The Cowboys added Marquez Valdes-Scantling on Monday, giving Dallas another veteran receiver on a one-year deal as it continues to build around one of the NFL’s premier receiving duos. The move comes with CeeDee Lamb and franchise-tagged George Pickens already in place, and it gives the Cowboys a player who has spent much of his career chasing a stable role.
Valdes-Scantling arrives in Dallas after a season that took him from Seattle to San Francisco and then Pittsburgh. He spent last year with the Seahawks, the 49ers and the Steelers, a reminder of how different this stretch of his career has been from the first six years, when he had a clearer path and a longer runway. Dallas also met with Tyler Johnson on the same day, underscoring that the team was still looking for help at the position as the market moved late.
The 30-year-old has built his reputation on speed and stretch-the-field production. In 2020, he led the NFL in yards per reception at 20.9. Two years later, he topped 100 receiving yards in the AFC championship game. He also averaged 22.6 yards per catch in eight Saints games two seasons ago and scored four touchdowns in those eight games, showing he can still change a game in a limited role when the matchup is right.
His path to Dallas has been anything but linear. The Chiefs signed him in free agency after trading Tyreek Hill and he won two Super Bowl rings in Kansas City before being cut in 2024. He then signed with the Bills, later landed with the Saints, and helped a depleted receiving corps to close the 2024 season. Seattle followed with a one-year deal worth $4 million, but he did not make the 53-man roster. San Francisco put him on its practice squad before releasing him with an injury settlement in mid-October.
A Steelers workout later led to a reunion with Aaron Rodgers, and Pittsburgh leaned on him heavily down the stretch, using him on at least 81% of its offensive snaps in Weeks 17 and 18. He finished that span with five receptions for 34 yards in a division-clinching win over the Ravens, a small sample that still reflected how teams keep turning to him when they need a vertical threat in a hurry.
Dallas has not been shy about its receiving depth chart, but it has also made clear that it wants more than just the top line. The Cowboys lost Jalen Tolbert in free agency and did not draft a wide receiver until Round 7. They already roster Lamb, Pickens, Ryan Flournoy, KaVontae Turpin, Parris Campbell and Jonathan Mingo, though Mingo’s reworked deal includes no guaranteed money for 2026 and Campbell also has no guarantees on his contract. In that setting, Valdes-Scantling is a low-cost bet on experience, speed and a track record of showing up when defenses least expect it.
For a receiver who is now joining his eighth NFL team, the appeal is simple: he still has enough history to matter, and enough open questions to keep moving. Dallas is taking the chance that one more one-year deal can turn a journeyman into a useful piece at the right time.
