Dallas Cowboys Sign Former Stanford Cardinal

Solomon Thomas is returning to the state where he played high school football

Sep 15, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans Will Levis (8) escapes the sack of New York Jets defensive end Solomon Thomas (94) during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Another former Stanford star is off the NFL free agent board. On Wednesday, Solomon Thomas reached a two-year, $8 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys, leaving the New York Jets in favor of America's Team.

Thomas, who went to high school in Coppell, Texas, returns to where he played his prep career in an effort to provide to the Cowboys defensive line. The former No. 3 overall pick of the 2017 draft spent the previous three seasons with the Jets, where he spent his tenure there as a rotational piece. His best season came in 2023, when in 17 games, he had five sacks and 31 total tackles.

In 50 total games for the Jets, Thomas totaled 83 tackles and nine sacks, with 8.5 of those sacks coming over the last two seasons. Before joining the Jets, Thomas spent a season with the Las Vegas Raiders after playing his first four seasons in the league with the San Francisco 49ers.

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Unable to fully establish himself in San Francisco, tearing his ACL in his final season there in 2020, Thomas left in an attempt to become a crucial player somewhere else.

In signing with Dallas, Thomas solves a big depth problem for the Cowboys. With DeMarcus Lawrence departing for the Seahawks, that left the defensive line rather thin behind Osa Odighizuwa.

Thomas, who can play both inside and outside, provides a solid piece that be inserted both at defensive end and defensive tackle, giving the Cowboys another strong run stopper.

A positive locker room presence as well, being named a finalist for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2024, Thomas will bring good leadership to the Cowboys as well.

So far in free agency, the Cowboys have been relatively quiet. Aside from Thomas, they have only signed two players from outside the organization in running back Javonte Williams and guard Robert Jones.

Not making a conference title game since the mid-90s and having struggled to be a threat in the playoffs since, 2025 could be looked at as a crucial year for the Cowboys, who despite having a new head coach in Brian Schottenheimer, are more determined than ever to return to being the bullies of the NFC.

Now onto his fourth team, Thomas could be looking at his final shot to prove that he belongs in the NFL and with a good opportunity to earn considerable playing time with the Cowboys, he'll be eager to make an impact.

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