Report: Cowboys to sign 2x-Super Bowl WR, former Aaron Rodgers target – Todd Brock, The Cowboys WireMarquez Valdes-Scantling spent last season with the San Francisco 49ers and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Dallas is signing veteran receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling to a one-year-deal, per a report from NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero.
Valdes-Scantling, 31, is entering his ninth NFL season. After being a fifth-round draft choice of Green Bay in 2019, Valdes-Scantling spent his first four years with the Packers. Two seasons with the Chiefs followed, with the Florida native winning a Super Bowl ring at the end of both.
He split time between Buffalo and then New Orleans in 2024, then went from San Francisco to Pittsburgh during the 2025 season as he looked to regain his previous form but never quite caught on with any of those squads (despite a reunion with Aaron Rodgers as a Steeler).
Valdes-Scantling has started 69 regular-season games in his career, notching 219 receptions for 3,686 yards and 21 touchdowns.
In Dallas, he’ll join a WR room led by CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. Ryan Flournoy showed incredible development last year, with KaVontae Turpin, Jonathan Mingo, Parris Campbell, and Traeshon Holden also the mix.
Veteran help at receiver is always a good thing, but this is absolutely a depth signing for the Cowboys.
The truth is his Valdes-Scantling’s best football is well behind him. His best season came in 2020 when he led the NFL in yards per reception at 20.9 playing for Patrick Mahomes. He set a career high at 690 receiving yards and six touchdowns then.
What are realistic expectations for Valdes-Scantling?
For more insight on Valdes-Scantling’s play before signing with the Cowboys, I reached out to our own Rob Gregson from A to Z Sports Pittsburgh, who covered his stop with the Steelers.
“Marquez Valdes-Scantling joined the Steelers in 2025 after weeks of rumors surrounding a potential reunion between him and Rodgers, but there wasn’t a ton to write home about. After spending time on the practice squad, MVS played in five games, starting one in Week 17 against the Cleveland Browns while DK Metcalf served a two-game suspension.“In that game, the Steelers’ wide receivers combined for less than 60 receiving yards, showing little ability to separate at a marginal level. There were times when you could see MVS’s explosion on film, and he can still get vertical, but the deep threat that defenses have to worry about is no longer there.“Sure, he can lift the top off of coverage, but between his inconsistent hands and shallow route tree, he’s best utilized on specific concepts and on weighty downs. He will provide a veteran presence if he makes the team, and there is a track record of quarterbacks having a lot of success when MVS is in their WR corps.”
If Valdes-Scantling’s calling card is his speed, it’s tough to bank on him seeing a lot of playing time in Dallas considering KaVontae Turpin’s high-end speed. If the Cowboys wanted veteran depth at the position, I believe there were better options in the free agency market.
The Cowboys made two other under-the-radar moves on Monday, for another wide receiver and linebacker.
Wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling was previously reported, but the Cowboys also signed wide receiver Tyler Johnson and linebacker Curtis Robinson.
Johnson, 27, spent last season with the Jets. He played 12 games with five starts, seeing action on 292 offensive snaps.
Johnson made 12 catches for 197 yards and a touchdown in 2025.
He entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick of the Buccaneers in 2020, and he spent two seasons with them, one with the Texans, two with the Rams and last season with the Jets.
Johnson, who won a Super Bowl ring in Tampa, has 88 receptions for 1,025 yards and five touchdowns in his career.
Robinson, 27, has played 29 games with three starts in five seasons. He has seen time with the Broncos and 49ers, and Robinson started for the first time in his career with San Francisco last season when he played a career-high 248 snaps.
Robinson has played 335 defensive snaps and 432 on special teams and has 52 tackles and a pass defensed.