It was clear from the jump that the Dallas Cowboys were going to aggressively reshape their defensive secondary this offseason. A lot of that came down to overhauling the safety room, but the Cowboys front office also made several key moves at cornerback. One of the earliest they made was signing former sixth-round pick and recent NFC West journeyman Derion Kendrick to a one-year deal in late March.
Kendrick, who spent his first two full seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, was waived by LA and then picked up by the Seattle Seahawks before being waived again. However, at just 25 years old, Kendrick still seemed like a worthwhile swing for the Cowboys to take — or at least that was the case when the signing was made. But now, Dallas looks much less in need of taking a gamble at cornerback, which makes Kendrick seem like he’s simply crowding the cornerback room.
Derion Kendrick looks like a waste of money for the Cowboys
Let’s be clear: there’s a chance the Kendrick, who has put forth average to slightly above coverage grades in his career, can be a useful player in this league. However, that’s not a certainty given some of his bouts with inconsistency, and now the Cowboys have what seem like surer bets on their roster.
Not only is the hope that DaRon Bland and Shavon Revel are healthy options for the Cowboys this season after dealing with injuries or recovery last season, but Dallas has also drafted Caleb Downs, who can move down and play frequently in the slot (which we’ve already seen in offseason minicamps), signed a simply better corner than Kendrick in Cobie Durant, and lucked into fourth-round pick Devin Moore, who could be one of the steals of the draft with his natural ability at the position.
That’s also before you mention someone like Caelon Carson, who has been a solid depth piece for Dallas’ defense, even amidst the struggles on that side of the ball. The point is, there really isn’t much of a spot in the cornerback rotation for Kendrick right now when you look at the roster.
Obviously, this doesn’t mean that the Cowboys should rush to cut ties with Kendrick. If anything, Dallas should’ve learned that depth going into training camp and throughout the preseason to get to Week 1 is direly important. Moreover, Kendrick has enough of a track record in the league to have the opportunity to go on the field and prove himself and potentially fight his way to earning a roster spot.
At the same time, the math and numbers game don’t appear to be on the veteran’s side right now, which makes signing him seem a bit suspect in hindsight. However, even if that is the case, there is a silver lining for the Cowboys, in addition to this simply being a good problem to have.
Dallas can easily remedy their unnecessary signing of Kendrick
While it’s not ideal for the Cowboys to make a signing and then immediately cut that player before Week 1, the fact of the matter is that it won’t hurt Dallas in any meaningful way. While Kendrick inked a one-year deal worth $1.295 million, not a penny of that is guaranteed for the 2026 season. Subsequently, if Kendrick doesn’t come out and perform like gangbusters, the Cowboys can cut him with no cap penalties.
Zooming out and taking the 10,000-foot view of the situation, though, the expendability of Kendrick whether you want to call him a waste of money or a signing or not, is a good thing for the Cowboys.
This was unequivocally one of the worst pass defenses in the league last season. Had they legitimately been just average on that side of the ball, Dak Prescott and the offense were more than good enough to take this team easily into the playoffs and perhaps make a run (though this is Dallas, so who knows once the postseason starts). That’s why we’ve seen them make such drastic changes on that side of the ball.
As such, the fact that the Cowboys have overhauled their secondary so substantially along with bringing in new defensive coordinator Christian Parker speaks to the good work that this front office has done. Of course, things can always look good on paper and then fall apart on the field, but it absolutely seems that Dallas is heading in a substantially better direction, and Kendrick’s lack of place on the roster is an obvious sign of that.
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