The well-traveled Sam Howell will be traveling again.
Via Adam Schefter of ESPN, the former Eagles backup quarterback has agreed to terms with the Cowboys.
A fifth-round pick of the Commanders in 2022, Howell was the full-year starter in 2023, leading the league in both attempts (612) and interceptions (21). He was traded to the Seahawks in 2024.
Last year, Seattle traded Howell to the Vikings. After the preseason, he was re-traded to the Eagles.
The current Cowboys understudy to Dak Prescott is Joe Milton III. The Howell arrival suggests that Will Grier won’t be back as the third quarterback. Or it could set up a potential trade of Milton, who is under contract through 2027.
Cowboys Clips
The Cowboys are receiving calls about the availability of defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
The 49ers are one of the teams to call the Cowboys, per Harris.
San Francisco hired former Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus as the assistant head coach of defense.
Odighizuwa signed a four-year, $80 million contract last offseason before the Cowboys traded for defensive tackles Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams. On Tuesday, they signed nose tackle Otito Ogbonnia.
Although the Cowboys restructured several deals, Odighizuwa’s contract was not touched.
He has a cap number of $20.75 million for this season.
The Cowboys were in on Maxx Crosby, before he was tentatively traded to the Ravens.
They’re now out.
Per multiple reports, the Cowboys won’t re-engage the Raiders for a possible trade for Crosby.
Via Jane Slater of NFL Media, an unnamed team source said “we’ve moved on with Rashan Gary.”
And while, yes, the Cowboys did indeed trade for the former Packers edge rusher, this is Maxx Crosby we’re talking about. All due respect to Rashan Gary, but it’s Maxx Freakin’ Crosby.
The Cowboys could be setting the stage to squeeze the Raiders, if they get desperate to move him, now that their best offer has evaporated like a puddle of piss in the Patagonian Desert.
For now, though, the Cowboys have officially moved on from a possible Maxx Crosby trade.
Now that Maxx Crosby will continue to be under contract with the Raiders, the most obvious question is this: What’s next?
Unless the experience of having the Ravens reject Crosby — and the Raiders’ aggressive moves in free agency — have caused him to fall back in love with the Raiders (we can’t rule out anything at this point), he’ll be back on the market. And the Raiders will necessarily have less leverage, now that the Ravens have said “psych!” as to a pair of first-round picks.
The Cowboys reportedly were willing to send a first-round pick, a second-round pick, and a player to the Raiders for Crosby. Do the Cowboys become Plan B?
What about other teams? The Bears had been the betting favorite to land Crosby. Do they get involved?
And will Tom Brady revisit his reported position that there’s no way Crosby would be traded to the Patriots?
However it goes, it’s an unexpected mess. And it explains why the Raiders seem to be pissed off about the Ravens’ decision to not proceed with the trade.
The Cowboys have made another addition to their defense.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that they have agreed to terms with defensive lineman Otito Ogbonnia. It is a one-year deal worth $3 million for the former Charger.
The Cowboys have also made deals that will add safety Jalen Thompson, defensive lineman Rashan Gary, and safety P.J. Locke to the roster.
Ogbonnia was a 2022 fifth-round pick and he played in 43 regular season and playoff games for the Chargers over the last four seasons. He started 21 of those contests, including every game in the 2024 season, but was a reserve in nine 2025 appearances.
Ogbonnia has 82 tackles and a half-sack over the course of his career.
The Cowboys are adding a safety.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Dallas has agreed to a one-year deal with P.J. Locke.
Locke, 29, had been with the Broncos since 2019 after initially entering the league as an undrafted free agent with the Steelers. Locke spent most of his time on special teams through his first few seasons, but started eight games in 2023 and 15 games in 2024.
In 2025, Locke was again more of a special teams player, as he was on the field for 45 percent of the unit’s snaps in games played compared to just 17 percent of defensive snaps. He was at 96 percent of defensive snaps in games played during the 2024 season.
In all, Locke has appeared in 90 games with 26 starts, recording 11 passes defensed, five forced fumbles, and one interception.
The Cowboys have created some more cap space ahead of Wednesday’s start to the new league year.
They have restructured the contract of defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who is heading into his second season with the team after being acquired in the Micah Parsons trade last year. Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports that the Cowboys turned Clark’s upcoming $11 million roster bonus into a signing bonus to allow them to move the bulk of the cap hit into future years.
With the restructure done, the Cowboys will have about $8.8 million more cap space to work with in free agency.
Owner Jerry Jones vowed to “bust the budget” to help the team’s defense this offseason. The Cowboys have agreed to sign safety Jalen Thompson and trade for defensive lineman Rashan Gary this week.
The Cowboys are keeping one of their own free agents.
Defensive lineman Sam Williams has agreed to return to the Cowboys on a one-year, $3 million deal, per NFL Media.
A second-round pick in 2022 (56th overall), Williams finished fifth in the defensive rookie of the year voting. He has nevertheless been a backup for most of his career.
Williams has appeared in 49 regular-season games, with five starts. He has 8.5 career sacks. In 2024, an ACL tear during training camp ended his season.
Last year, he appeared in all 17 regular-season games, participating in 43 percent of the defensive snaps.
Three pumps for three rivers. (We know, we know. It was only two.)
Panthers running back Rico Dowdle, who signed a one-year deal in Carolina a year ago, has agreed to terms with the Steelers, per Jordan Schultz.
Terms have not yet been reported.
Earlier today, Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell, the team’s MVP in 2025, agreed on a two-year, $14 million contract with the Buccaneers.
In 2025, Dowdle had 1,076 rushing yards and 297 receiving yards in 17 regular-season games. In Week 5 and Week 6, he had back-to-back games with more than 200 yards from scrimmage.
Dowdle signed a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the Panthers a year ago, after spending his first four seasons with the Cowboys. During his final year in Dallas, Dowdle had 1,079 rushing yards.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said recently that he plans to “bust the budget” when it comes to adding players to improve their defense in 2026 and the team made its first free agency splash on Sunday afternoon.
According to multiple reports, they have agreed to a three-year deal with safety Jalen Thompson. Thompson, who is No. 69 on PFT’s top free agent list, stands to make a maximum of $36 million under the terms of the deal.
Thompson joined the Cardinals as a fifth-round pick in the 2019 supplemental draft and spent the last seven seasons in Arizona. He started all 62 games he played over the last four of those seasons and wrapped up his time with the NFC West by recording 95 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble in 2025.
The Cowboys also agreed to a trade with the Packers that will bring defensive lineman Rashan Gary to Dallas.
