Free Agency Roundup: Javonte Williams agrees to terms, Jourdan Lewis to Jags, more
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
FRISCO, Texas – Monday marked the beginning of the NFL’s legal tampering period, which allows external free agents to begin negotiating terms with franchises from around the league. They can’t officially sign contracts until free agency begins at 3 p.m. (CDT) on Wednesday, but there’s already been plenty of moment around the league.
For the Cowboys, a lot of their free agency moves came from taking care of the players that were already on their roster in the 2024 season. That’s usually been the case for the franchise, and it was no different on 2025’s opening day.
They did however have a notable exit in the secondary, something we’ll cover along with more in our free agency recap. To follow along with all of the Cowboys’ free agency news this offseason, keep tabs on our free agency tracker by clicking here.
Dallas’ first external free agent agreement came from former Broncos running back Javonte Williams, who has spent all four of his NFL seasons in Denver after being drafted in the second round out of North Carolina.
Now, the Cowboys have a question to answer in their running back room: Do they draft a running back high in the NFL draft come April, or will they look to get Rico Dowdle to re-sign and split carries with Williams in 2025? With a career-best 1,079 yards rushing for Dowdle last season, could he demand too high of a price tag? Only time will tell.
Osa Odighizuwa and Jourdan Lewis were the Cowboys’ top two priorities going into the 2025 offseason. Dallas resigned Odighizuwa to a four-year, $80 million extension, but couldn’t land on a deal with Lewis, who reportedly will become the highest paid nickel cornerback in the NFL upon signing with the Jaguars.
Lewis had spent all eight of his NFL seasons with the Cowboys after the team selected him in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft and is coming off one of the best seasons of his career where he posted 71 tackles, 8 passes defended and an interception. His impact was also felt as a leader in the locker room, an aspect that Dallas will sorely miss.
Now, Dallas has some decisions to make in the cornerback room. With Trevon Diggs and Josh Butler potentially missing time next season due to injury, that leaves DaRon Bland, Caelen Carson, Andrew Booth, and Kemon Hall as the cornerbacks remaining on the roster. Whether it be through the draft or free agency, expect the Cowboys to look to bolster their personnel in that department.
Markquese Bell officially put pen to paper on a contract extension Monday, sticking around in Dallas for the next three seasons. Bell was one of two restricted free agents that the Cowboys had heading into the offseason, leaving KaVontae Turpin as the only one remaining on the roster.
Bell’s consistently been reliable for Dallas on special teams after being moved from safety to linebacker and back to safety in his first three NFL seasons. In 2024, he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the Cowboys’ Week 11 loss to the Houston Texans and will look to bounce back in 2025.
After Jourdan Lewis reportedly agreed to terms with the Jaguars earlier in the day, Cowboys offensive tackle Chuma Edoga is expected to follow his teammate from Dallas to Jacksonville.
The Cowboys were the third team that Edoga has played for in his career after being drafted by the New York Jets in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft. He spent three seasons in New York and one with the Atlanta Falcons before landing in Dallas in 2023 to provide depth at left tackle.
Over the course of the 22 games that he was available during his time in Dallas, Edoga started 10 games and allowed 5 sacks and 23 quarterback pressures while playing both left tackle and left guard.
Brandon Aubrey made it clear at the Super Bowl that he wanted the Cowboys to retain punter Bryan Anger and long snapper Trent Sieg, and Dallas took one step forward in that department by resigning Sieg.
Sieg’s return gives Aubrey and new special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen some continuity in the kicking game from the snapping perspective, and now all that remains is Anger, his holder, who is an unrestricted free agent that has spent the last four seasons with the Cowboys.
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Free Agency Tracker | 2025
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Reports: Cowboys sign RB Javonte Williams
The Dallas Cowboys are signing running back Javonte Williams to a one-year, $3 million contract, according to multiple reports Monday. The deal can reach up to $3.5 million with incentives.
Williams was selected by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He had a dynamic rookie season, rushing for 903 yards and four touchdowns. That included a 111-yard performance against the Cowboys in Week 9.
Williams was a menace after contact, leading the NFL with 31 broken tackles. As a receiver, he recorded 43 receptions for 316 yards and three touchdowns.
Four weeks into the 2022 campaign, Williams suffered a torn ACL, LCL and posterolateral corner and missed the rest of the season.
Despite the devastating injuries, Williams was able to return to the field. Last season, he rushed for 513 yards and four touchdowns, while hauling in 52 receptions for 346 yards. However, his 3.7 yards per carry underwhelmed.
The 24-year-old will look rebound in Dallas. The Cowboys are not planning to re-sign running back Rico Dowdle, an unrestricted free agent, per The Dallas Morning News. In 2024, Dowdle led the team in carries (235) and rushing yards (1,079).
It would mark the third consecutive season that the Cowboys lost their primary rusher. In 2022, Ezekiel Elliott led the team in carries (231) and was released. In 2023, Tony Pollard was the leader in both carries (252) and rushing yards (1,005), and he departed in free agency, signing with the Tennessee Titans.
–Field Level Media
Hoping to pair Justin Herbert with a potent running game, the Chargers reached an agreement with free-agent running back Najee Harris, according to multiple reports.
Harris, who reportedly agreed to a one-year, $9.25-million deal, made more than $4 million last season with the Steelers. The 27-year-old has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons and went to the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2021. He rushed for 1,043 yards and six touchdowns in 263 carries over 17 games last season. He also had three games with 100-plus rushing yards.
Read more:Chargers re-sign Khalil Mack and Bradley Bozeman, reportedly add Donte Jackson
In need of a boost to the running game that was held to just 50 yards in a wild-card loss to the Houston Texans, the Chargers released running back Gus Edwards on Monday and could still re-sign running back J.K. Dobbins, who rushed for a career-best 905 yards last season.
Despite entering Monday’s negotiating period with the second-most available salary-cap space in the league, the Chargers didn’t reach any significant agreements. The team checked off its most important item by re-signing edge rusher Khalil Mack to a one-year, $18 million deal. Along with re-signing center Bradley Bozeman, defensive lineman Teair Tart and punter JK Scott, the team also reportedly agreed to terms with former Steelers cornerback Donte Jackson to a two-year, $13 million deal.
The Chargers had success signing free agents to one-year contracts last season as Dobbins, defensive lineman Poona Ford and cornerback Kristian Fulton were among the players who turned short-term contracts into career years. Ford already parlayed his success into a three-year contract with the Rams.
Read more:Former Chargers defensive tackle Poona Ford agrees to three-year deal with Rams
General manager Joe Hortiz said at the NFL scouting combine last month that the team targeted “prove-it type guys” during free agency last year and could use the same pitch this year.
“Come here, you’re going to get an opportunity to compete. That’s the same pitch this year,” Hortiz said. “But we backed it up. We lived out our words. Come in, earn the job, you’re going to start, you’re going to play, you’re going to create an opportunity for yourself.”
After a significant defensive turnaround in the first year under coach Jim Harbaugh, the Chargers may pivot their offseason focus to bolster an offense that was lacking playmakers around Herbert last season. The Chargers rushed for just 50 yards in their wild-card loss to Houston, and Herbert also struggled with a career-worst four interceptions.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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Cowboys signing Javonte Williams: Dallas adding ex-Broncos RB to replace Rico Dowdle, per report
The Dallas Cowboys showcased some of their selective aggression on the opening day of the NFL’s legal tampering period by signing a replacement for free agent running back Rico Dowdle, who became the first undrafted running back in franchise history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in 2024.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones is signing Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams to a one-year, $3 million contract, per NFL Media. Williams, who turns 25 years old on April 25, can earn up to $3.5 million with incentives as a Cowboy. His single-game career-high in rushing yards (111 on 17 carries) came his rookie year (2021) in Week 9 against Dallas at AT&T Stadium, his new home turf.
The 2021 second-round pick out of North Carolina flashed early, but his brutal knee injury, in which he tore his ACL and LCL in 2022, has prevented him from growing into a game-changing running back. Williams’ 4.4 yards per touch across the last four seasons is the third-fewest in the NFL (minimum 750 touches) and ahead of only Ezekiel Elliott’s 4.1 and Najee Harris’ 4.3 in that span. He was the Broncos’ leading rusher in 2024 with 513 yards and four touchdowns on 139 carries (3.7 yards per carry), but that production wasn’t anything remarkable.
Perhaps Dallas is hoping that as more time that passes between now and that 2022 knee injury, more of his electric running ability will return. At a minimum, now the Cowboys don’t have to reach for a running back with the 12th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft with Williams on board. He should receive plenty of carries in 2025 with new head coach Brian Schottenheimer looking to prioritize the run game like his former boss and mentor Pete Carroll does.
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