Notable headlines surrounding America’s team.
Ranking the Top 5 Cowboys Free Agent Additions – Mark Heaney, Inside The Star
Looking at the newest crop of Cowboys players.
2. Jack Sanborn, Linebacker
Speaking of Eberflus, the Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator, his former linebacker from Chicago comes in at the second spot on this list.
Sanborn is a very underrated signing by Dallas, and I trust him more than Murray going into the 2025 season. His overall production and name recognition may not stack up with his newly acquired teammate, but Sanborn’s film is superior.
Few players show up with more determination when he is on the field. Sanborn has 164 career tackles in just 19 career starts because of that.
His connection with Eberflus, who took a chance on him as an undrafted free agent from Wisconsin, is significant as well.
The Cowboys free agent class is much stronger with Jack Sanborn in it. His one-year deal didn’t make the headlines, but I’m willing to bet that when the 2025 season is over, he’ll be one of the top new contributing additions in Dallas.
Cowboys lose Dak Prescott insurance policy in NFL free agency – Randy Gurzi, Sports Illustrated
Thank you for your time here, Mr. Rush.
Rush is once again heading out of Dallas with Ian Rapoport reporting that he signed a deal with the Baltimore Ravens. The veteran will backup Lamar Jackson and can earn up to $12.2 million with his new team.
Rush became a fan favorite during his first start, when he led the Cowboys to a last-second win over the Minnesota Vikings. In that Week 8 showdown, he had 325 yards and two touchdowns, while hitting Amari Cooper for a game-winner.
He then started five games in 2022, leading Dallas to a record of 4-1. That kept their playoff hopes alive while Prescott recovered from a hand injury.
This past season, he led them to a 4-4 record in place of an injured Prescott, finishing his time in Dallas with a mark of 9-5. Rush was the quintessential game-manager, completing 60.7 percent of his attempts for 3,463 yards with 20 touchdowns and 10 picks.
Cowboys sneakily may have just signed their Jourdan Lewis replacement – Jerry Trotta, Cowboys Wire
Was the replacement on the roster all along?
The Cowboys have announced they signed defensive back Isarael Mukuamu to a one-year deal, confirming he’ll play a fifth season for the organization.
Mukuamu was drafted in the sixth-round by Dallas in 2021. He is someone that fans have been screaming from the heavens to get more playing time.
Even though Mukuamu was drafted as a cornerback out of South Carolina, he is listed as a safety on the depth chart largely for depth purposes. For whatever reason, Mukuamu has struggled seeing the field at both positions, even though Dallas’ safety play hasn’t been the best.
After falling out of favor with Dan Quinn, Mukuamu finally got some run at cornerback under MIke Zimmer last season. While injuries had a lot to do with that, Zimmer wisely used him in the nickel more than out wide. He played 92 snaps in the slot compared to 41 on the perimeter, per PFF.
Nobody is saying that Mukuamu is ready to replace Lewis or if he can duplicate Lewis’ production or impact.
Lewis has been the heartbeat of the Cowboys’ secondary for several years. He’s underrated in coverage and is happy to get stuck in defending the run. He’s a trash-talker and plays with a bulldog mentality that inspires teammates to play with an edge.
Cowboys announce $5M in performance-based bonuses; this unlikely player got biggest bump – Todd Brock, Cowboys Wire
Some Cowboys players got extra cash.
OC Cooper Beebe: $705,000
Beebe was a rock in his first year as a pro and his first year playing center. The third-round draft pick played just over 90% of the Cowboys’ offensive snaps last season and was in on nearly 12% of the special teams plays. Beebe’s bonus almost doubled his base salary for the season.
WR Jalen Tolbert: $593,000
Tolbert actually led all Cowboys wide receivers in snaps in 2024, with the third-year man lining up on over 76% of offensive plays on the year. He appeared in every game (but logged stats in just nine of those contests) to ensure a nice end-of-year boost to his $1.17 million base salary.
DE Chauncey Golston: $580,000
Golston agreed to terms with the New York Giants for the 2025 season, but he played enough (over 71%) of the Cowboys’ defensive snaps- plus more than a third of the special teams snaps- in 2024 to rack up a $580K bonus before leaving. His base salary for last year was $1.33 million.
Cowboys would be wise to follow subtle advice from Zack Martin about young linemen, balance in offense – Sean Martin, Blogging The Boys
It would be wise to listen to the future Hall of Famer.
There is another element to how the Cowboys can create an ideal situation through the rebuild of their offensive line, and it is already something they’ve talked about numerous times as a major point of emphasis this offseason. Zack Martin even dropped some insight into the topic when answering questions at his press conference. If you haven’t guessed by now, we’re once again talking about the running game for the Cowboys.
When asked about when he knew he had adjusted to play in the NFL after seemingly making it look “too easy” as a rookie in 2014, Martin had this to say:
“I came into a perfect situation for a young offensive linemen. The running game was a big part of what we did. It really allowed me to develop. A lot of young linemen get thrown into the fire throwing the ball 50 times a game. We were running it 30-40 times a game, it allowed me to develop some of those things I wasn’t great at when I first got here.”
Just using the eight games starting quarterback Dak Prescott played in last season, the Cowboys threw the ball 323 times and ran it just 173 times. In the three games they won in this stretch, the Cowboys beat the Browns with a +7 differential in passing 32 to 25, the Giants with a +4 advantage with the pass 27 to 23, and the Steelers with +11 more passes compared to runs at 42-31.
