Cowboys Re-Sign DT Johnathan Hankins

Dallas has checked another item off their offseason to-do list, signing defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins to a new contract, according to Cowboys staff writer Patrik Walker. The team had previously let it be known that they had every intention of bringing Hankins back for another year.

The veteran lineman joined the Cowboys as a part of a midseason trade last year that sent Hankins and a 2024 seventh-round pick to Dallas in exchange for a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft. Hankins played in five games for the Cowboys, starting three, before being placed on injured reserve for the rest of the regular season. He made it back to the active roster in time for the playoffs, though, and played a strong snap percentage in the team’s two postseason contests.

Hankins doesn’t light up a stat sheet, but he does the dirty work in the trenches that allows his teammates to steal the spotlight. He showed up last season for a Cowboys defense that was struggling mightily against the run. The impact he was able to make in his short time with the team was enough to convince Cowboys decision makers to bring him back.

The 30-year-old will be coming back on a one-year deal worth approximately $1.5MM. He’s set to receive a $1.17MM base salary with a bonus of $152,500. The deal is a veteran salary benefit contract, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, meaning Hankins should have a cap hit of just under $1MM.

Hankins’s re-signing continues a strong offseason for Dallas, which has made strong moves to bring in cornerback Stephon Gilmore and wide receiver Brandin Cooks while securing in-house free agents on defense like safety Donovan Wilson, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, and defensive end Dante Fowler. According to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, the Cowboys also have interest in bringing back another defensive line depth piece in Carlos Watkins. Watkins and Hankins would team up once again with Neville Gallimore to provide some serious depth on the interior defensive line behind starters Quinton Bohanna and Osa Odighizuwa.

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