The Cowboys agreed to a new contract with running back Javonte Williams over the weekend and they are poised to use the franchise tag on wide receiver George Pickens, but those aren't the only pieces of business they are contending with ahead of the new league year.
Kicker Brandon Aubrey is set to be a restricted free agent if the team cannot sign him to an extension in the coming weeks. Aubrey has made over 88 percent of his field goals in three seasons with Dallas and he's 35-of-44 from beyond 50 yards, which could make him a target for other teams even though restricted free agents have usually wound up staying put in recent years.
On Monday, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said that the team has been in discussions about a new deal with the kicker for months without finding the common ground needed to get something done.
"We just finished up Javonte," Jones said, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. "We’ve been in talks with Aubrey since before the season started. That’s been a journey. We haven’t been able to get to a point where we can all agree so it hasn’t gotten done, but we’d love to get him done."
If the Cowboys can't extend Aubrey, they will likely tender him a contract as a restricted free agent. They could use the first- or second-round tender in order to guarantee themselves compensation if they choose not to match an outside offer for Aubrey's services while the lowest tender would not give them anything back should Aubrey wind up leaving for another team.