Latest NFL news confirms what we already knew months ago about Cowboys’ 2024 plans

Well, Dallas Cowboys fans who had been hoping all along for the team to bring back All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore ahead of the 2024 NFL season can put such ambitions to rest.

Gilmore is signing with the Minnesota Vikings, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The one-year deal worth $10 million eliminates any possibility of the Cowboys landing Gilmore, which appeared to be the case since months ago.

After all, the Cowboys’ conservative approach in free agency resulted in Ezekiel Elliott and Eric Kendricks being their biggest signings, and those combine for $5 million in cash due in 2024. Spending double digits on Gilmore never fit what we witnessed them do in March, even less so when knowing the team will be fielding Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland on the outside would’ve been a big surprise from the Cowboys.

“There are still some good corners and safeties out there like Justin Simmons and myself that are still not signed,” Gilmore told CBS’ Josina Anderson earlier in the summer. “Honestly, I’m still being patient and staying ready until teams see what they have in training camp; but you mean to tell me among 32 teams that there are 64 starting corners that are better than me? I don’t think that.”

The Vikings don’t, either, as Gilmore is being guaranteed $7 million.

The Vikings are expected to start Gilmore right from the get go, as A to Z Sports’ own Evan Winter detailed in an earlier article:

Gilmore should provide an immediate boost to the Vikings secondary and is already a favorite to start on the perimeter. The biggest factor in all this, though, is it allows the Vikings to stick with their plan of moving Byron Murphy Jr. inside in subpackages. They were unable to do that, last year, because of all the injuries to the secondary. It’s a move that makes a lot of sense and would allow the defense to have its best three corners in Gilmore, Murphy Jr., and Shaq Griffin on the field for the majority of the time.

The Cowboys are set at cornerback

As for the Cowboys, cornerback is looking great even without Gilmore. Bland has picked up right where he left off last year, with a very strong training camp showing. Diggs appears to be fully healthy from his ACL injury and Jourdan Lewis is forever underrated and still plays with that chip on his shoulder.

A potential big improvement for Dallas cornerbacks will be the fact that defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is running a defense full of disguises that will only help the secondary in coverage.