After a 2024 season cut short by injury, Dallas Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence was speculated by some to be another long-time team member heading towards retirement.
But speaking Thursday from a promotional event, the 11-year veteran Lawrence made it clear he's not done yet in the NFL, and in fact hopes that even with a free agency stint approaching things can work out so he'll be able to remain with the only team he's ever known.
"The ball is in their court. I'm not only going to play in Dallas," Lawrence said, via Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I'm going to have other options, but I'd like to stay here. It would be a glorious thing."
"...My family is here. I love it here. The fans love me here."
A 2014 NFL Draft pick out of Boise State, Lawrence has been a mainstay in Dallas for over a decade. In total, Lawrence has played 141 games with the Cowboys and ranks 10th all-time in Cowboys history with 61.5 sacks. His production has remained relatively steady even into his 30s, earning his third and fourth Pro Bowl selections in 2022 and 2023 in his age-30 and 31 seasons.
He missed out on most of 2024 after a foot injury took him out four games into the season, but up to that point he was the team leader with three sacks, also contributing a forced fumble, 14 tackles and five quarterback hits. Though there were other issues to blame for the Cowboys' struggles last season, the absence of Lawrence's presence on the defensive line certainly didn't help matters.
If the Cowboys do want to retain Lawrence for at least one more season, they'll have to contend with the current lack of cap space they're working with.
With Thursday's announcement that the official salary cap for the 2025 season has been set at $279.2 million, Dallas has just $3.86 million in cap space at this time, the eighth-least amount of space and second-worst among teams not actively in the red, per Over the Cap.
Cowboys co-owner and COO Stephen Jones already said this week that the team will be "selectively aggressive" this offseason in efforts to rebound from their 7-10 finish in 2024, and the question now becomes whether re-signing Lawrence fits into that game plan, especially with other players like Micah Parsons and Osa Odighizuwa in line for big new deals.
If Lawrence does make it to free agency, he should receive a solid market despite his age -- 33 by the start of the 2025 season -- and return from injury. Gregg Rosenthal's Top 101 Free Agents list ranks him as the No. 48 available player and mentions those concerns. However, Lawrence's agent David Canter, who was expected to meet with the Cowboys Friday, said earlier in the day on 105.3 The Fan that the edge rusher was "100 percent healthy," per Engel.
With the start of free agency under two weeks away and no news yet as to whether he'll be able to take his chosen path of remaining in Dallas, Lawrence will have to wait and see whether his 12th season will be played on familiar turf, or whether he'll be wearing a new jersey for the first time in his career.
