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Kamren Curl #3 of the Los Angeles Rams is a potential target for the Dallas Cowboys.
Give the Dallas Cowboys some credit. We’re a little more than a month into the 2026 NFL offseason, and they’ve already shown that the promises from owner Jerry Jones to do things a bit different this time around were not hot air. The team just hired Christian Parker, a 34-year-old first-time coordinator, to the run the defense, and actually paid a running back, giving Javonte Williams a three-year, $24 million contract.
Considering that the last two coordinators were ex-head coaches Matt Eberflus and Mike Zimmer (both lasted a year), and that the Cowboys made no effort to re-sign running backs Tony Pollard or Rico Dowdle when they hit free agency, the Parker and Williams moves represent something bigger than the transactions themselves.
Now, though, comes the next big Cowboys question: Will they actually spend some money on outside free agents?
Cowboys Need to Add a Safety
The Cowboys’ position on pulling in free agents from other teams has been very clear in recent years: It’s a bad investment. And there’s some truth in that. Signing free agents, especially in the initial wave of transactions that comes once the league year opens, almost always requires an overpay.
But the Cowboys need to fix their defense, and they’re not just one or two players away from getting there. They need to overhaul the linebackers, as well as the defensive backs. Both units were among the worst in the NFL last year.
At the top NFL analysis site, Pro Football Focus, the Cowboys have been tabbed as a top fit for one of the better safeties that will be hitting the market this offseason: Kamren Curl of the Rams.
Kamren Curl Fits with New Cowboys DC Christian Parker
There’s been focus on the Cowboys potentially poaching Reed Blankenship of the Eagles–Parker’s former team–to head up the safety room, but Curl is the better player and should fit what Parker wants.
Writes PFF, in an article titled, “2026 NFL Free Agency: Top landing spots for the five best safeties“: “Making life difficult on the quarterback by disguising coverages and structure is the name of the game for modern NFL defenses. That’s exactly what Christian Parker will aim to do as the Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator. … Parker understands the value of disguising looks. Last season, the Eagles deployed coverage disguises at the highest rate in the NFL (41.1%).
“Curl, having played under Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, is a savvy safety who understands the nuances of baiting throws into disguised looks, as no defense over the past two seasons has run more coverage disguises than the Rams’ unit.”
Overpay for Kamren Curl?
Safety will be one of the more interesting positions to watch for the Cowboys, because on one hand, they need more help at linebacker and cornerback, but on the other hand, getting the right safeties in the room will be a key for how Parker wants to organize the D.
The Cowboys do have two veteran safeties on hand, Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson. It’s possible that Hooker could stick, but Wilson is likely to be cut. Hybrid Markquese Bell is a wildcard in the room, too.
The Cowboys will need at least one new safety. Spotrac projects Curl to warrant a four-year, $40 million contract, which is not cheap by safety standards. It’s an overpay, but that’s how business works in the NFL, and the Cowboys are showing they’re doing their business a little different this year.
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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