Denzel Mims is part of the Cowboys' recent roster moves as Dallas is set to sign former Houston Texans cornerback Ameer Speed during minicamp. The addition gives the Cowboys another depth option in the secondary and on special teams heading into the 2026 season.
Dallas Cowboys Add Ameer Speed
Ameer Speed will join Dallas after the team hosted him for a workout at The Star, with the Cowboys set to sign him during minicamp. The move is a timed depth addition: Dallas is using minicamp to evaluate short-term veterans and special-teams contributors before training camp competition begins.
Ameer Speed NFL Snap Totals
Speed has appeared in 17 career regular season games without a start, a stat that frames his immediate role projection. Across those appearances he has 11 total tackles, including nine solo tackles and one tackle for loss, and he has played 280 special teams snaps versus 15 defensive snaps — numbers that suggest his primary path onto the roster is through special teams.
New England Patriots, Colts, Bears
Originally a sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, Speed spent time with the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts in 2023, appearing in 13 games combined — five games for New England and eight games for Indianapolis — before later surfacing with the Houston Texans last season for two games. He most recently played with the UFL's Houston franchise prior to the Cowboys' workout at The Star.
The roster picture tightens on the jump between special-teams value and defensive snaps: Speed's 280 special teams snaps versus 15 defensive snaps underline the contradiction of a former draft pick who has yet to earn a defensive start. That usage pattern helps explain why Dallas pursued him now — as competition for depth and to bolster kickoff, punt and coverage units.
Will Ameer Speed make the Cowboys' 53-man roster, land on the practice squad, or be cut before training camp? That is the immediate question for both Dallas and Speed as minicamp evaluations convert into full training camp reps and preseason opportunities.
