The Cowboys re-signed cornerback Corey Ballentine, according to the NFL’s transactions report.
Ballentine, who turns 30 next month, spent part of last season with the team. The Cowboys signed him to the practice squad on Sept. 25 after the Patriots waived him, and Ballentine bounced between the practice squad and the active roster.
In five games, he made two tackles, seeing action on 23 defensive snaps and 47 on special teams.
The Giants made him a sixth-round pick in 2019, and he has also played for the Jets, Lions and Packers.
In his career, Ballentine has totaled 103 tackles, an interception, nine passes defensed and two forced fumbles in 75 games. He has made 11 starts.
The 49ers met with a possible addition to their offensive line.
The NFL’s daily transaction report for Monday shows that Robert Jones came in for a visit with the team.
Jones signed with the Dolphins after going undrafted out of Middle Tennessee State in 2021. He started 13 of the 30 games he played in his first two seasons and then started every game at left guard for Miami in 2024.
The Cowboys signed Jones last year, but he missed the entire season with a neck injury.
The 49ers saw one starting guard move on in free agency when Spencer Burford signed with the Raiders, but Dominick Puni remains under contract with the NFC West team.
When it comes to paying star players, it never pays to wait.
The Cowboys learned that lesson (again) on Monday, when the market for the receiver position moved from $40 million per year to $42.15 million per year, thanks to the new contract signed by Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
That’s particularly relevant to Cowboys receiver George Pickens, whose path to free agency was blocked by the franchise tag. He’ll make $27.298 million without a long-term contract. And his desire to get a long-term deal will only become stronger, now that two other receivers have made it to the $40 million threshold.
The Cowboys and Pickens have until July 15 to get a multi-year deal signed. There has been no indication that any negotiations have begun. The Cowboys will likely push it to the deadline, while also lamenting Pickens’s absence from the offseason program.
Regardless, the price will keep going up. The Rams likely will be signing receiver Puka Nacua to a new deal, sooner than later. He’ll quite possibly be the next player to get to $40 million per year. That will make Pickens even more determined to get there.
No, delays never help get deals done. Especially since the Cowboys may have been able to get Pickens signed during the 2025 season for something less than $40 million per year.
Still, it’s on brand. They take too long to pay their stars. They did it with Dak Prescott. They did it with Ezekiel Elliott. They did it with CeeDee Lamb. They did it with Micah Parsons — and it blew up on them.
What will happen with Pickens? That’s largely up to the Cowboys. But the market is the market, and the market has once again changed. If the Cowboys truly want to keep him, they need to dig deep. If they keep dragging their feet, they’ll eventually need to dig ever deeper.
The Cowboys went into the offseason with the goal of improving their defense and one of the players they’ve brought in believes the team has taken the right steps to start that process.
Safety Jalen Thompson signed with the team as a free agent this month and said his prior relationship with secondary coach Ryan Smith from the Cardinals played a role in his decision to sign with Dallas. Smith will be working with the team’s new defensive coordinator Christian Parker, who has helped oversee an effort that has resulted in the additions of Thompson, defensive end Rashan Gary, safety P.J. Locke and cornerback Cobie Durant.
“I just feel like we have all the right pieces,” Thompson said, via Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “[Parker] puts the players in the right places. Players that have worked under him have been All-Pros. He brings that versatility to the defense where he puts guys in different places that do the right thing for the team. We got all the right pieces. We’re ready to go. I’m excited to get going with the guys and meet the others as well and create our identity this year as a defense. We got to show that it’s not the same defense as last year.”
Thompson mentioned Parker’s versatility and the safety has shown plenty of it himself by lining up deep, in the box, in the slot and elsewhere over the course of his NFL career. He said he’s open to playing “wherever they need me” on a Cowboys defense that needs to make a major step forward in 2026.
The Steelers are still waiting for word on quarterback Aaron Rodgers’s plans for the 2026 season, but they have reportedly moved to add another of head coach Mike McCarthy’s former charges to the roster.
Longtime Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly reports that they have agreed to sign offensive lineman Brock Hoffman.
Hoffman was not tendered by the Cowboys as a restricted free agent earlier this year. He joined the Cowboys in 2022 and played under McCarthy until the coach parted ways with the team after the 2024 season.
Hoffman played 54 games over four seasons in Dallas, including every game over the last three seasons. He started 16 of those contests.
