Roster noise usually starts at the top of the depth chart. On Thursday the Cowboys turned down the volume a rung lower, agreeing to a one-year extension with wide receiver Ryan Flournoy worth up to $6 million.
Todd Archer of ESPN reported the deal from Frisco late Thursday, citing sources after Jordan Schultz first reported Flournoy's extension. Dallas now has its No. 3 receiver under contract into 2027 and off the restricted free-agent list that would have opened after this season.
Depth that already showed up
Flournoy's 2025 tape is why the conversation reached a contract. He held the No. 3 receiver job, finished with 40 catches for 475 yards and four touchdowns, and delivered 100-yard games at the Jets and Lions. He was a 2024 sixth-round selection who was cut before last season, returned on the practice squad, climbed through special teams, and eventually earned regular targets from Dak Prescott.
Archer described him as the unquestioned No. 3 entering 2026 behind CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
That hierarchy matters for Sunday. Three-receiver sets are standard fare in Dallas. When Lamb and Pickens draw the primary attention, the third wideout has to win on schedule and stay available on third down. Extending Flournoy does not change who starts Week 1; it confirms who the club wants available when the 2027 calendar opens.
Context around the skill rooms
Hours earlier, Dallas reached a three-year, $18 million agreement with tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford that includes $12.075 million guaranteed through 2029, ESPN reported. NBC 5 covered the same Spann-Ford deal and noted he and Jake Ferguson are both under contract through 2029. Ferguson signed a four-year, $52 million extension last year. Luke Schoonmaker remains signed for this season before unrestricted free agency.
On the perimeter, Pickens is playing on a $27.3 million franchise tag and can become an unrestricted free agent afterward, with a second tag estimated near $32 million, per ESPN. Jerry Jones has said he wants Pickens long term. Flournoy's new deal gives Dallas a secured pass catcher for 2027 if that long-term wish does not land.
