Dallas Cowboys' team owner Jerry Jones recently admitted regretting letting Jourdan Lewis go in free agency last year. But now, he has a chance to fix it by bringing in the Ex-Lions cornerback Avonte Maddox.

Maddox is a versatile cornerback who can fill roles at both safety and in the slot as he approaches a decade in the NFL.

"Avonte Maddox makes sense. Not only was he still an effective player in 2025 with the Detroit Lions, but Maddox also had experience working with Christian Parker in 2024 with the Philadelphia Eagles," Randi Gurzi of Si.com writes.

Since letting Lewis walk, the consequences are showing. Jalen Thompson is in, but moving him inside only weakens the safety room. Keep him deep, and the nickel hole stays wide open.

That is where Avonte Maddox makes sense. In just four games last season, he stacked 32 tackles, four pass breakups, an interception, and a forced fumble, all while posting a 79.1 PFF grade, top 10 in the league.

Even when injuries hit in Detroit, he delivered when it mattered most. Eight tackles, a pass breakup, and a 90.3 grade against Dallas itself.

That consistency makes Maddox an ideal candidate to replace Jourdan Lewis.

Jerry Jones' $30 Million Mistake

The Dallas Cowboys perhaps didn't want to lose Jourdan Lewis, but the offer on the table was to make him the highest-paid pure slot corner.

When the Jacksonville Jaguars came in with a 3-year, $30 million deal, including $20 million guaranteed, it reset the market.

For Dallas, already tight against the cap, matching that number was never realistic. Tough choices had to be made, and a year later, Jones had admitted that it was a mistake.

"We lost the nickel [Lewis], and it hurt us more than we thought," Jones said. "The nickel was a serious loss for us. It made a big difference not having [Lewis] out there. And, so, we have got to get better there.”

At the Jacksonville Jaguars, Lewis got injured in the process, but his contributions took the franchise to the playoffs before losing in the Wild Card game to the Buffalo Bills.

“The number one thing was we thought when we lost our nickel last year, we could (put) Bland in and out," Jones later added. "He wasn't quite as suited to getting inside and being a nickel as we thought he would be. So that was a little planning that didn't work out on the plan." 

The Cowboys only understood Lewis’ true impact after he joined the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2025. But now, they may have a chance to fix that mistake as Jones works on patching defensive holes.

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Written by

Archana Ramakrishnan

Edited by

Aadesh Dhote