KaVontae Turpin enters the 2025 offseason a restricted free agent. Coming off his most successful season as an NFL pro, Turpin stands to cash in the very near future. The Dallas Cowboys are expected to bring Turpin back this coming season, but under what terms? The landscape is clouded a bit by that modifying term, restricted.

A restricted free agent is a player without a contract but with only three years of accrued service. Their team still has a certain level of control they can exert in the form of a tender. There are three types of these one-year contract offers;  first-round, second-round and right-of-first refusal tenders. If another team tried to sign the tendered player away from the Cowboys, the other team would be required to send back appropriate draft pick compensation.

The first two tenders are aptly named, requiring first and second round compensation. The third tender gives the Cowboys the right to match any offer, and if it’s not, it would give Dallas Turpin’s original draft value. Since he entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent, there would be no compensation.

Teams generally go the tender route if they feel noncommittal on the player or if they want to bide time while they negotiate a long-term deal.  Biding time is what the Cowboys did with Terence Steele back in 2023 and it’s what they should do again in 2025 with Turpin.

Assuming the former USFL MVP isn’t delusional in his contract demands, there’s no reason a long-term deal can’t be agreed upon. Turpin is a Pro Bowl kick and punt returner who can shift the balance of a game in an instant. He’s also an offensive chess piece who can be used a variety of ways and is a threat to take it to the house every time he touches the ball.

The gravity Turpin pulls when he’s on the field is impossible to ignore. Even as a decoy or secondary option, Turpin makes an impact on offense. His 5-foot-9, 153-pound frame is cause for durability concerns, but it’s important to point out he’s only missed one game in three years. Last season Turpin posted career highs in returns, runs, and reception, and held up for all 17 games. If there’s a workload limit his slender frame can’t handle, the Cowboys have yet to find it.

As a downfield receiver Turpin has provided mixed results. He’s not a physical player who’s going to battle for the ball, but he is someone who can create in space working routes underneath. Ideally slotted as WR4 or WR5, Turpin is a special package player who’s deployed in specific ways that play to his strengths.

As a rushing option Turpin has a career 60 percent success rate, making him one of the most effective rushing options in the NFL. Again, his workload needs to be managed given his slender build but one or two runs a game with one or two fake handoffs a game could be both effective and sustainable.

With Brian Schottenheimer’s expected use of motion at the snap, Turpin can be used to spread defenses and widen rushing lanes, in much the same way Kyle Shannahan has used Deebo Samuel over the years.

Turpin provides a special skillset to the Cowboys that’s not easily replaced. He impacts special teams and both phases of the game on offense. He’s proven his playmaking ability as well as his durability. At age 28 he’s older than most restricted free agents but still well within his prime. The Cowboys would be wise to lock him up for the long-term.

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