April 27 is important date, even as Cowboys have thrown comp picks out
With many holes still on their roster, the Dallas Cowboys are making calls and kicking tires but don't expect any signings until April 27. Here's why.
Free agency has been in full effect since mid-March, yet after the initial flurry of top tier signings, things have noticeably slowed down. With less than three weeks to go until the 2026 NFL draft, teams like the Dallas Cowboys have refocused most of their efforts on the draft. The draft is widely considered the single best way to add cornerstone pieces to a roster, so it should be no wonder why it takes pole position in the minds of personnel departments across the NFL right now.
With that said, free agency is far from over. Plenty of useful pieces remain on the market and with so many needs across their roster, the Cowboys don’t expect the draft to singlehandedly satisfy all of said needs. It’s safe to say the positions Dallas fails to address in the draft, will be handled by free agency soon thereafter; specifically on April 27.
April 27, the Monday immediately following the draft, is the first day of the offseason where free agent additions no longer count towards the compensatory formula. Compensatory picks, extra draft picks awarded by the NFL, are given to teams who lose more qualifying free agents than gain. But the Cowboys, who routinely score compensatory picks each year, are not going to be in that mode this season, even though other teams hitting that phase will impact their negotiations.
The Cowboys officially landed two fifth round compensatory picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, per a NFL announcement. — Joseph Hoyt (@JoeJHoyt) March 9, 2026 By waiting until the Monday after the draft, teams can add free agents without suffering compensatory consequences. Since most high-end free agents get gobbled up early, the Cowboys are usually taking a hit in quality by waiting.
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