FRISCO, Texas - It's been a rough week thus far for the special teams unit in Dallas, the Cowboys having lost core players such as Luke Gifford and Noah Brown to 2023 NFL free agency, but they were able to stop the bleeding on Thursday by returning C.J. Goodwin to a new deal.
Goodwin and the Cowboys have agreed to terms on a one-year deal that keeps him in Dallas for the coming 2023 season, and while it's a retention that won't garner headlines like the re-signing of Donovan Wilson and Leighton Vander Esch, there can be no mistaking Goodwin's value to the club.
Having spent his last five seasons with the Cowboys, Goodwin has played in a total of 1,338 special teams snaps, and is no stranger to making impact plays at moments when the team might need it most.
He entered the new league year on Wednesday as an unrestricted free agent, but that lasted all of one day. The 33-year-old has been in Dallas since 2018 — spanning two coaching regimes — and has found a way to stick around, mostly because he's an ace for John "Bones" Fassel just as he was for Fassel's predecessor, Keith O'Quinn.
A former undrafted free agent in 2014, Goodwin clawed his way through several NFL teams before finding a home in Dallas, where he's suited up since 2018. He's as valuable on special teams as he is at being a leader in the locker room and a consummate professional outside of the building, making it a no-brainer to keep him around.
The loss of both Gifford and Brown hurts, but Goodin sticking around operates as a tourniquet for Fassel and the Cowboys.
