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, continuing today with restricted free agent T.J. Bass:
How He Got Here
The Cowboys have seemed to have a good eye for undrafted talent in rookie free agency. Sure, the Drew Pearson, Tony Romo, Cliff Harris types get the most pub from a historical standpoint, but year over year the team finds key players after the draft and T.J. Bass was one of them following the 2023 NFL Draft. Bass was a player the Cowboys had rated around the fifth round but after he went undrafted, he was a top priority for the team, based off his position flex to play guard and tackle, with a chance to also slide inside to play center. In college, Bass played in all 34 games over three years at Oregon, doing so at left tackle and guard.
As it turned out, Bass has shown the same versatility, playing both guard and center, but he's also been reliable as well. In three years, Bass has played in 48 games, becoming the second undrafted offensive linemen in team history to play that many games in his first three seasons, joining only teammate Terrence Steele (51 games).
What He Did in 2025
After starting five games total in his first two years, Bass matched that start total in 2025 with five starts, with three at right guard and two at left guard.
Bass took over for Tyler Booker at right guard early in the season, helping the Cowboys to a 1-1-1 record, but blocking for an offense that averaged 34.6 points per game in those three outings. He was mostly a special teams contributor and backup lineman until the end of the season when the team switched Tyler Smith out to left tackle. Bass started two games at left guard, including a 30-23 win over Washington on Christmas Day. His season was cut short due to an injury and he was placed on IR for the final game against the Giants.
Why He Could Stay
Believe or not, Bass is one of the more intriguing free-agent decisions for the Cowboys this offseason and one of three restricted free agents. While he doesn't have a lot of starting experience, he could be a young player that gets some attention from other teams because he wouldn't have a abnormally high price tag but has been effective in limited times. A lot of times, we think a backup offensive lineman having to start means the team could struggle to perform but in the 10 games Bass has started, the Cowboys are 5-4-1 and averaging 27.8 points per game.
Aside from signing him to a contract, which is something the Cowboys have done in the past to avoid restricted free agents playing on a tender, there are three options. There is the first-round tender of about $7.9 million, but the one that probably makes the most sense is giving Bass the second-round tender of about $5.66 million for 2026. Teams would still have a chance to sign him to an offer sheet but the Cowboys would get the chance to match the deal, or let him walk and receive a second-round pick. There is a right-of-first-refusal tender of about $3.4 million but if a team signed Bass, the Cowboys would get no compensation for him. Conisdering that no team has ever lost a player on a second-round tender, it seems logical to keep Bass at that spot and have him for a backup spot at three positions across the line.
Why He Could Leave
What makes this restricted free agency so tricky is that Bass is in the same situation as Brock Hoffman, who also plays guard and has more experience at center. If the Cowboys were to decide to only keep one of the two players at that price range, they could lean towards Hoffman and his center experience.
Another factor where Bass could leave is just simply another team deciding to pay for a relatively young player who doesn't have a lot of tread on the tires. He's played 48 games but with just 10 starts. If he's signed to an offer sheet, the Cowboys would not likely match the deal, seeing that they have Tyler Smith and Tyler Booker at guard. The one caveat to all of this is if the Cowboys decide Tyler Smith could have a future at left tackle and in that case, Bass might make the most sense for them to keep at guard and compete for a spot.
