With all the head coach talk going around, I felt like a topic about something other than that was needed for all the readers, so how about diving into a few players that this team will have under contract heading in 2025 that will need to step up and ball out to help them win some more football games.
The Dallas Cowboys have over 20 players who are set to become unrestricted free agents in 2025, and that will be a major factor going forward.
We know Jerry Jones does not like to spend money, so say he only brings a handful of those guys back. What three players then need to step up that are currently under contract for 2025?
Jonathan Mingo
Let’s start with the guy who I think may have no choice but to have his best year as a pro for this team to win some games in 2025.
Cowboys acquired Mingo and a 2025 seventh-round pick from the Carolina Panthers early last season for a 2025 fourth-round pick.
He proceeded to be a no show. He only caught 5 balls for 46 yards in his time with the Cowboys. Sure, Dak Prescott was hurt, and Cooper Rush played okay, but he started to get a lot of production from the ground game in Rico Dowdle.
Here is the thing: Brandin Cooks and KaVontae Turpin are both unrestricted free agents.
I do think they will find a way to bring Turpin back, but Cooks will be on his way out, and that will leave Jalen Tolbert as the team’s No. 2 WR behind CeeDee Lamb.
Mingo is going to need to have his best year as a pro in 2025. No questions about it.
Marist Liufau
A player that I really like is Marist Liufau and he played well near the end of the 2024 season when Overshown was ruled out for the season.
Overshown is projected to miss the entire 2025 season also with that brutal injury, and Eric Kendricks only signed a one-year deal, so if they don’t bring him back, this linebacking core may fall on Liufau and someone they take in the NFL draft this April.
Liufau finished the 2024 season with 50 tackles (30 solo), including 1.5 sacks, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery across 17 games.
Selected in the third round, at No. 87 overall, of the 2024 NFL Draft, Liufau made nine starts as a rookie, playing 47 percent of the Cowboys’ defensive snaps.
He is only scratching the surface, and should have a solid chance to be an even better player in his second season. The Dallas Cowboys will need him to ball out for whomever may be running the defense.
Terence Steele
Let’s call it like it is, if Terence Steele returns to the Cowboys this season, they NEED him to be the player he was before signing that contract. I understand he got hurt, but man he had an awful 2024.
By breakout, I mean getting back to his normal self. We have seen him be a great player once!
Steele has four years left on his contract. He’s scheduled to count $18.6 million against the 2025 cap, which would be the league’s 10th-highest cap hit for a right tackle.
This team has a lot of young guys on the roster when it comes to the offensive line, and Steele will need to be the least of their worries if he returns.
Bringing him back one more year would give this team more stability, at least for one more year. I have a feeling Zack Martin is about ready to hang it up, and it would be easier to dump Steele in 2026 rather than now if he struggles again. He would create nearly $10 million in space next off season.
These three guys are going to need to ball out in 2025, I am not sure how this roster is going to look, or who will even be the head coach.
This next season could be a really really bad one.