Dallas Cowboys 2023 Games

5 starters who could be playing their final regular-season game with Cowboys

Time could be running out for these pending Cowboys free agents.

By Brian_Martin@BrianMartinNFL Jan 5, 2023, 9:30am CST

The Week 18 matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders is the end of the line for one team and only the beginning for the other. While the Cowboys will continue their journey into the postseason, the Commanders will officially enter offseason mode to prepare for the 2023 season.

Even though this Week 18 matchup isn’t the last time we will see the Dallas Cowboys take the field, it is the last time we will see this team together in the regular season. The playoffs, a winner-take-all event, means Dallas is one loss away from entering offseason mode themselves. Hopefully that’s not the case, however, one never knows.

With the season soon to come to an end one way or another, it might be a good idea to start to prepare ourselves for free agency and what could be a mass exodus of several well-liked players. As things stand right now, the Cowboys have a total of 23 pending free agents according to spotrac.com.

Today, we’re going to take a closer look at five of those pending free agents who are not only starters, but could possibly be playing their last regular-season game with the Dallas Cowboys in Week 18. There are others of course, however, they will either miss this week’s matchup due to injury or don’t carry the same kind of value as starters do.

TE Dalton Schultz

Playing on a one-year franchise tag, Dalton Schultz has had somewhat of a down 2022 season compared to the monster one he had in 2021. Despite that, he will be one of the top tight ends available in free agency this offseason and one who should be highly sought after. It’s iffy that Dallas re-signs him to a long-term deal, and very unlikely they will use the franchise tag on him, so Week 18 could be the last regular-season game he plays with the Cowboys.

K Brett Maher

“Money Maher” has arguably been the Dallas Cowboys best free agent signing this season. They couldn’t have asked for a better placekicker and may have a tough time replacing his big leg and accuracy from 50+ yards if they let him walk in free agency. Because of that, he could be one of Dallas’ top priorities to re-sign this offseason, much like Bryan Anger was for them last year. After all, he does lead the NFL in points this season.

OL Connor McGovern

With Tyler Biadasz sidelined with a high ankle sprain in the regular-season finale, Connor McGovern is expected to make his first career start at center this week for the Cowboys. It will be interesting to see how he performs in his new role, because it could have a impact on his free agent market value. If it isn’t too costly, he could be someone Dallas tries to re-sign for insurance in case they can’t find an upgrade via either free agency or the draft.

RB Tony Pollard

All eyes will be on Tony Pollard in this Week 18 matchup against the Washington Commanders. Not only is he the Cowboys most explosive player, but he is also currently just 12 yards shy of hitting the 1,000 rushing yard mark for the first time in his career. What to do with No. 20 will be one of Dallas’ toughest decisions this offseason. They’d absolutely love to re-sign him, however, Ezekiel Elliott’s inflated contract makes that difficult.

S Donovan Wilson

Donovan Wilson is arguably having his best season to date since being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth-round in 2019. Other than Trevon Diggs (97.41%), Wilson has played the most defensive snaps (83.63%) of any Cowboys defender this season. Whether it’s been as a run defender in the box or in the passing game in coverage, he’s been one of Dallas’ best defensive players this year. Because of that, the Cowboys would probably love to re-sign him this offseason if he hasn’t played himself out of their price range.