Chicago Bears linebacker Jack Sanborn after an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images

Dallas Cowboys free agent signing named ‘best-kept secret’ in 2025

Originally posted on Dallas Cowboys on SI
By Randy Gurzi | Last updated May 20, 2025 8:35 AM ET

This was an active offseason for the Dallas Cowboys, who not only changed out their coaching staff, but also brought in several outside free agents for a change.

Dallas even made a couple of savvy trades for former first-round picks needing a change of scenery, and swung for the fences with the George Pickens move.

While Pickens is in the headlines, Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder claims another addition could help Dallas improve. According to Holder, Jack Sanborn is the team’s “best-kept secret” heading into the 2025 campaign.

”Sanborn only made 19 starts during his three years with the Bears, which is a big reason the Cowboys were able to sign him for a cheap one-year, $1.5 million contract in free agency. But the Wisconsin product projects to have a much bigger role in Dallas this season,” Holder wrote on Bleacher Report. “The team’s run defense could use some help, and that’s always been his strength, recording a 70.5 run-defense grade from Pro Football Focus in 2024.”

Sanborn spent his entire career working under Matt Eberflus, who was his head coach with the Chicago Bears. They will continue working together now that Eberflus is the defensive coordinator under head coach Brian Schottenheimer.

Sanborn has an edge over the rest of the roster, knowing the scheme that Eberflus is installing. Dallas fans saw how beneficial that could be with Eric Kendricks working with Mike Zimmer last season in Dallas, following years together in Minnesota.

No one expects Sanborn to have the impact Kendricks did, but his knowledge will be as important as his impressive run defense.

This article first appeared on Dallas Cowboys on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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