The Cowboys defense is getting a fresh staff with coaching, as Matt Eberflus takes Mike Zimmer’s spot, but the unit may need new faces too. The team’s secondary is aging and might need a full reset in 2025.
It was a struggle for the Dallas defensive back corps for the entirety of the 2024 campaign.
With Al Harris’ departure for Chicago, we could see the Cowboys move off of some current players in favor of younger, Eberflus scheme-fitting options.
Keep in mind, the Cowboys also want to keep a tight budget.
There are a few veterans that would actually save Dallas money if they were cut, and a few more that they could let walk in free agency.
Change isn’t always a bad thing, especially when a group struggles as much as the Dallas secondary did in 2025. So, let’s look at a few ways that the Cowboys defense could inject youth into its coverage unit this offseason.
Stale Safeties: Upgrading the Last Line
It feels like Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson have been the Cowboys’ two starting safeties forever. Since Hooker joined the team in free agency in 2021, the two have played nearly 60 games together.
Now, they will be 29 and 30 years old at the start of the 2025 season.
In the case of Wilson, the older of the pair, the unfortunate reality is he may have played his final game as a Dallas Cowboy.
Wilson isn’t getting any younger, and it showed up in his performance in 2024. He struggled badly in coverage and couldn’t keep up with athletic tight ends, and his success was mostly confined to run support and blitzing.
He scored 4.5 sacks and 82 tackles, though the latter number has decreased for him in each of the last three seasons. Additionally, Zimmer’s scheme allowed Wilson to blitz more, while only one Bear had more than one sack in Eberflus’ defense last year.
Cutting Wilson after June 1st would save Dallas around $7M, and that money may be better off in the hands of somebody younger.
In Hooker’s case, he is younger and did have a strong 2024 performance, totaling 82 tackles, a career-high five passes defended, and two interceptions.
Still, cutting him after June 1st would give the Cowboys nearly $6M in cap relief, and that may be considered with him nearing 30.
Questionable Corners: Cowboys Need Stability
If there is one word to describe the Cowboys cornerbacks in 2024, it’s unstable.
By the end of the year, 10 cornerbacks suited up for at least one game. That number is quite high, and it’s because of a slew of injuries and performance issues.
The only two corners who played in more than 11 games were the always-reliable Jourdan Lewis and special teams veteran C.J. Goodwin.
Trevon Diggs only played in 11, DaRon Bland, Andrew Booth, and Amani Oruwariye played in seven, and rookie Caelen Carson missed significant time. Essentially, it was a revolving door of practice-squad fill-ins and injured All-Pros.
You can’t fault those guys for getting injured; that’s part of the sport. However, you can make moves to ensure a more stable unit in 2025.
This means bringing back Jourdan Lewis and adding at least one veteran via free agency.
Carson still has a lot of potential, but the 2024 season showed he isn’t ready yet. Dallas could let him develop if they go out and bring in a consistent, healthy, and proven cornerback alongside Bland, Diggs, and Lewis.
They don’t like spending money, but the Cowboys defense will see a repeat of last year’s cornerback mess if they don’t address the position early in free agency.