New contract details revealed for Cowboys defensive end Takk McKinley

Last week, the Dallas Cowboys re-signed defensive end Takk McKinley. His new contract details reveal that the Cowboys have a lot of faith in former first-round draft pick out of UCLA.

Although he joined Dallas on a one-year deal in mid-November and was mostly on the practice squad, Dallas inked him on a one-year deal worth $1.317 million. His deal includes a signing bonus of $152,500, leaving the Cowboys with a cap hit of $1.09 million for 2023. His deal with Dallas for last season was for $277,200.

McKinley spent most of last season with the L.A. Rams. They released him in October after notching one tackle in four game appearances.

Prior to his time with the Rams, McKinley spent one season with the Cleveland Browns. He signed a one-year deal for $4.5 million and wound up playing 11 games with 18 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

The most productive period of the defender’s career came in the first years he spent with the Atlanta Falcons. After they selected him at No. 26 overall in 2017, he went on to record two seasons with six and seven sacks apiece.

So far in his six years in the league, McKinley has 98 regular season tackles with 20 sacks, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

The Dallas Cowboys cleared the cap space for new signings and more with the release of former first-round RB Ezekiel Elliott. They also restructured deals for Dak Prescott, Zack Martin, DeMarcus Lawrence, Tyron Smith and Michael Gallup.

With McKinley back in the fold, the Cowboys now have 11 former first-round draft picks on the roster. The list includes recently re-signed LB Leighton Vander Esch, DE Dante Fowler, WR Brandin Cooks and CB Stephon Gilmore.

More on the 2023 NFL offseason, free agency

The NFL 2023 calendar year began at 4 p.m. ET on March 15. At that time, contracts running through 2022 officially ran out, making those players free agents.

Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams had a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 7. The Cowboys used their franchise tag this year on Tony Pollard.

The legal negotiation period spanned from March 13 through March 15. The new year marked the beginning of all trades going official per the league office. April 21 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets. On April 26, the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets hits.

There were 722 players due to hit free agency in 2023, including 20 unrestricted free agents for Dallas. Follow all the Cowboys free agency news with the offseason tracker.