The latest and greatest Dallas Cowboys offseason news.
NFL Combine: 3 takeaways involving the Dallas Cowboys – Shane Taylor, Inside The Star
The combine came and went without the Jerry visit on the bus in Indy.
Not Like Jerry
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones loves to talk about his team, because the more he talks about the Cowboys, the more the media talks about the Cowboys.
Most General Managers speak to reporters from one of the various podiums in Indy. Jones typically holds court on his touring bus. This year, he did neither.
He noted that he would talk when he got back to Dallas, but regardless of why, this is not like Jerry Jones at all.
This dude can’t wait to have the microphone in front of him and talk about whatever, even if it means nothing important about the football team.
It seems like this offseason is going to be an interesting one for the Dallas Cowboys, and my first takeaway from the combine that might not mean much to some, but Jerry Jones not saying anything at all is not like him.
Maybe the pressure is finally starting to get to him, and instead of talking, he is actually trying to get some important work done to make the team better?
2025 All-Combine Team, Offense: Quinshon Judkins, Luther Burden III among standouts in Indianapolis – Nick Shook, NFL.com
Even more running back options stood out at the combine for the Cowboys.
RUNNING BACKS
Virginia Tech · RB
Best team fits: Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings
I typically select two running backs for this team, but I must mention Tuten beyond honorable status because of how well he tested. The former Hokies runner posted the fastest 40 of any running back at 4.32 seconds, had a 40.5-inch vertical and logged a 10-foot-10 broad that gave us statistical proof of his explosiveness. His drills weren’t perfect, but he’s incredibly light on his feet, dancing around bags swiftly and darting through them in a subsequent drill like he was sifting through hallway traffic on his way to his next class. He’s not a supremely polished player, but the physical potential is absolutely there and should intrigue some personnel executives in April.
HONORABLE MENTION: Donovan Edwards, Michigan; RJ Harvey, UCF; Dylan Sampson, Tennessee; Jaydon Blue, Texas.
Cowboys seem to have learned valuable offseason, free agent lessons – Ben Grimaldi, The Cowboys Wire
This is a small but encouraging step in the right direction.
Last year the braintrust for the Cowboys waited forever to start working on new deals for their priority free agents. Quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb were the two extensions the team needed to get done quickly in order to participate in free agency, but there wasn’t a sense of urgency to get either completed. Lamb’s deal wasn’t done until training camp, which caused the All-Pro WR sit out all team activities in the offseason, and Prescott didn’t get his extension until the just before Week 1 of the regular season.
By waiting so long to work on, and agree to deals, the team wasn’t able to use free agency to upgrade the roster since the Cowboys were up against the salary cap. The Joneses slept through free agency while watching the majority of the league find players to improve for the upcoming campaign.
That isn’t happening again. This offseason, things are trending in a much different direction as the organization is actively working on deals before the start of free agency. Stephen Jones said the team would look at what went wrong last offseason, and he’s going about fixing it in 2025.
The two biggest deals the Cowboys need to get done this offseason are with key members of the defensive line, and there are active talks to retain both players. Dallas has already been talking with free agent defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa about getting a long-term deal done before free agency opens. If that doesn’t happen, the Cowboys are expected to use the franchise tag on their blossoming DT, something that must be announced before March 4th at 4:00 PM EST.
Utilizing the tag shows how badly the Cowboys want to keep Odighizuwa and how aggressively they’re trying to get a deal done before using issuing the tactic demonstrates how the team has learned about getting things done quickly. If they two sides can agree before applying the tag, they could focus on using their cap space in free agency to get better. If they can’t, that $25.1 million earmarked for Odighizuwa could hold up some of their free agency plans.
The Cowboys have also begun preliminary talks with edge rusher Micah Parsons on an extension. Parsons falls more in line with the mega deals the team had to get done last offseason, and the type of contract the team has trouble completing in a timely fashion. It feels like the discussions between the two sides are in the early stages, but it’s still lightyears ahead of where the Cowboys were with their two All-Pro players last spring.
Report: Cowboys to tender KaVontae Turpin at second-round level – Josh Alper, Pro Football Talk
The Cowboys’ new coaching staff on offense seems to want KaVontae Turpin to remain a part of it.
Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Cowboys will tender Turpin as a restricted free agent. They are expected to use a second-round tender in their move to hold onto him.
That would come with a salary of $5.346 million for the 2025 season and it would require a team to fork over a second-round pick if they successfully sign Turpin away.
Turpin was a first-team All-Pro as a returner in 2024 after returning one punt and one kickoff for touchdowns during the regular season. He’s also made a pair of Pro Bowls as a returner in his first three seasons and he’s caught 44 passes for 556 yards and five touchdowns.
Jimmy Johnson retiring from TV career – Jess Haynie, Blogging The Boys
Football Sundays on FOX won’t be quite the same anymore without Hall of Fame and Cowboys Ring of Honor member Jimmy Johnson.
Johnson has been a mainstay on FOX since 2002, having also worked for them briefly between his departure as coach of the Dallas Cowboys and joining the Miami Dolphins. He was part of the original lineup along with James Brown, Terry Bradshaw, and Howie Long that became the gold standard for NFL studio shows. Brown left FOX in 2005 to join CBS, but the analysts have all remained until today’s news.
Back in 1994, Johnson was one of the hottest names in sports following two straight Super Bowl championships with Dallas. Battle-tested in front of microphones from his time as the ringmaster of Jerry Jones’ circus, Johnson was a natural in TV and became a beloved NFL figure over his long, heralded career on FOX. Cowboys fans have regularly heard his thoughts on the team as FOX often carries Dallas games, many of them their “Game of the Week.”
