FRISCO, Texas – One is gone, but one will remain.
Jourdan Lewis agreed to the terms of a three-year deal to return to the Cowboys, ensuring that at least one of the draft’s 2017 choices will remain on the defensive backfield going forward. The deal has a maximum value of US $ 16.5 million, with US $ 8 million guaranteed.
The news comes shortly after Chidobe Awuzie signed a $ 21.7 million three-year contract to join the Cincinnati Bengals. Awuzie and Lewis have been linked throughout their NFL careers, while the Cowboys recruited them with consecutive selections in the NFL’s 2017 Draft, making them No. 60 and No. 92 overall choices in that class.
Lewis clearly comes with the lowest price between the two, although he has also had far fewer opportunities over the course of his rookie contract. He appeared in 61 of the 66 possible games during the course of his career, but only 26 of them came as a start. “
The 2020 season was easily Lewis’s biggest opportunity to date, as Awuzie and Anthony Brown’s injuries often forced the Cowboys’ technical team to scramble the secondary. Lewis made 13 starts last season, scoring 59 tackles and two pass separations to go with a pair of bags.
Lewis did most of his work on the slot machine last season, although he played at the border frequently during his college career in Michigan, where he was an All-American.
With Lewis back in the group, the Cowboys at least have some appearance of veteran depth in their high school. Lewis’ contract is terribly reminiscent of the three-year, $ 15 million deal that Anthony Brown signed last season. These two, combined with Trevon Diggs, give them three experienced holders, in addition to in-depth signings like Rashard Robinson and Steven Parker.
It is the exact type of hiring that the Cowboys have become accustomed to – a capable veteran who opens them up to make the best possible decision in the draft. And with the new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn signed for 2021, it will be interesting to see what Lewis’ role will be in his second contract, as opposed to the first.