FRISCO, Texas – Malik Hooker will be sticking around town for his sixth NFL season.
The former first-round draft pick, who signed with the Cowboys last summer, has agreed to terms on a new two-year contract to remain in the fold with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and this Dallas defense.
It'll be interesting to see what that means for Hooker's role. He initially signed on during training camp, having successfully rehabbed a torn Achilles from the prior season. The Cowboys brought him along gradually, easing him into a role as a third safety. That role seemed to solidify in the second half of the season, though, as he managed 20 tackles and an interception in his final six games of the season.
The Achilles hasn't been Hooker's only setback. Widely regarded as one of the best prospects in the 2017 NFL Draft, he required surgery on hernia and labrum injuries coming out of college and eventually landed with the Indianapolis Colts as the No. 15 overall pick. During four seasons with the Colts, he had two seasons cut short by injury – his rookie season, due to a torn ACL and MCL, and his 2020 season because of the torn Achilles.
"For me, it's been like a dark cloud over me since I got into the league," Hooker said in December. "And they were all major injuries, not like an ankle sprain or anything. Since I got into the league, it was major things. So for me to finally be at where I'm at right now, it's a relief, you could say."
Re-signing Hooker is a step toward piecing the safety depth chart together. At the very least, it gives them another veteran with starting experience, alongside Donovan Wilson. Time will tell if the long-term plan is for Hooker to step into a starting role in 2022.
