3 Cowboys who won’t be back next year and best options to replace them

The Dallas Cowboys suffered another tough playoff loss and now they have to deal with these free agents leaving in 2023 and how to replace them.

Playoff disappointment and the Dallas Cowboys. It’s a match that has unfortunately been written in the stars, no pun intended, since the franchise’s last Super Bowl victory after the 1995 season. They haven’t made it to the NFC Championship Game since then and are a mere 5-12 in the playoffs thereafter as well. And the 12th loss came in disappointing fashion on Sunday night against the 49ers.

Dak Prescott looked bad, the offensive line was troublesome, Tony Pollard got hurt, the receiving corps outside of CeeDee Lamb was dreadful, and it was really the defense that showed up to hold up its end of the bargain with little help from the rest of the roster.

Now comes a tough offseason in which the Cowboys have a lot of areas to improve. But with some big names set to hit free agency or be cut, there are several players who won’t be back in Dallas for the 2023 season. In that light, replacing those players will be ever critical to this team getting over whatever massive barrier stands in their way when it comes to the postseason.

Cowboys rumors: 3 players who won’t be back in 2023 and best replacements to consider

Brett Maher and the PAT yips will get him the boot from the Cowboys roster

If we were talking about players who would be gone for the 2023 season prior to the start of the playoffs, then there’s not a shot in the world that Brett Maher would be on this list. He came back to Dallas and seemingly solved the team’s kicking issues in the regular season as he was exceptionally reliable.

That’s the thing about the yips, though. When they hit, it’s often at the worst times. Maher went 1-for-6 on extra-point attempts in the playoffs including missing his first four tries in the Wild Card Round against the Buccaneers. And even if his one attempt against the 49ers was blocked, the video showed that it was going to miss badly anyway.

Frankly, there’s not a world where this front office can bring back Maher. When he’s right, he’s quite an effective player at the position. But there are some tastes that can’t be washed out of a team’s mouth and what Maher did in the playoffs is one of them.

Cowboys best replacements for Brett Maher

• Matt Prater (Free Agency)
• Greg Joseph (Free Agency)

In all honesty, it doesn’t matter what Dallas does at kicker. Maher made it clear that the team can’t move forward with him as the kicker for this franchise with his playoff performance. There will be a full-blown riot if the team decides to re-sign him. While there are options like Robbie Gould and Matt Gay on the market, Prater and Joseph will likely come a bit cheaper. In any case, as long as the Cowboys bring in someone that can make an extra point at this current moment, it’s an upgrade.