Cowboys $64 million cut candidate could draw interest from Raiders, Bears and Bengals originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Three teams that should be in the market for interior defensive line help this offseason are the Las Vegas Raiders, Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals.
The Bengals need more help for B.J. Hill, and preferably someone who can add something to the pass-rush while also not being a total liability in run defense.
Even if the Raiders bring Thomas Booker back, Las Vegas needs more firepower on the inside with Adam Butler and Jonah Laulu the most notable players under contract.
Adding to the interior of the defensive line is one of the Bears' biggest priorities this offseason. Neither Grady Jarrett nor Gervon Dexter have been that great, and the Bears have two pending free agents in Andrew Billings and Chris Williams.
One player those three teams should have an eye on is Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Kenny Clark, who was labeled as a cut candidate by NBC Sports' Kyle Dvorchak.
"Part of the Micah Parsons trade, Clark has the 15th-highest cap hit for a defensive tackle in 2026," he wrote. "Pro Football Focus graded him as their No. 37 defensive lineman in his first year in Dallas. That discrepancy alone usually wouldn't warrant his release, but the Packers took on all of his guaranteed money when they traded Clark. That means it costs Dallas nothing to move on from him. Clark is still a good player, but his $21.5 million cap hit can be better spent elsewhere."
After coming over from the Green Bay Packers in the Parsons trade, Clark was OK but not great, tallying three sacks and 44 pressures over 17 contests.
Clark ranked 21st in pass-rush grade (72.4) and 72nd in run defense grade (53.7) at his position, per Pro Football Focus.
While Clark is no doubt a talented player and the Cowboys need all the talent they can get on defense, his massive cap hit might make Dallas think twice about keeping the veteran.
If Clark does hit the open market, we'd suspect the Bears, Bengals and Raiders will have interest.
After all, Clark is a plus pass-rusher, and while his 2025 run defense grade doesn't say much, he has been better in that area in the past and is at least serviceable.
Availability is another attractive feature with Clark. He hasn't missed a game in four seasons and has only missed more than two games twice in 10 seasons.
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