per NFL Network\u2019s Tom Pelissero<\/a>. <\/p>\nValdes-Scantling arrives with eight seasons of NFL experience under his belt. But there is no shortage of warning signs in his recent stops. <\/p>\n
Valdes-Scantling is a well-known name but\u2026<\/p>\n
The Cowboys will be his sixth team since the start of the 2024 season if you include his 2025 training camp with the Seattle Seahawks before he missed final cuts even after signing a deal worth up to $5.5 million in free agency. <\/p>\n
Most recently, he played five games for the Aaron Rodgers-led Pittsburgh Steelers and caught 10 passes in 21 targets. Earlier in 2025, he logged four catches across five games for the San Francisco 49ers. <\/p>\n
The truth is his Valdes-Scantling\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
What are realistic expectations for Valdes-Scantling?<\/p>\n
For more insight on Valdes-Scantling\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n
\u201cMarquez Valdes-Scantling joined the Steelers in 2025 after weeks of rumors surrounding a potential reunion between him and Rodgers, but there wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn that game, the Steelers\u2019 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\u2019s explosion on film, and he can still get vertical, but the deep threat that defenses have to worry about is no longer there. <\/p>\n
\u201cSure, he can lift the top off of coverage, but between his inconsistent hands and shallow route tree, he\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grading the signing<\/p>\n
If Valdes-Scantling\u2019s calling card is his speed, it\u2019s tough to bank on him seeing a lot of playing time in Dallas considering KaVontae Turpin\u2019s high-end speed. If the Cowboys wanted veteran depth at the position, I believe there were better options in the free agency market. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s here to compete for the final roster spot at WR and that will be tough to do with four special teams snaps since 2019. Jonathan Mingo had 45 in 2025. <\/p>\n
GRADE: C\u2013<\/p>\n
\t\t\t![\"Feb](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/USATSI_28145712-200x200.jpg\")
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Dallas Cowboys News<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat the heck is going on with George Pickens\u2019 franchise tag? Latest update makes things blurrier for Dallas Cowboys WR\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\nRecent updates on the Dallas Cowboys star wide receiver has caused a lot of confusion and mystery. What you need to know about George Pickens\u2019 franchise tag status. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dallas Cowboys signed veteran wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Though he\u2019s a well-known name for NFL fans, tempering…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269108,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103,100134],"class_list":{"0":"post-269107","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-dallas","9":"tag-dallas-headlines","10":"tag-dallas-news","11":"tag-marquez-valdes-scantling"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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