Four Cowboys defenders are heading to Las Vegas for a few days of pass-rush work before training camp, and they’ll be doing it alongside some of the biggest names in the business.
Rashan Gary, Donovan Ezeiruaku, Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark are all set to attend the 2026 Sack Summit, which runs from July 9 through July 11. Cowboys coach and pass-rush specialist Brandon Jordan will be there as well, giving Dallas another presence at the event just weeks before the team reports for training camp on July 28.
The summit, founded in 2017 and hosted in Las Vegas, is built around the kind of peer-to-peer learning that elite pass rushers value. It’s run by top edge defenders and future Hall of Famers such as the Las Vegas Raiders’ Maxx Crosby, the New Orleans Saints’ Cam Jordan and free agent Von Miller. According to the event’s official website, "participants exchange skills, knowledge, and techniques in addition to participating in on-field drills/workouts and film sessions with some of the best pass rushers in NFL history."
The Sack Summit also helped inspire Tight End University, which was founded in 2021 and is hosted by the San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce and retired tight end Greg Olsen.
For Dallas, the timing matters. The defense has to take a real step forward after last season’s league-worst showing, and the front seven is a major part of that fix. The Cowboys need more disruption up front, especially after finishing with the seventh-fewest sacks, and they also have to get sturdier against the run after posting the 10th-worst run defense.
Each of the four players headed to the summit carries his own pressure point. Gary has to prove he can avoid the second-half fade he dealt with last season, and a strong year would help him build toward a new contract as he enters the final year of his deal in 2027. Ezeiruaku flashed promise in 2025, and Dallas will be looking for him to turn that into consistent edge production this season.
Williams, one of the league’s premier interior defensive linemen, is already a candidate for a contract extension. If that doesn’t happen in 2026, a big season could push the Cowboys toward a deal while also driving up his price.
Clark is in a similar spot, with the final year of his contract coming next season; if he wants one more major payday late in his career, he’ll need to get back to his Pro Bowl level. He could also be trying to avoid becoming a cap casualty in 2027.
Still, the bigger picture in Dallas is straightforward. The offense does not need much help. If the defense can simply rise to an average level, that may be enough to get the Cowboys back to the playoffs.
In Other News...
Commanders Just Twisted The Knife On Cowboys' Biggest Secondary Concern
The Commanders kept building out their secondary by adding veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas on a deal reportedly worth $3.8 million, a move that gives Washington another experienced body in a room that still has its own questions. Douglas has been around the league enough to know the job, with stops that include Green Bay and Miami, and his arrival is the sort of depth signing teams make when they want a steadier floor on the back end.
For Dallas, the timing lands with a little more sting because the Cowboys are already dealing with uncertainty at corner. Health concerns around DaRon Bland and Shavon Revel have made the position a real watch item, and the depth behind them is thin enough that every outside move in the division feels a little louder than it otherwise would. In a race where secondary stability matters, Washington just made sure it has one more option while the Cowboys are still sorting out theirs. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Linked To Veteran Answer For A Defense That Needs One
The Cowboys linebacker room remains one of the cleaner places to look for help on a defense that still needs it, and a veteran option has surfaced as a logical fit. Bobby Wagner is coming off another productive season, showing he can still handle a full workload and bring the kind of steadiness that teams lean on when the middle of the defense needs sorting out.
Dallas has at least one added wrinkle here, too, because Brian Schottenheimer already knows Wagner from their Seahawks days. Even so, this is still more of a fit check than a transaction report, with the Cowboys linked to the idea of adding a proven linebacker but no move actually in hand yet. [Read more 🡒]
New Findings On Marshawn Kneelands Death Will Hit Cowboys Fans Hard
Marshawn Kneelands death has already left the Cowboys community grieving, and the latest findings add another painful layer to remember about the former defensive lineman. The Boston University CTE Center examined his brain tissue, and the Concussion & CTE Foundation later announced a posthumous diagnosis of Stage 1 chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a condition tied to repeated head impacts and one that can only be identified after death through neuropathological examination.
Kneeland was just 24 when he died, and the news is especially sobering for a player whose NFL career had only just begun to take shape. His family donated his brain tissue for the examination, and the foundation has emphasized that the diagnosis should not be read as a cause of death or a proven suicide risk factor, a distinction that matters even as the football world keeps confronting the long-term toll of the game. [Read more 🡒]