Brock Hoffman #67 of the Dallas Cowboys
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Brock Hoffman #67 of the Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys made some surprise decisions on Saturday in determining how they’re going to shape their roster going forward. They’re coming up on the deadline next week to place one-year tender contracts on their upcoming potential free agents, and handed down those decisions, with lineman TJ Bass and kicker Brandon Aubrey each getting $5.8 million second-round tenders. But it was the decision on Bass’ fellow backup lineman, Brock Hoffman, that drew significant surprise.
Hoffman has been a stalwart for the team for the last three seasons, playing 17 games each year and filling in along the line as a starter as needed. He’s not a star, and never has been, but he has been reliable and versatile. He filled in as a starter at center (his primary position) for six games in 2025, and one game as a left guard. Hoffman also started five games at right guard in 2024.
Again, Hoffman is versatile, has been a solid insurance plan and he could have stuck around for low money. The non-tender decision is a strange one–and he did not like it much.
Brock Hoffman Has Fiery Response to Contract news
When Cowboys team reporter Patrik Walker posted that Hoffman was being non-tendered, Hoffman posted not-so-subtle Bible verse expressing his displeasure.
Wrote Walker: “Not tendered by#Cowboys: Brock Hoffman, Juanyeh Thomas both will hit unrestricted free agency next week — for the first time in their your careers— absent a deal before then.
And Hoffman reposted, with this message: “Psalm 41:9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.”
So while it is possible, as Walker referenced, for the Cowboys and Hoffman to re-up on a new deal next week, it certainly does not seem that Hoffman is of a mind to make that happen.
Cowboys Moves on Brandon Aubrey, TJ Bass Sensible
The decision on Aubrey, though, is the headliner, because he remains one of the best weapons in special team that the NFL has. There have been multiple reports that the Cowboys could be in danger of seeing the price on Aubrey driven up too high if they do not move quickly to re-sign him.
It was a forgone conclusion that the Cowboys would put a second-round tender on him. In most cases, that move shuts down the possibility of interest from other teams. For Bass, as an example, he is guaranteed a contract worth $5.8 million next season, but can still negotiate a better deal, with the Cowboys or elsewhere. If he agrees to a deal elsewhere, the Cowboys can either match it, or let him walk and collect a second-round pick.
No one is going to give Bass a significant raise and give the Cowboys a second-rounder in the bargain. But teams might do that for Aubrey.
Cowboys Facing Some Unknowns
Here’s what ESPN’s Adam Schefter had to say about the Cowboys and the Aubrey deal last week on his podcast:
“Brandon Aubrey is going to get tendered, and if the Dallas Cowboys offer him a second-round tender, I don’t know what the price of that is exactly, but if you’re a team that’s out there, wouldn’t it make sense to go pay Brandon Aubrey?
“What would you be willing to pay a guy who made a difference in every single game? Is that worth $8 million? $10 million? $12 million? What is it worth to you? Kickers are like insurance, you never know that you need one until you don’t have it, and then it is too late. To me, again, if I were in a front office, I would be spending more, more than most people would on Brandon Aubrey.”