FRISCO, Texas — With the 2024 calendar year now in the history books and the regular season nearing its conclusion for the Dallas Cowboys, it's impossible to quantify the impact of certain players in a year that was decimated by all manner of adversity, and Jourdan Lewis is one such player.
Despite it all, the veteran cornerback has not only been a vocal mentor and leader within the locker room, but also one of the best players on any side of the ball in Dallas — turning his one-year contract extension into a Pro Bowl caliber campaign.
So it's a no-brainer that the Cowboys want him to stay put when free agency arrives.
"Jourdan's just an uber competitor," said executive vice president and director of player personnel Stephen Jones. "He's a guy who's out of contract, and obviously a guy that we want to have back on this football team."
Lewis is, to this point in his career, a lifer with the Cowboys who has proven to be, well, coordinator-proof.
He originally joined the organization at their third-round pick in 2017 and clawed his way from a rotational role under then defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli and passing game coordinator Kris Richard to that of a starter, going on to become the team's lone ballhawk in the pre-Trevon Diggs and pre-DaRon Bland era.
And he's done it from the nickel corner position, also demonstrating versatility whenever asked to move to the boundary due to injury at the position.
From Marinelli to Mike Nolan to Dan Quinn and now to Mike Zimmer, his only downturn came by way of injury.
Having fought his way back in 2023 from an emotional career-threatening injury — a shattered foot that left him with no arch and, as such, he requires a custom cleat each week — Lewis made good on his initial three-year contract extension, leading to the latest he was awarded in 2024.
As he looks to close out an otherwise forgettable season for the team on a potential high note against the Washington Commanders, Lewis isn't yet looking past the regular season finale toward contract talks with the front office.
"Once you start focusing on things [ahead of you], you start missing things that are right in front of you," he said. "We still have a week of preparation to beat Washington, but I'd be remiss if I didn't understand the value in this game for me and the value in the offseason. But I still have to focus on what's right in front of me. That's how you get to have a good season — focus on what's in front of you.
"That's what I plan to do this week."
He's not naive, though, which is to say Lewis knows what's on the horizon and, as such, he's not willing to play coy when it comes to where he'd like to play football next year, and possibly for the years that follow.
Lewis has only ever been a Cowboy, and he hopes it can stay that way.
"Always," he said. "Dallas is my home. My kids were born here. We'd love to have another season here, or a few seasons here. My wife loves it.
"But I know it's a business, and we don't know what the front office needs."
The good news is the front office has already stated their intentions, and that one player they definitely need is Lewis.
The rest is a conversation that can begin as early as next Monday morning.
