The Cowboys’ 2026 offseason has been viewed as a win in a lot of ways, but one of their quieter decisions is starting to look shaky already.
Most of the attention around Dallas has gone to bigger swings, especially the Osa Odighizuwa trade. That move will keep drawing criticism if he thrives in San Francisco. Still, the more immediate regret might come from a less flashy departure: backup center Brock Hoffman.
Dallas moved on from Hoffman as a restricted free agent, and that decision already looks worse after veteran addition Matt Hennessy was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a neck injury. Hennessy was brought in to fill Hoffman’s role, but he’s now out for the year.
Hoffman landed with the Pittsburgh Steelers on a one-year, $1.75 million deal and reunited with former Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy. For the Cowboys, the loss is starting to sting because they now need the kind of interior line insurance Hoffman provided.
With Hennessy unavailable, Dallas is leaning on T.J. Bass as the backup center behind third-year starter Cooper Beebe.
Bass received a second-round tender this offseason, which all but locked him in for another year. In practice, the Cowboys chose Bass over Hoffman, and Bass remains the top reserve at guard as well.
Bass may be the stronger and more flexible lineman, but that doesn’t mean Hoffman was expendable. Dallas could have kept both. By declining to tender Hoffman, the team left itself needing a new deal to bring him back, and whether it misjudged his market or simply preferred Hennessy, the outcome hasn’t been kind.
What makes the move even tougher is how little Hoffman got on the open market. He’s 26 and has played all three interior spots, including 684 snaps at center and 452 at right guard, according to Pro Football Focus.
He also delivered steady work when called on. Over three seasons, Hoffman allowed just two sacks, 23 pressures, and seven quarterback hits across 695 pass-blocking snaps, per PFF. He added a 60.0 run-blocking grade on 517 snaps, which is solid backup value by any measure.
Nobody could have forecast Hennessy’s injury, and at the time, the signing made sense. But with Hoffman costing just $1.7 million, Dallas may end up wishing it had kept one of its most useful depth pieces in the building.
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