The Dallas Cowboys’ offseason has been a quiet one so far as the team is forced to be very careful about salary cap space while staring down potential contract extensions for both Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. 
The team re-signed cornerback Jourdan Lewis on Thursday, and Jones clearly got some incredible value on that deal.
Cowboys News: Jourdan Lewis Signs Team-Friendly Deal With Cowboys
Lewis agreed to a one-year contract worth $2.8 million with the Dallas Cowboys, and he’s only going to cost about $1.4 million against the salary cap in 2024. That’s a significant pay cut from his last deal, when he averaged $4.5 million per season.
Lewis must love playing in Dallas, because it’s hard to imagine there wasn’t another team out there willing to pay him significantly more than $2.8 million.
Lewis started 8 games (playing in 16) in 2023, being targeted 71 times in coverage. He only allowed an average of 6.5 yards per target on those 71 throws. That means an average throw at a receiver being covered by Lewis was only barely more efficient than an average throw from Zach Wilson (6.2 yards per attempt).
If “passers targeting Lewis” were a single player, they would have been tied for No. 25 in the NFL in yards per attempt.
With Stephon Gillmore still a free agent, keeping Lewis around to play alongside Trevon Diggs and Daron Bland goes a long way to shoring up the Cowboys’ secondary. Dallas is favored to win the NFC East in 2024, and a couple more strong offseason moves should only expand their lead over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Jones is still going to have to be very careful with how he spends the Cowboys’ cap space, but when former players agree to team-friendly deals like this one it becomes a lot easier to continue fielding a legitimate contender.
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