The Dallas Cowboys are still looking at ways to improve their roster, which could include a reunion with cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
The Cowboys hosted Gilmore for a visit on Tuesday ahead of the NFL draft. Gilmore previously spent the 2023 season with the Cowboys, starting 17 games. He notched a pair of interceptions and 13 passes defended.
Gilmore was with the Minnesota Vikings last season. The 34-year-old started 15 games with the Vikings, posting a PFF overall grade of 63.9.
The Cowboys lack depth at cornerback and could use Gilmore to add some reliable veteran depth. Trevon Diggs had knee surgery in January and his status for the start of the season is still uncertain. Jourdan Lewis, who had spent eight season in Dallas, signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency.
Gilmore is no longer a perennial Pro Bowler like he was during his time with the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots. But the former Defensive Player of the Year is someone the Cowboys would be interested in, depending on how the draft unfolds.
“We’re always looking to make things better,” executive vice president Stephen Jones told reporters of Gilmore’s visit. “It doesn’t always mean that if they’re in the building that there’s a deal in the works.”
Cowboys Looking at Trades to Improve Roster
The Cowboys’ offseason hasn’t necessarily been pretty. But Dallas and owner/general manager Jerry Jones has executed a few trades to add some depth. The Cowboys have acquired linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr., cornerback Kaair Elam and quarterback Joe Milton III via trade.
And Jones hinted on Tuesday that more trades could be on the way.
“We’re looking at two things that could happen before or after the draft,” Jones said at the team’s pre-draft press conference. “Two pretty substantive trades. Been working on today.”
The Cowboys hold the No. 12 overall pick in the draft, which starts on Thursday. It is unclear from Jones’ comments whether Dallas is trying to move up, move back or acquire a veteran player at a position of need.
Cowboys Still Working Through Micah Parsons Extension
Arguably, the biggest task of the offseason for the Cowboys is locking in All-Pro pass-rusher Micah Parsons with a lucrative, long-term extension. It hasn’t happened yet and Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones cited a difference in what the sides feel is the “right number.”
“You look around the league at most of these players who are getting these very top contracts, it does take time ultimately to get there, and believe me, if we could sign Micah to a number we wanted to sign him to, we do it right now,” Stephen Jones said during Dallas’ predraft press conference on Tuesday. “But right now, there’s a difference in what we feel is the right number, and what he feels like is the right number.”
Parsons is playing it nice — for now — with the Cowboys. He’s been a participant in the team’s voluntary offseason workouts, a notable move with first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer stepping in for Mike McCarthy.
