FRISCO, Texas – The Cowboys have added some more depth on their defensive line, agreeing to terms with veteran Jonathan Bullard on a one-year deal.
Bullard, 32, will play his 11th NFL season in 2026. Since being drafted by the Bears in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Florida, Bullard has played for six different teams in the Bears, Cardinals, Seahawks, Falcons, Vikings and Saints.
Last season, Bullard played in 15 games for New Orleans, starting six, and tallied 26 total tackles, four tackles for loss and two pass breakups.
With the addition of Bullard, the Cowboys have now added seven external players on the defensive side of the ball this offseason. Bullard is the third addition on the defensive line, joining nose tackle Otito Ogbonnia and OLB Rashan Gary.
In Dallas, Bullard will reunite with his former defensive line coach Marcus Dixon, who coached him with the Vikings in 2024. That season, Bullard started in all 17 games for Minnesota and posted 41 tackles, seven tackles for loss, three pass breakups and a sack.
The defensive line room is one that has seen a lot of change this offseason heading into Christian Parker's first year as defensive coordinator. Dallas traded Osa Odighizuwa to the 49ers for a third-round pick, and Solomon Thomas to the Titans for a seventh-round pick swap.
Under Dixon in 2024, Bullard had arguably the best season of his career. Dixon's coaching style is one that puts a lot of the responsibility on his players to execute what's being taught, and it comes from his own background of playing in the NFL.
"Creating those one-on-ones, and then putting ownership on them to understand, 'Hey, we're doing this for you to go win,'" Dixon said at the NFL combine of his coaching style. "And then coaching style, I played the game. Maybe not at their caliber, but I understand some of those situations and how we've got to play up front, and it's all a mindset, and we have the guys for that… you put them in position, and understand we're still attacking."
"Now we're attack reacting, we're playing with our hands, we're not allowing vertical seams up front on those early downs, and then what it does to get back on track is third down, now let's go hunt. You've earned that right now, you've owned that to where now you can go and do what you do best."
Bullard now becomes tied with Dak Prescott and Kenny Clark as the second-most tenured players on Dallas' roster heading into his eleventh year.
To keep up with the latest on all of Dallas' free agency moves, make sure to check out our 2026 Cowboys Free Agency Tracker.
