3 Former Cowboys Regretting Leaving Dallas at Halfway Point of Season

3. Jayron Kearse, Safety, Free Agent

Well, former Dallas Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse is certainly one of the ones who is wishing that they had kept the band together this past offseason.

Kearse was a key player for the Dallas Cowboys in their defensive resurgence over the past handful of seasons, but he had been on the chopping block all throughout the offseason after his struggles in 2023.

Still, the fact that Kearse -- who was a favorite of Dan Quinn and is still only 30 years old -- is a free agent is a little stunning at this point. This is a guy who had at least one interception in each of his three seasons in Dallas, he started 13 games last year, and he racked up 250 total tackles for the Cowboys over the last three seasons (with 19 tackles for loss).

Kearse was statistically productive enough that you would have assumed some team would give him a look, but it hasn't happened at this point. Not even Dan Quinn and the Commanders have called upon Kearse...

After playing primarily special teams for the first handful of years of his NFL career, Kearse became a full-time starter over the last few seasons and played over 800 total snaps in every season he was with the Dallas Cowboys. It's pretty mind-boggling how quickly life comes at you in the NFL.

But without a job or a role on any NFL team this season, Kearse is no doubt one of the guys who is probably wishing he was still with the Dallas Cowboys, even with a new defensive coordinator in Mike Zimmer calling the shots.