Here’s why retaining Donovan Wilson was key for Cowboys

The Cowboys dodged a bullet when they re-signed Wilson to a two-year deal, ensuring the continuity of the position. | From @ReidDHanson

Less than 24-hours into the legal tampering period the Cowboys got on the board, inking their own free agent safety Donovan Wilson to a respectable  3-year deal worth up to $24 million (as per Mike Garafolo). With reportedly $13.5 million guaranteed, it puts Wilson’s compensation ahead of Dallas’ other top safeties who are each entering their final year under contract.

Cowboys defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn, simultaneously uses three safeties often in his nickel-heavy defense. With Malik Hooker primarily playing deep and Jayron Kearse playing up in the box, Wilson has been his moveable big-play weapon.

Starting all 17 regular season games in 2022, Wilson tallied five sacks, 14 pressures and 40 run stops. According to Pro Football Focus, Wilson played 441 box snaps (more than Kearse’s 347 snaps), 426 deep safety snaps (second only to Hooker’s 837) and 126 snaps in the slot.

Quinn even used Wilson up on the line and split out as a boundary cornerback. He was a Swiss army knife for the defense, playing a variety of roles, against a variety of players, from a variety of positions.

Wilson is an emotional leader as well as hard-hitting tone-setter on the field. Retaining him was high priority for Dallas, but it had to be at the right price. Allowing him to test the market for a day proved beneficial to the two sides finding common ground.

Wilson’s retention in 2023 may have a trickledown effect on the Cowboys safety room. It would presumably free up third-year pro, Israel Mukuamu to play more cornerback.  Mukuamu thrived as a slot cornerback in the limited action he saw in 2022 and could be in store for a bigger role going forward.

Locking up Wilson for another three seasons allows Quinn to maintain continuity on his defense. While he has other safeties in the pipeline, none appear to pack quite the same level of big play ability Wilson provides.

Staying healthy will be critical for Wilson. 2022 was the only season he’s been able to play a full season and with the added money comes the pressure to perform week in and week out. But he’s coming off his best season as a professional and at the age of 28, his best football may be right in front of him.

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