FRISCO, Texas — On March 9, the NFL's legal tampering period will begin for pending free agents.
The Cowboys will have their fair share of free agents on the roster, which of course they can agree to terms with and sign at any time before that period.
From unrestricted free agents to restricted and exclusive rights free agents, Dallas has a lot of decisions to make over the next month when it comes to how they want to construct their roster for 2026, and even beyond.
With that, we'll examine each pending free agent on the Cowboys' current roster, starting with kicker Brandon Aubrey.
How He Got Here
What a ride it was for Aubrey. His journey is a flat-out testimony of both perseverance and having the right people by your side because, after all, it was his wife that gave him the belief he could transition from soccer to being an effective football placekicker. Aubrey took his ability to play professional soccer and parlayed it into a spot on the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL, and the rest is history.
Noticed there by John "Bones" Fassel, the Cowboys' special teams coordinator at the time, Fassel convinced the Cowboys to give Aubrey a 2023 tryout in training camp against Tristan Vizcaino, on the heels of a failed look at Lirim Hajrullahu and the disappointing end to Brett Maher's career in Dallas. Aubrey won that camp battle, went on to become a First-team All-Pro and, three seasons later, is viewed as the best kicker in the entire NFL — an absolute weapon.
What He Did in 2025
The 2025 season, Aubrey's third in the NFL, was just as exciting as his first two. The All-Pro kicker now owns the record for most 60+ yard field goals (6) and tied the record for fastest to 100 field goals made in a career (47), and he's the first kicker in the history of the league to have successfully kicked more than one 64+ yard field goal; and he also showed he can hit a returner with the boom stick.
It's also true, however, that Aubrey showed a kink in his armor in 2025. In his prior two seasons, Aubrey went a combined 24-for-27 on field goals of 50 yards or greater. Last season, however, he was 11-for-17, though context is required when assessing the decision to send him out for some of those ill-advised attempts, but he was also, for the first time in his career, perfect from 20 to 49 yards out (25-for-25) — so don't go worrying about his accuracy.
Why He Could Stay
To put it plainly, he may not have a choice in the matter. Aubrey is a restricted free agent in 2025, and that means though he can negotiate with other teams for the first time in his young NFL career, the Cowboys hold the right to refuse letting him depart for other pastures. They could place a first- or second-round tender on him to ensure that, should he get an offer they refuse to match, the Cowboys would receive expensive compensation in return.
What's clear is that they have no intentions of parting with him, having finally found the successor and rightful heir to Dan Bailey after years of searching, and failing; and Aubrey has found a home in Dallas on a team that, once the defense is repaired, could be a contender — so this is likely the pasture he wants to continue grazing in.
Why He Could Leave
The only reason Aubrey could consider leaving is money, if that is his primary driver because, let's be honest, we're talking about free agents here, and that means money is always atop the list of talking points. But, again, the Cowboys can match any offer he receives, and make another team pay up in a big way to sign him, and would that team be located somewhere Aubrey truly wants to go (e.g., outdoor stadium? climate change?).
Aubrey has made a name for himself in Dallas, the team that gave him a chance to show what he could do and that stuck with him even during a training camp workout that, admittedly, wasn't all that great prior to the release of Vizcaino — seeing the potential in him from Day 1. So, sure, Aubrey could leave, but not without the Cowboys allowing it … and they likely won't.
