los Angeles and had four picks and 15 passes defensed. Locke offers great depth after starting 26 games over the past three years in Denver.
Less than a year after trading superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Packers, Dallas went back to Green Bay to begin reloading at the position, trading a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Packers for Rashan Gary, who has 46.5 career sacks. Gary recorded 7.5 sacks last fall but none in the last nine games of the season. Once again the Cowboys followed this up with a first-round pick, taking UCF edge rusher Malachi Lawrence at number 23 overall. Lawrence had 19.5 sacks over the past three seasons at UCF and is also strong enough to set the edge against the run.
On the interior line, the Cowboys signed former Chargers nose tackle Otito Ogbonnia and former Saints defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard to one-year deals. Ogbonnia is likely to start between two of last year's trade acquisitions, Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark. Alabama defensive lineman, nabbed in the fourth round, adds more new depth to the group.
To restock at the middle level of the defense, the Cowboys started by shipping a fifth-round pick to the 49ers for veteran linebacker Dee Winters, who had 101 tackles and an interception last season. They then used a third-round pick on Michigan's Jaishawn Barham, who profiles as something of a tweener between edge rusher and off-ball linebacker. With DeMarvion Overshown finally healthy again, the Cowboys would have time to develop Barham if they want to use him at off-ball linebacker. Dallas also added depth at the position by giving a one-year deal to former 49er Curtis Robinson.
The Cowboys' offseason additions on offense have been minimal, and exclusively for depth. Only two of their seven draft picks went to that side of the ball, both on Day Three, as the team opted for Penn State tackle Drew Shelton in Round Four and East Carolina wideout Anthony Smith in Round Seven. The team signed a new primary backup for Prescott in Sam Howell, who spent last year in Philadelphia but didn't get into any games. He did start all 17 games for Washington in 2023. Just after the draft, the Cowboys also signed a pair of depth wide receivers, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Tyler Johnson. Earlier in the offseason, the team picked up a backup center in Matt Hennessy, most recently of the 49ers.
2026 Departures
Obviously, with so many additions on defense there had to be some players from last year's unit on the way out. Some prominent players from last year's defense have simply not been re-signed and have yet to land with another team, including Clowney, Murray, Wilson and cornerback C.J. Goodwin. Those players combined to make 37 starts for Dallas in 2025.
The Cowboys continued to be active on the trade market, shipping defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa to the 49ers in exchange for a third-round pick in this year's draft. Odighizuwa started 76 games over five seasons in Dallas and amassed 17.0 sacks. In addition, defensive end Solomon Thomas, who was only in Dallas for one season, was sent to Tennessee for a 2026 seventh-round pick.
The Cowboys acquired linebacker Logan Wilson from Cincinnati in a midseason deal last year but he has elected to retire after playing just seven games for the team. Fellow linebacker Jack Sanborn, who started five games in 2025, took a one-year deal to move to Chicago. Edge rushers Dante Fowler and Payton Turner followed one-year deals with the Cowboys with the same in Seattle and Detroit, respectively. Fowler had 3.0 sacks last year; Turner spent the season on injured reserve.
To continue the theme, there wasn't much movement in either way for the Cowboys' offensive personnel. Center Brock Hoffman, who started 16 games over the past three seasons, moved on to Pittsburgh on a one-year deal. Wide receiver Jalen Tolbert, a third-round pick back in 2022, ended his run in Dallas by signing with the Dolphins. Tolbert had 91 catches for 1,093 yards in his four seasons with the Cowboys. Dallas also did not re-sign running back Miles Sanders, who got just 20 carries in four games last year.
Pressing Questions
*Can a largely revamped defense come together into at least a league-average unit?*
The Cowboys obviously needed to make significant changes to their defensive personnel after last season's struggles, and their moves to revamp the secondary have been particularly well-received. Downs was widely considered a steal outside of the top 10 in the draft, and his ability to make an impact all over the field should make him a centerpiece in the team's gameplan.Durant had six interceptions for the Rams last season and Thompson, like Downs, is a versatile chess piece who can play deep safety, in the box or in the slot. Still, with more than half of the lineup likely to be newcomers – also under the direction of a new coordinator – it is never a sure thing that the group is going to come together into a solid unit. Given how productive the offense is, Dallas probably only needs to get middle-of-the-pack results from its defense to be in serious playoff contention.
Will the Cowboys' offensive line live up to its reputation?
Dallas re-signed running back Javonte Williams after his 1,200-yard season in 2025 and retained Pickens with the franchise tag. With those two plus Prescott and Lamb, the Cowboys have one of the most promising offensive cores in the NFL. Just how high the offense can go, after averaging 27.7 points per game last year, will depend on the performance of an offensive line that is generally regarded as one of the best in the NFL. And it's fair to point out that Dallas ranked in the top 10 last season in both rushing yards per game (and per carry) and sacks allowed per pass play. Still, there are questions surrounding both offensive tackles, Tyler Guyton and Terence Steele. Schottenheimer recently noted that Guyton will be in a competition to retain his starting spot at left tackle with 2024 seventh-round pick Nate Jackson. The Cowboys also added Shelton in the draft, and he could push Steele on the right side. Dallas has used three first-round picks on its offensive line since 2022 – the Tyler trio of Guyton, Smith and Booker – but it's a group that is still trying to recreate the heyday of Zack Martin and Tyron Smith.
