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FRISCO, TX â The ride to get to this point of this year's Open Market series has been a fun one, but this is where the train reaches its final stop. It's time to discuss the defensive backs in Dallas, or rather those outside of Dallas that would serve as justifiable options to help either upgrade or bolster the depth chart at the position â as talks with Jourdan Lewis commence.
For one of the first times in a long time, there will be no need to include safeties on this list, given recent contract extensions provided to Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker, and with both Markquese Bell and Juanyeh Thomas pushing for playing time going forward.
Bell is a restricted free agent, yes, but you can bet they'll keep him around for 2025, at least that is the tone within the building when his name is mentioned ahead of free agency.
This all allows us to focus solely on the cornerbacks, and so we shall, to close out the 2025 edition of the series.
[FYI: *Be sure to check out the entire âWhatâs Next?*' series as a primer to "Open Market".]
What's Here:
Jourdan Lewis: Snubbed. That is exactly what it feels like when discussing the fact Lewis was named to neither the Pro Bowl nor the All-Pro list, not even as a second-teamer, after the season he produced in 2024. Nonetheless, he was not only one of the best players in the building, but in the NFL, consistently grading out as the best nickel corner in the entire league; and it bears mentioning it wasn't so long ago that he thought his career was over with a shattered foot that now requires a custom cleat â still playing at the highest level of his career while vocally pushing the locker room to do better on the field. Sign him yesterday to a multi-year deal, seeing how the prove-it deal last time around featured lots and lots of proof, or rather a reminder of what he's capable of. (P.S. Matt Eberflus and Lewis have a great relationship from their first stint together in Dallas, so.... get'er done.)
Israel Mukuamu: OK, I realize I said there wouldn't need to be any safeties on this list but, technically, Mukuamu is [still] listed as one by the Cowboys, so here we are. Technicalities aside, the versatile defensive back made his way to the NFL as mostly a cornerback at South Carolina before being shoehorned into the safety room for depth reasons. But with the emergence of Markquese Bell and Juanyeh Thomas behind contract-extended talent, i.e., Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker, Mukuamu has found his way onto the field as a cornerback for Dallas and been more than serviceable in doing so. A fiery, capable backup who should come at a reasonable price makes this potential keep a hell yes for me.
Amani Oruwariye, Andrew Booth: Both of these veterans joined the Cowboys in 2024, Booth via trade in training camp and Oruwariye having been signed to the practice squad not long thereafter. It was an up-and-down ride for them both, as injuries ravaged the cornerbacks room and led to a "calling all cars" situation. The veteran minimum salary would apply to retaining either, most likely, but the return of Caelen Carson along with a myriad of other options in free agency and the draft stand in their way.
What's Out There:
Note: These players will be unrestricted on March 13, barring a newly-signed deal with their incumbent team prior to that date.
Jonathan Jones: A veteran presence? Check. A two-time Super Bowl champion? Check. The ability to play both outside corner and nickel/slot? Check. A fairly reasonable asking price? Check and check. At one point in his career, coming off of a four INT season in 2022, Jones was one of the most highly-regarded cornerbacks in the NFL. He's not had that same success since, on a Patriots team that's been wildly out of sorts all around him, but the durable and still capable veteran would serve as perfect stabilizing force on the field for a Cowboys' secondary that has plenty of questions right now.
Nate Hobbs: Though not as accomplished as Jones, Hobbs comes into the conversation with years of added traction on his tires â a 25-year-old finishing up his rookie deal with the Raiders and having shown promise as a rotational player who can step in and be a starter when asked. To that point, he's started in 38 of the 51 games he's been marked active for, and also contributes to pressuring the quarterback (three career sacks and eight quarterback hits). A strong option here for Eberflus to take a look at, and one that won't attempt to break the bank, or even the check cashing store down the street from it.
Mike Hughes: This is where things begin to get a bit more costly, though not by much. Hughes is projected to cost around $5 million (via Spotrac), a couple million per year more than Jones or Hobbs, presumably, but that's also a number the Cowboys can afford. I'd argue that if you're going to dance in that cost arena though, make sure you sign Lewis, or at least sign him first before you add one of these options because it means you're willing to pay someone that figure; and it should be Lewis [first]. As for Hughes, you won't see a ton of interceptions on his resume, but one could point out the mostly lack of a supporting cast in his career. That would not be a problem in Dallas, surely.
Kristian Fulton: A former second-round pick of the Titans in 2020, Fulton would hover around the same asking price as would Jones and Hobbs, a projected $3.5 million, the five-year veteran brings a good bit to the table from the standpoint of a proven starter with 51 starts in 57 active games, and you're left to wonder if his takeaways would increase if he was thrown at more due to, say, being on the same field as an All-Pro ballhawk ⌠or two.
Michael Jackson: I am sure it would be a thriller to still have Jackson in a Cowboys' uniform but, like Ward, he was sent away before his potential was realized. And while Dallas could rightfully look at the man in the mirror years after making that call, because Jackson has been anything but bad as of late, it wouldn't accomplish anything, despite the human nature drive to want to say "I Want You Back". So let's not remember the time, but instead focus on the now, and now Jackson might command upwards of $8 million on the open market and, given the Cowboys' current situation, all things considered, that feels a bit rich for their blood, so the smooth criminal may have to beat it.
Cost-prohibitive: D.J. Reed, Paulson Adebo, Charvarius Ward, Rasul Douglas and the like - As it often goes, there will be names at the position who mop the floor with the market once the gates fly open and to the tune, this year, of upwards of $20 million or more; and several landing in the middle to high tens of millions of dollars annually. No such cornerback will be in play for the Cowboys, a team that will soon meet DaRon Bland at the negotiating table after having already paid Trevon Diggs to stick around. If only Ward would have not been traded away by Dallas, his potential might have been realized here instead of for the Chiefs but, to be fair, the butterfly effect dictates you'd have to wonder if Bland is subsequently in a Cowboys' uniform at all.
Oh, and one last thing: sign Jourdan Lewis.
