Dallas, TX

Cowboys safeties roster review: Even without Jayron Kearse depth chart may be full

Published

2 years ago

February 28, 2024

Cowboys safeties roster review: Even without Jayron Kearse depth chart may be full

Thanks to expiring contracts and their big change at defensive coordinator, the Dallas Cowboys have plenty of work to do on defense this offseason. But one position that may not need much attention is safety, with both starting jobs and backup spots seemingly covered by talent already under contract for 2024.

This may sound surprising given that Jayron Kearse is one of Dallas’ bigger names approaching free agency in March. But with Dan Quinn’s exit and Mike Zimmer’s arrival, the way that Kearse and other safeties were deployed the last few years is probably going away. That should reduce the total snaps from safeties going forward, and knock the veteran out of his job completely.

For example, some looks had all three of Kearse, Malik Hooker, and Donovan Wilson on the field with Kearse playing a hybrid linebacker role in coverage. Quinn’s comfort with playing a bigger safety this way, which also led to Markquese Bell’s conversion to linebacker in 2023, isn’t likely to apply under Zimmer. He wants more traditional physical prototypes at the positions, so we should see less of Quinn’s “small ball” approach.

Safeties Under Contract for 2024

Donovan Wilson – $7.37m cap hit
Malik Hooker – $3.99m cap hit
Juanyeh Thomas – $915k cap hit
Sheldrick Redwine – $1.13m cap hit

This means that Bell (who we listed among linebackers in this series due to last year) is probably heading back to safety next season. With Hooker and Wilson already signed up as returning starters, that makes Bell and Juanyeh Thomas capable backups with intriguing future potential. If Zimmer is going to reduce the group’s workload overall, those may be the only four safeties Dallas needs in 2024.

Even if Dallas does keep a fifth safety, re-signing Kearse doesn’t seem like the move. He just turned 30 and has already started showing some decline on the field. His role on the team feels sufficiently covered by Bell, who could serve in the hybrid position or simply be a more traditional strong safety.

While he was surprisingly quiet last year, Israel Mukuamu is also still around as a versatile defensive back to play corner or safety. That seems a much more likely way that the Cowboys would carry a fifth guy; one who can double as a CB or at least give you strong value on special teams. Kearse does neither.

While neither Hooker or Wilson are NFL superstars, they allow Dallas to focus on needier positions without being liabilities. Their combined cap hit of just over $11 million is a steal, but we’ll have to wait and see how well they adapt to Zimmer’s scheme. Thankfully, even if it’s not as good for them as Quinn’s, they’re relatively inexpensive enough that it will be hard for them to lose value.

Sure, we’d all love to see a safety like Derwin James or Budda Baker in Dallas. But with bigger fish to fry at other positions, the Cowboys can feel comfortable about their current group going forward. They have solid starters and capable backups, enough that they can let Jayron Kearse walk in free agency without it feeling like much of a loss.

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Dallas, TX

Lakers Announce Full Starting Lineup Ahead of NBA Cup Game vs Mavericks

Published

45 minutes ago

November 29, 2025

Press Room

Lakers Announce Full Starting Lineup Ahead of NBA Cup Game vs Mavericks

The Los Angeles Lakers have unveiled their full first five ahead of their Emirates NBA Cup showdown against the Dallas Mavericks.

More news: Former NBA Executive Urges Lakers to Fire Rob Pelinka Next

Thanks to starting center Deandre Ayton’s announced return from a right calf contusion that cost him the Lakers’ 135-118 Tuesday win against the LA Clippers (Jaxson Hayes started capably in his stead), Los Angeles will have access to head coach JJ Redick’s preferred starting unit once again.

Lakers Starters Revealed

With Ayton manning the middle, the Lakers will start five-time All-NBA First Team superstar point guard Luka Doncic (who was, until February, a Maverick) and shooting guard Austin Reaves in the backcourt, plus small forward Rui Hachimura and 21-time All-NBA power forward LeBron James in the frontcourt.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, will be bringing back the 10-time All-Star big man who served as the centerpiece of their misguided Doncic deal last season.

More news: Former All-Star Confident Lakers’ Austin Reaves Will Land Massive Offseason Deal

For Dallas, former 2020 Lakers champ Anthony Davis is set to return from a lingering calf injury, although it is Marc Stein of The Stein Line reports that Jason Kidd will be playing Davis on a minutes restriction.

Latest Lakers News

For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.

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Dallas, TX

Stream of visitors shows Dallas is wise to invest in its water park

Published

19 hours ago

November 28, 2025

Press Room

Stream of visitors shows Dallas is wise to invest in its water park

Pool season ended in September, but we welcome a splash of good news anytime. And how’s this for a headline? Dallas has started work to replace a 20-year-old water feature at the popular Bahama Beach Waterpark in Red Bird — with the expectation that the new amenities will be ready by summer 2026.

As our newsroom colleague María Ramos Pacheco reported earlier this year, the $2.5 million upgrade for the water park is coming from a federal Community Development Block Grant and from the city’s Parkland Dedication Program Fund.

This water park is exactly the kind of aquatic facility that Dallas should be investing in. City Hall faced resistance this year over the closure of several community pools, but as we’ve written previously, those facilities’ days were numbered. With sparse attendance and with parts dating back decades and no economical replacements, to keep those pools open was to pour taxpayer money down the drain.

Today, communities across North Texas gravitate toward “spraygrounds,” aquatic centers and waterparks, which are larger facilities that combine pools with amenities such as lazy rivers, tubes and tall slides.

Bahama Beach Waterpark opened to much fanfare in 2005, and it remains a crowd favorite to this day. Annual attendance was 50,000 a decade ago and has risen to 76,000, Park and Recreation Director John Jenkins told us. The water park is also one of the city’s most cost-effective aquatic facilities. Bahama Beach, which charges a modest admission fee and also receives rental income, generates about $1.3 million in annual revenue and recovers 70% of its costs.

The latest upgrade will replace Coconut Grove, a playground styled like a water fortress featuring slides, pulleys and water buckets. It will be replaced by a bigger installation including 16 decks, more than 55 water features and new slides. It will also bring back the huge water-dumping bucket that is as much a hit with adults as it is with children.

This upgrade follows a more substantial overhaul in 2021, when the city invested $5.9 million to create an area dedicated to families with small children, including new restrooms.

“This is what folks want,” Jenkins said. “They want to have this type of amenity in their communities.”

The water park isn’t just for kids and their parents. Summer programming includes water aerobics classes for seniors.

Jenkins told us that the city has contracted with a company to seek corporate sponsorship opportunities for the park system, not including Fair Park and city parks with separate management. The park director said the city wants to keep fees affordable for families and is looking to sponsorships to generate more revenue and cover its costs at Bahama Beach.

Dallas residents vote with their feet, and they love their water park. City Hall is wise to keep its sole water park in great shape and to recognize that a commitment to Bahama Beach is a much-needed investment in southern Dallas.

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