The Dallas Cowboys enter the legal tampering period of free agency with glaring holes on defense. Linebacker was always a need, but with Jourdan Lewis moving on to the Jacksonville Jaguars on a reported three-year $30 million deal, cornerback is now near the top of the list.

Stephen Jones said that before free agency, the team would be “selectively aggressive” with free agency and could be more active this season compared to last year when looking outside the building. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN mentioned that the team could be interested in a pair of free agents from the San Francisco 49ers, Dre Greenlaw and Charvarius Ward.

The Cowboys’ interest in Ward is nothing new. They signed him as an undrafted free agent as a rookie in 2018 but traded him to Kansas City before the season in favor of guard Parker Ehinger. Ward became a stud with the Chiefs and then became a Pro Bowl corner with the 49ers.

Ward is familiar with the building and some of the coaching staff. His former defensive coordinator, Nick Sorensen, is Dallas’ special teams coordinator. Dallas could use another outside cornerback with Trevon Diggs’ status up in the air for the start of the 2025 season after offseason knee surgery. DaRon Bland can play either inside or outside, so Ward could help until Diggs is healthy, and then the coaches can figure out where Bland best fits their gameplan.

Greenlaw has the same familiarity with Sorensen, and Dallas could undoubtedly use proven depth at the linebacker position. Marist Liufau and Damone Clark are the only proven linebackers on the team, with DeMarvion Overshown recovering from injury and Eric Kendricks hitting free agency. Greenlaw spent most of last year rehabbing from a torn Achilles he suffered in the Super Bowl but played in two games, helping elevate his stock before free agency.

Outside of re-signing long snapper Trent Sieg to a three-year deal, the Cowboys have been relatively quiet on day one. If they can negotiate a few deals with players like Greenlaw and Ward, their defense looks much better on paper than it did to start the day.

Update: 5:45pm ET

Charvarius Ward is headed to Indianapolis so we can rule that out.