Cowboys QB Sam Howell’s first start was a win vs. Dallas

Todd ArcherMar 22, 2026, 06:00 AM ET

CloseTodd Archer is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Dallas Cowboys. Archer has covered the NFL since 1997 and Dallas since 2003. He joined ESPN in 2010.

Multiple Authors

FRISCO, Texas — Sam Howell won’t forget the first start of his NFL career.

He was a rookie with the Washington Commanders in 2022, playing in the final game of the season against the Dallas Cowboys, his favorite team growing up. His numbers weren’t great — 11-of-19, 169 yards, one touchdown, one interception — but he got the win 26-6.

“Obviously an important moment in my career where I always thought I could do it, but you never really know until you get out there and do it,” Howell said. “It was definitely a fun moment for sure.”

Now Howell is a Cowboy, having signed a one-year deal that guarantees him $2.5 million, and he is expected to battle Joe Milton III to be Dak Prescott‘s backup.

Howell became Washington’s starter in 2023, but he had a 4-13 record. He led the NFL in pass attempts (612) but also interceptions (21) and sacks (65). Since then, he has been traded more times (three) than games he has played (two).

He was dealt to the Seattle Seahawks in 2024 and twice last year, first to the Minnesota Vikings in April and then to the Philadelphia Eagles in August.

Quarterback Sam Howell spent last season with the Seattle Seahawks before signing this offseason with the Dallas Cowboys. Bailey Hillesheim/Icon Sportswire

“For my career, I’m still in a position where I think I can play a lot of good football. A lot of good football ahead of me,” Howell said. “I think the ability to be developed by [coach Brian Schottenheimer] was obviously something that was very enticing to me.”

Howell said the Cowboys were one of the offenses he watched on film throughout the season and liked what Schottenheimer and Prescott did together.

His experience is more in line with what the Cowboys had at backup quarterback with Cooper Rush, who made 16 starts. Milton has started once in his two seasons and saw action for the full second half of the Cowboys’ 2025 season finale against the New York Giants.

“This will be my fifth year in the league, and I’ve had a lot of different experiences with different teams and different coaches, and I feel like I’ve learned a lot,” Howell said. “I feel like I’ve grown in the past year since that season that I played. … I feel like I’ve learned how to play the position, and I feel like at the time I didn’t really know. I thought I did, but I feel like I’m in a much better place mentally and have a way better understanding of the game than I did back then.”

Together again

Safety P.J. Locke remembers a conversation with Christian Parker when Parker was leaving the Denver Broncos after the 2023 season to become the passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Eagles.

“He had his aspirations of being [a defensive coordinator] someday, and we talked about it,” Locke said. “If I ever became a free agent and the time comes and he’s a DC, we going to make this thing happen. It’s crazy how he becomes a DC with the Cowboys, and obviously I’m from Texas. Everything just seemed to click, man.”

Locke signed a one-year deal as a free agent, returning to his Texas roots (he grew up in Beaumont and went to Texas), and Parker agreed to a deal to become the Cowboys’ DC in late January. Locke figures to be part of the sub packages in Parker’s defense, though he has starting experience.

“I’ve been in the same system since I entered the NFL,” said Locke, who joined the Broncos as an undrafted free agent. “It’s pretty much going to be a similar system. I’m sure he’s going to throw his own twists and turns making it his own, but it’s going to be a familiar scheme and versatility, the types of players he wants, especially in the secondary, I made my decision based on that.”

Durant: ‘Thrive on taking the ball away’

When the 2025 season ended, owner and general manager Jerry Jones relayed the obvious: The Cowboys missed nickel cornerback Jourdan Lewis. It wasn’t just because of Lewis’s ability. It was his fight.

Lewis, who signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars, was listed at 5-foot-10, 190 pounds. Cobie Durant, whom the Cowboys signed to a one-year deal away from the Los Angeles Rams, is listed at 5-11, 182.

What to know for the 2026 NFL draft

• Mocks: Kiper | Miller | Reid | Yates
• Rankings: Kiper | Miller | Reid | Yates
• Best by position | Draft order | More

“There’s plenty of guys that have been in this league and been under the 6-foot spectrum,” Durant said. “Tyrann Mathieu is going to be a Hall of Famer. Guys that got that dog in them and got that heart and got a bunch of confidence when they’re out there playing between those white lines. I feel like that’s what I bring.”

Like Lewis, the ball seems to find Durant as well. He had three interceptions in the 2025 regular season with the Rams and intercepted three more in the playoffs. For his career, he has seven interceptions and 26 pass deflections with a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a sack.

“I just thrive on taking the ball away, and it’s just something I really enjoy doing. See ball, get ball,” Durant said. “Nothing like getting the ball back to the offense. Defense wins championships. Offense sells tickets. So just getting the ball back to Dak Prescott is my new mode.”