This week on Cowboys Overtime, Mac Engel and Nick Harris discuss Jerry Jones hinting at free-agent moves, the Cowboys tagging wide receiver George Pickens, Dallas committing to Javonte Williams and the team’s NFL Draft outlook. By Steve Wilson
The first week of free agency is almost in the books for the Dallas Cowboys. Whether they ended up “busting the budget” or not will most likely be up to interpretation from owner Jerry Jones, but they did add key defensive pieces in a free agency period where they needed a lot of them.
As of Friday morning, the Cowboys added eight players to their roster — six on defense, two on offense — while trading away two defensive tackles in Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas for 2026 draft capital and cap space. They have also retained five players to the roster throughout the offseason.
Here is every move that Dallas has made, as of Friday morning:
Re-signed RB Javonte Williams (before free agency opened)
Traded for OLB Rashan Gary
Re-signed CB Josh Butler
Re-signed CB Reddy Steward
Signed S Jalen Thompson
Signed S P.J. Locke
Re-signed OLB Sam Williams
Signed DT Otito Ogbonnia
Traded DT Osa Odighizuwa for a 2026 third-round pick (No. 92 overall)
Traded DT Solomon Thomas for a 2026 seventh-round pick swap (moved from No. 225 to No. 218 overall)
Signed QB Sam Howell
Released QB Will Grier
Signed OLB Tyrus Wheat
Signed IOL Matt Hennessy
Signed CB Cobie Durant
Re-signed TE Princeton Fant
Striking out at linebacker
It’s been a tough week for the Cowboys at the linebacker position, simply put.
After being in on the Nakobe Dean sweepstakes up until the very end with the highest monetary offer on the table, the former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker chose to sign with the Las Vegas Raiders.
The team also took a hard look at Quay Walker, but he also chose to sign with the Raiders despite known Cowboys interest. Devin Lloyd was an option, but the price point for the player ended up exceeding what Dallas was comfortable with.
The trade market has also been explored by the Cowboys, as they spent days looking over Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen. After a down year in 2025, Pittsburgh and Queen are expected to part ways this offseason, and a trade seems imminent for the former first-round pick. Dallas had some intrigue in the building, but the team officially pulled out of its preliminary interest Thursday afternoon.
With names such as Bobby Okereke, Bobby Wagner and Lavonte David still on the board, the Cowboys seem to be shifting their focus to address the giant need that grows more concerning with each player who gets signed elsewhere. A certain type of credit can be given to defensive coordinator Christian Parker and linebackers coach Scott Symons for not settling for a player they don’t think can play the role just because he’s the best name left, but the choosiness has left them in a position where a lot of creativity is required to find an impact player.
Whether that be the trade market or trading up for Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles in the draft, there will need to be a big move made to lock up that gaping hole. If it’s not, it will only create a domino effect of issues around Parker’s first defensive unit.
Making sense of the Osa Odighizuwa trade
Speaking of Parker, when he signed on to become the new defensive coordinator Jan. 22, he bought a house in need of a big remodel. (It’s a metaphor, stick with me here.)
That house had a collapsed roof in the living room, asbestos built up, foundation problems, the whole nine yards. What it did have, though, was a beautiful marble countertop in the kitchen, one of those that you see at the end of an HGTV reclamation project.
But, the house was in such bad shape, that beautiful countertop had to go, too. It’s tough, because it was clear the previous owners had just purchased it and had plans for it, but there was mold underneath it that had to get addressed.
When the Cowboys re-signed defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa to a four-year, $80 million contract last offseason and made him a team captain in 2025, all indications were that he was going to be a part of the team’s long-term future, even if the house was in disarray around him.
However, in the following 12 months, the Cowboys would go on to trade for fellow defensive tackles Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark. They would move to a 3-4 scheme under Parker. The need for Odighizuwa’s services no longer superseded what the team needed around him.
You can go down the list of needs that still exist: linebacker, cornerback, another linebacker, defensive end, another linebacker. The Cowboys have been working right up against the salary cap all week, and this move gave them the little bit of freedom that allows them to put the pieces around the defense.
Every coach, person, lunch-server, janitor and worker in the Cowboys’ headquarters in Frisco would tell you that parting with Odighizuwa was not easy. He was a big locker room presence that lit up the room off the field and was a pass rush force on the field. But when there is a surplus at his position, a team is willing to give up a third-round pick and there’s an opportunity to create cap space, it makes sense to take a sledgehammer to that beautiful countertop — even if everyone lets a tear fall as they put it to the curb.
Maybe, just maybe, someone will pick it up to make it their final piece to their perfect home — for the countertop’s sake and everyone involved.
Secondary gets much-needed face-lift
After giving up the most passing yards of any team in the NFL in 2025, it was no secret that the Cowboys needed to overhaul the secondary. One week into free agency, they have put themselves in a position to drastically improve that group, even if there is more work to do.
Adding Jalen Thompson gives much-needed versatility to the back end, as he can play strong safety, in the box or at the nickel corner spot on any given down. What his role ends up looking like in Dallas could even vary from down to down, as he will be seen as the chess piece that can allow other defensive backs to hone in on their respective spots.
When Thompson moves more into a traditional nickel role, having P.J. Locke to play in the back end alongside Malik Hooker keeps the reliability over the top. Even if his career has mostly seen rotational work and special teams snaps, Locke’s high floor provides Dallas with a consistent presence from a backup player.
The cornerback room is reeling this offseason, as DaRon Bland recovers from offseason foot surgery and Shavon Revel Jr. attempts to get back to 100-percent from a torn ACL he suffered in college. In any addition that the Cowboys made to the room, reliability had to be first and foremost — and they found just that in Cobie Durant.
Reliable, consistent and productive, Durant can step in as a day one starter on the outside in the worst-case scenario. In the best-case scenario, he elevates Revel to a position where the second-year player provides even more reliability and consistency on the outside.
All in all, the three additions give Dallas breathing room in the secondary. They now have versatility and reliability. There is still work to be done, but the moves give the Cowboys the freedom to not be forced into taking a cornerback with one of their two first-round picks in April.
One stat that encapsulates the 2025 Cowboys
After the first day of free agency, the Dallas Cowboys were the only team in the NFL that had not seen one of their internal free agents sign elsewhere. Four days later, that still stands.
A report had surfaced on Tuesday that offensive lineman Brock Hoffman was signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers. And while he has communicated with head coach Mike McCarthy’s new squad, that report was premature and he still remains a free agent.
If that doesn’t fully encapsulate the talent gap that the Cowboys were dealing with in 2025, I don’t know what will.