Marquez Valdes-Scantling is signing a one-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys, the team announced Thursday, bringing a veteran presence to a receiving group still sorting depth after the 2026 NFL Draft.
The 31-year-old was a fifth-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2018 and played 59 games, with 39 starts, for Green Bay before joining the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022. He spent time with the San Francisco 49ers in 2025 and arrives in Dallas with two Super Bowl rings to his name.
The Cowboys also signed wide receiver Tyler Johnson and linebacker Curtis Robinson to one-year deals as they push to add experienced players to the roster headroom left after the draft. Johnson is a former fifth-round pick, and Robinson entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2021 and spent the majority of his young career with the 49ers.
Those moves are part of a broader sprint in Dallas. The front office said it still needs "10-12 players to round out the roster," and the team has been using free agency to fill immediate needs after the draft.
Valdes-Scantling’s résumé is straightforward: a deep-threat prototype who has moved through multiple organizations since his 2018 selection in the fifth round. He started extensively early in his career in Green Bay, then joined the Chiefs during the 2022 season and later had a stint with the 49ers in 2025 that keeps him visible to teams seeking postseason experience.
His arrival makes sense against the Cowboys’ current pecking order. Dallas has established starters at the top of the depth chart — CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens — but has not yet closed the question of reliable options behind them. Valdes-Scantling provides another veteran body who can compete for snaps, matchups and late-game situational roles.
That said, the signing raises the familiar tension of veteran reclamation projects: a player with pedigree and rings who has also moved between rosters in recent seasons. Valdes-Scantling’s two Super Bowl rings underscore his experience, but coming off multiple team changes, he will have to earn a role in a crowded competition on a 90-man roster where younger players often get pushed in preseason.
The Cowboys, who repeatedly said they would keep working through free agency after the draft, view deals like this as low-risk, short-term additions that widen options without committing long-term cap or roster space. For Valdes-Scantling, the contract is a chance to re-establish consistency and carve out a niche in a high-profile offense.
For Dallas the immediate effect is obvious: more competition and veteran depth at receiver and linebacker. What happens next is equally direct — the team must still finish construction of the roster. With the draft complete and free agency active, the Cowboys’ approach will be to evaluate these one-year additions in training camp and preseason and then decide which of the remaining players earn a spot among the final 53.
Valdes-Scantling’s signing will matter most in those next weeks; his presence does not solve the Cowboys’ depth questions, but it does raise the floor of experience behind the starters and forces a clearer evaluation of who can step into meaningful roles this season.
