Jalen Thompson
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Arizona Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson.
While it might not represent a big splash in terms of NFL contracts, whe the Dallas Cowboys signed Arizona Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson to a 3-year, $33 million free-agent deal on March 9, it represented something of a sea change for the franchise.
That’s because the Cowboys just don’t spend money like that in free agency.
Before the 2026 free agency cycle started, Bleacher Report’s Adam Wells pointed out a pretty incredible statistic about the Cowboys and how they spend money in the offseason.
“One primary issue with looking at free agency is (Cowboys owner) Jerry Jones has been reluctant to really dive into that pool,” Wells wrote in January. “He hasn’t signed an external free agent to a contract worth more than $6 million since Gerald McCoy’s three-year, $18 million deal in March 2020. If the Cowboys are going to significantly address their defense, it will likely come through either the draft or a potential trade.”
Not so fast, my friends. The Cowboys flipped the script with Thompson and are earning some high praise in return, with Pro Football Focus singling out the deal as one of their favorite NFL free-agent signings.
“Thompson was among the most consistent and most underrated safeties in the NFL while playing alongside Budda Baker in Arizona,” PFF’s Zolton Buday wrote. “The Washington State product has earned a PFF overall grade between 68.0 and 72.0 in five of his past six seasons. His 69.2 PFF coverage grade this past season ranked 26th among 93 safeties. Plus, he will be only 28 years old when the 2026 campaign kicks off.”