Cowboys fortify secondary with P.J. Locke, a familiar face for new defensive coordinator Christian Parker. Locke brings hybrid defense experience and a Texas homecoming.
FRISCO - The connections make sense.
Consider …
The Dallas Cowboys need help in the backfield of the NFL’s worst defense.
Candidates to come here via NFL free agency could have ties to new coordinator Christian Parker.
Some prospects might be lured into Texas homecomings.
The Dallas Cowboys promised they would spend big on the open market to boost the roster on the defensive side of the ball; “Bust the Budget” has become a motto of owner Jerry Jones - and one that some critics scoff at.
But Dallas has in the first two days of NFL free agency traded for standout EDGE Rashan Gary of Green Bay and signed a new starting safety in Arizona's Jalen Thompson.
And now another new name that fits.
Broncos safety P.J. Locke, who played under Parker from 2021 to 2023 when Parker served as Denver’s defensive backs coach for the Broncos, was first linked to Dallas by Cowboys insider Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News.
"When free agency starts, count safety P.J. Locke among the names the Cowboys expressed interest in," Watkins wrote on Twitter.
The Cowboys - who are installing a new "3-4 Hybrid'' defense that Locke has played in - have done that deal, NFL Network reporting that it's a one-year contract worth $5 million.
But Locke - among other things - figured to be an affordable get.
He’s a Beaumont native who entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Texas in 2019 and eventually landed with the Broncos, where he’s been a part-time first-teamer, having started 26 games in the last three years.
In January 2025, Locke, 29, underwent a transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion surgery but put that serious concern behind him and was the field in 2025 for 16 games, three as a starter.
Locke (5-19, 202), happens to be represented by David Mulugheta, which caused concern in some quarters. (He repped Micah Parsons on his way out of Dallas in a Green Bay trade a year ago and now represents George Pickens here.)
But the fact is, the Cowboys’ tie to Locke runs deep ... and as a rotational helper who knows this defense, he might very well be able to pitch in.