Jerry Jones confident Cowboys can make playoff run with improved defense

Jacob Camenker, USA TODAYTue, March 17, 2026 at 1:44 PM UTC

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The Dallas Cowboys entered 2026 NFL free agency seeking to improve a defense that performed poorly throughout the 2025 season.

Team owner and general manager Jerry Jones believes the Cowboys accomplished that goal.

"I don't know that since we've had free agency as we know it today, where it's really very viable, most teams involved very actively making deals if you will. I don't know since that has evolved and come about that we've ever had this kind of reshaping of an aspect of our team." Jones said at the Grand Prix of Arlington on Sunday, per the team's official website.

1 / 02026 NFL offseason tracker: Player signings, trades

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The Cowboys were active in upgrading their defense during the early stages of NFL free agency. They signed five defensive players on the open market and swung a trade for veteran Green Bay Packers pass rusher Rashan Gary to bolster a unit that ranked dead-last in defensive EPA per play in 2025, per the NFL's Next Gen Stats.

In addition to Gary, the Cowboys acquired Otito Ogbonnia and Tyrus Wheat to continue reshaping their defensive line. That process also involved trading defensive tackles Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas to the San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans respectively.

Dallas also added three experienced players to its secondary. Safety Jalen Thompson and cornerback Cobie Durant pencil in as starters for the squad, while P.J. Locke will serve as a backup safety and special teams ace.

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Those additions have Jones feeling confident the Cowboys' defense will take a big step forward after its struggles in 2025.

"That plus what we have set up for the draft, plus what we really have coming back from our veteran defensive players that really didn't play that much last year, injury issues, things like that, gives us a lot of promise," Jones said.

Just how much promise is that? Given Jones' confidence in Dallas' offense, he appears to believe the sky is the limit for the Cowboys if new defensive coordinator Christian Parker can get the unit to play at just an average level.

"I'll tell you, when you have the challenges we had last year, there's no place to go but up on the defensive side of the ball," Jones said. "Had we played a lick of defense last year, we would've had ourselves, I think, a real playoff run."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jerry Jones: Cowboys defensive upgrades give team 'a lot of promise'

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