We’re now just about a week into free agency and the Dallas Cowboys have been pretty active. Granted, many of the deals they have done so far are for players that will have to fight for playing time, special teams, or even just make the roster.
Plenty of those deals described above have been of the one-year variety, but there were two players acquired early in free agency that are on multiple-year deals and are expected to be starters when the 2026 season opens. Edge Rashan Gary and safety Jalen Thompson
are veterans who have produced in the NFL, and have done it consistently. We are including Gary among the free agency deals, even though technically he came through a trade.
Gary is expected to provide solid edge play against the run while sprinkling in some decent pass rush. Thompson is a versatile safety who will play multiple roles in Christian Parker’s defense.
Earlier this week we asked you to grade these acquisitions.
Rashan Gary trade grade
For Gary, the overwhelming majority ended up giving the trade a ‘B’ grade. That tracks. Gary has always been consistent, but never really great. There is no doubt he will help the defense, but he’s not going to elevate the defensive line play to new levels. He did get 29% at the ‘C’ level, which shows that some people wanted a little more than what they think Gary will provide.
Jalen Thompson trade grade
As for the Jalen Thompson deal, fans were much more enthusiastic. While the winning grade was still ‘B’ with 51%, the grade of ‘A’ was given by 36% of respondents. That’s trending in the right direction. Thompson is seen as a key acquisition to make the backend of Parker’s defense work correctly.
In the end, both of those grades are probably fairly accurate. Agree or disagree? Let us know why.
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