The Dallas Cowboys are less than a month away from departing for Oxnard, Calif., for training camp, as the Brian Schottenheimer era approaches its official beginning on July 21.
In the Cowboys Depth Chart series, we will take a look at each position group to determine which players are safe, on the bubble or have work to do in terms of making the 53-man roster coming out of training camp in late August.
At the safety position, the Cowboys have benefited from consistency at both spots since the turn of the decade. But with young talent on the rise and expiring contracts on the horizon, a big change could be coming to the room.
Here is a look at the safeties going into training camp.
SAFE (3)
Malik Hooker, Juanyeh Thomas, Markquese Bell
The arrival of defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus reunites Malik Hooker with the coach that solidified his starting status in the NFL during their time with the Indianapolis Colts from 2018 to 2020. With two years left on his deal, Hooker can go ahead and be Sharpied in as the projected starter at free safety.
As for the other safety spot, that’s where things start to get interesting. Juanyeh Thomas and Markquese Bell have each earned and kept roster spots because of their special teams prowess, and it could lead to a starting opportunity with a strong performance at training camp. Thomas enters a contract year with added motivation, and Bell is fresh off signing a three-year deal in free agency to return to Dallas.
ON THE BUBBLE (2)
Donovan Wilson, Alijah Clark
Despite being one of the longest tenured players on the team and a mainstay in the defensive backfield over the last six seasons, Donovan Wilson has young players gunning for his spot in 2025. Entering a contract year, the Cowboys could decide to cut ties with Wilson and save $7 million in cap space going into the season. After an offseason cleanup surgery in his knee kept him out for most of OTAs and minicamp, Wilson will need to hit the ground running in training camp to thwart off competition quickly closing in behind him.
Typically when evaluating which undrafted rookies have the best shot at making a roster, it’s a good practice to chase the money. In each of the last three seasons, the undrafted rookie with the most guaranteed money at signing ended up making the 53-man roster in year one (Markquese Bell, Hunter Luepke, Brevyn Spann-Ford). In 2025, that streak is in the hands of Alijah Clark. After earning a reputation as a tackling machine at Syracuse, Clark signed with the Cowboys and quickly saw some brief work with the first-team unit during minicamp while Wilson was sidelined.
WORK TO DO (2)
Mike Smith, Zion Childress
No position group saw more bodies get added in undrafted free agency than the safety room, as three rookies enter training camp with a good shot at being at least retained to the practice squad.
Zion Childress played in multiple roles in the secondary while at Kentucky and could factor into the cornerback position group at various points as well. Just down the road at Eastern Kentucky, Mike Smith brings a sure-handed tackling prowess from the FCS ranks into the NFL with a hope of cracking the roster in year one.