Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

With the signing of fourth-year veteran Sam Howell, Dallas made things more competitive for Joe Milton III and upgraded the room from Will Grier. Howell started all 17 games for the Commanders in 2023, so at least brings a wealth of experience compared to Milton.

The first thing that stood out to me about Keldric Faulk is the frame. The Auburn defensive lineman is 6'6 and 276 pounds, which already looks like an NFL defensive end before he even steps onto the field. The Cowboys are trying to build a more physical front, and Faulk fits that perfectly. During his Auburn career, he recorded 109 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks across 37 games.

The most tangible reason to trade for Gary instead of waiting for him to hit the market was control over the financials. Had Gary been free to sign anywhere, a bidding war would have likely drove up his price. Instead, by acquiring his current contract (which no longer had guaranteed money), the Cowboys got leverage to rework his deal.

A 2022 fifth-round pick by the Commanders, Howell made his first career NFL start against the Cowboys during the regular season finale of his rookie campaign. That next season, the North Carolina ended up being a full-time starter for Washington. He went 4-13 in his 17 starts, completing 63.4 percent of his passes for 3,946 yards, 21 touchdowns, and a league-leading 21 interceptions.

Dallas is going to re-sign defensive end Sam Williams to a one-year, $3 million deal, per Mike Garafolo and Jane Slater of NFL Network. After coming back from his torn ACL, Williams was looking to prove himself to be the edge rusher the Cowboys hoped he would become after being drafted in the second round.

Steele remains what he's always been, a strong run blocker with more lapses in pass protection than you'd generally like to see. His strengths and weaknesses are better suited to what Brian Schottenheimer and Klayton Adams are doing offensively, which improved his long-term outlook. His warts become even more tolerable now after the pay cut, dropping his total contract value by about $12-$15 million.