Chauncey Golston needs his best season yet with an expiring contract
Chauncey Golston is one of many Dallas Cowboys whose future beyond 2024 is still undecided. The fourth-year defensive end is on the final year of his rookie contract, and his performance so far in Dallas makes this season critical to his possibly staying in town.
Golston is an anomaly compared to the rest of the early picks 2021 draft class. On one side you have guys like Micah Parsons and Osa Odighizuwa, who have exceeded expectations and we’d expect to be sticking around for years to come. Then there are the likes of Kelvin Joseph and Nahshon Wright; one already discarded and the other probably joining him by the end of training camp.
Golston is the one guy from those Day 1-2 picks who is in the middle. He hasn’t stood out like Odighizuwa, who was also taken in the third round, but he hasn’t been a total bust like the cornerbacks. He’s filled a spot in the Cowboys’ defensive line rotation for three years, playing on about one-third of the total defensive snaps in 2023 and registering three starts. But playing mostly on run support when he does play, Golston hasn’t been able to generate the numbers or memorable moments to build career momentum.
That leaves him with a career-critical mission in 2024. He has to break out relative to where he currently stands if the Cowboys or any other team are going to give him more than a minimal contract. Golston turns 27 after this season and that’s not the best age at which to be entering free agency. Dallas might not even re-sign him at all if they can find younger, cheaper ways to fill the depth chart.
A good comparison for where Golston stands in this contract year is a guy we just said goodbye to, Dorance Armstrong. After three seasons with little impact in the pass-rushing mix, Armstrong posted five sacks in 2020 and earned a two-year, $12 million extension from Dallas that kept him around through last season. Armstrong just departed for Washington this past March in free agency at nearly double that salary and is someone Dan Quinn trusts as part of his rotation at the new job.
Unfortunately for Golston, he may not get the same opportunities to shine this year that Armstrong did in 2020. He’s still in the less sexy role as a run stopper over pass rusher, with Sam Williams and rookie Marshawn Kneeland more likely to absorb Armstrong’s snaps. Golston will be asked to find his spot in Mike Zimmer’s new scheme.
Still, coaches see those things that don’t show up in the box score. And with Lawrence probably playing his last season in Dallas, Golston could do enough to make the team want him back for next year’s run defense. It might be a minimal, one-year deal at best if he still needs to prove things, but Lawrence’s departure could open up that opportunity.
As it stands, though, the minimum is about all Chauncey Golston can expect without an uptick in his notoriety. He’s been better than some who came out of that 2021 draft class, but it’s still not enough to think he’ll be a priority to re-sign. But if he has a contract year like Armstrong did a few years ago, it could be enough to get him a new deal and a solid raise from the Cowboys.