OXNARD, Calif. — Things are still being sorted with Zack Martin, but that negotiation isn't stopping the Dallas Cowboys from walking and chewing gum at the same time. They're throwing money at their secondary to open training camp in 2023, with Malik Hooker being the second defensive back in as many weeks to land a multi-year contract extension.
The 27-year-old follows the lead of Trevon Diggs, contractually, Diggs having inked a five-year extension in late July, and the two moves keep two impact players in place for the foreseeable future — only months after having re-signed Donovan Wilson to a three-year deal.
Needless to say, this is all a really big deal, no pun intended (OK, sort of intended).
The aggressive pursuit of Wilson in free agency effectively and essentially ushered in a new era for the Cowboys, one that ends a longstanding reductive stance on the value of the safety position.
They've now doubled down on their refreshed view of the position with a third contract for Hooker, securing two-thirds of their three-headed safety hydra well beyond the coming season.
Eyes turn to Jayron Kearse now, who is still set to enter a contract year in 2023 and who, like Hooker, hit the ground running under defensive coordinator Dan Quinn after signing to the Cowboys a few months ahead of Hooker.
Kearse is currently on his second deal, a two-year reup following 2021, and hoping for a third.
It all feels a bit alien for anyone who has covered the Cowboys beyond the previous three seasons, a team that once carried a roster of safeties that, while serviceable in certain capacities, was often viewed by many as the weakest link on defense.
But since the addition of defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, that tune has changed wildly, and in large part due to Quinn's understanding of what a defense can be when top talent — e.g., Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor — are placed on the back end of it.
"We can be up there with the Legion of Boom," Micah Parsons said of the defense in 2023.
That's true, and if it happens, the safeties will be anything but an honorable mention.
There are also the young bulls angling for a taste of the action on the field, with Markquese Bell and Juanyeh Thomas impressing in the absence of Wilson and Israel Mukuamu in training camp due to a calf and hamstring injury, respectively.
Both are second-year players who are being tested mightily at the moment, and answering the bell more often than not. Thomas has shown an ability to play all three safety positions in camp, while Bell is working with the second team in a similar role as Kearse — covering tight ends at the line of scrimmage and in space.
And speaking of Mukuamu, it was he who stepped up as a "big slot" against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card game this past January, a game that saw Brady complete only 35 of 66 pass attempts for only two touchdowns, and with an interception.
There's a lot of great scouting involved in detailing the progress of Mukuamu (sixth-round pick in 2021), Thomas (undrafted in 2022) and Bell (undrafted in 2022) and even Wilson (sixth-round pick in 2019), but what's also taken the position to the next level in Dallas is locating dynamic veteran free agent talent from outside of the building to lead the group.
Enter Kearse and Hooker, two free agency gambles that paid off in a major way.
